Top 10 Irish Horses Ever!

crossvilla

I've been trying to determine what were/are the best Irish bred/trained racehorses ever? Any views would be appreciated.

ComplyOrDie

crossvilla wrote: »

I've been trying to determine what were/are the best Irish bred/trained racehorses ever? Any views would be appreciated.

I'd throw beef and ista in the mix

handsfree2

Sea the Star's is my favourite horse of all time.
Hurricane fly next for me.

the groutch

ComplyOrDie wrote: »

I'd throw beef and ista in the mix

if you're including Beef you'd have to included Florida Pearl too.

sdoc13

No 1 is Arkle. End of discussion.

Nulty

Arkle
Hurricane Fly
Istabraq
Sea The Stars
Nijinsky
El Gran Senor
Flyingbolt
Moscow Flyer
Monksfield
Limestone Lad


Theres a few to get you started

I said

Arkle
Flyingbolt
Moscow flyer
Istabraq
Hurricane fly



Sea the stars
Nijinsky
Golden Fleece (never seen the best of him IMO)
El gran señor
Rock of Gibraltar

FIVE2_THREE

Way too many variables to consider.
1. Distance
2. Code> Flat visa Jumper
3. Era
4.Sex/Gender

Sadler's Wells and Galileo may not be at the top of any greatest horses list but they have redefined and defined the modern day stallion


Excluding the Era here are my top 4 per distance

Mile
1. Rock of Gibraltar- Once held the record for 7 straight G1 wins. bested only by Frankel who has 9
2. HenryTheNavigator- A true legend in every sense of the word.
3. Excelebration- If not for Frankel He would be talked about as an all time great
4. George Washington-Hard to mention Milers and not mention this fella

Middle Distance
1.Giants Causeway-Nicked named the Iron horse for a reason. Slugger,Puncher,Fighter.He loved a good scrap.
2.So You Think- He was good in Australia but became a legend when sent to Ireland.
3.Cape Blanco- Crossed the Atlantic 3 times in 4 months each time he was Victorious.
4. ????

12 furlongs
1.Nijinsky- The last Triple Crown Winner and an All Time Great
2. Sir Ivor- the first Flat racing star at Ballydoyle was also a star on the track. strong body of work.
3. High Chaparral- Strong Body of work. G1 winner at age 2,3 and 4 England,Ireland and the U.S.
4. Sea The stars- One of the greatest 3 year olds ever. but a lot of questions remained unanswered. how would he have fared at age 4 ?

Marathon
1.Yates- Greatest flat stayer EVER!!!
2.Vinnie Roe-A stayers Stayer. Gutty and Gritty, Solid Body of Work.
3.Fame and Glory- IT didn't matter to this fella. 10.5 F,12 F, OR 20 F regardless the distance no matter the pace he danced every dance.
4.Oscar Schindler- A gallant performer. Gave all he had every time he went to post.

jimjamcos

Is the above comment about STS a joke? Also, you've So You Think 2nd for middle distance which is nonsense, not even a legend within Coolmore and acknowledged as overrated. STS should be top for both mid dis and 12f, Nijinsky is the only one you've mentioned close to his level

FIVE2_THREE

jimjamcos wrote: »

Is the above comment about STS a joke? Also, you've So You Think 2nd for middle distance which is nonsense, not even a legend within Coolmore and acknowledged as overrated. STS should be top for both mid dis and 12f, Nijinsky is the only one you've mentioned close to his level

A duel cox plate winner and a 10 times G1 winner overall and you call him overrated ? I'm sorry where exactly are there 10 time G1 winners walking around ? as far as STS goes that was my view of him. regardless of what you say my view of him wont change. you are welcomed to post a list of your own instead of focusing on mine. I'm sure the author of the thread wanted a wide range of answers and opinions not just bone pickers who feed off on other peoples opinions. have a great day.

P.S. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LIST

Panrich

Some that deserve to be there

Cottage Rake
Prince Regent


Others that deserve a mention

Vintage Crop
Alleged
L'Escargot

handsfree2

I said wrote: »

Arkle
Flyingbolt
Moscow flyer
Istabraq
Hurricane fly



Sea the stars
Nijinsky
Golden Fleece (never seen the best of him IMO)
El gran señor
Rock of Gibraltar

Great list, some other great horse's have been mentioned above too like sir Ivor. Perhaps 10 of both flat and jumps.

I'd add saddler's well's and Galileo because of their proficiency as stallions. And i'd add the minstrel too.

UrbanFret

Arkle
Flying bolt
Golden Cygnet
Dawn run
Istabraq



Sea the stars
Nijinsky
Ballymoss
Alleged
Gailileo

Gringo180

Giants Causeway.

crossvilla

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is for my Dad, he's mainly a hurdles man.

I said

Carvils hill shame about the jumping had everything else

tryfix

The usual suspects over the Jumps, not greatly impressed by the modern greats bar Istabraq. Someone mentioned Carvill's Hill, probably the greatest hurdler to never have been given the opportunity to show what he could do. He was wasted over fences IMO and I think he would have slaughtered the best hurdlers on his day. Would have seriously fancied him to destroy an Ascot Gold field on the flat.

Sea The Stars and Nijinsky are the Flat legends for their versatility. El Gran Senor was poetry in motion over two seasons. Hawkwing deserves a lot more respect than he gets, one astonishing run and a heap of top top form over 3 years with High Chaparral's presence denying him a 12 length Derby win for a horse who shouldn't really have got the trip.

No other horse trained in Ireland that I can think of would have caught St Jovite on his Irish Derby win.

Sinndar was a tough tough horse who is much underappreciated.

Harry Angstrom

tryfix wrote: »

The usual suspects over the Jumps, not greatly impressed by the modern greats bar Istabraq. Someone mentioned Carvill's Hill, probably the greatest hurdler to never have been given the opportunity to show what he could do. He was wasted over fences IMO and I think he would have slaughtered the best hurdlers on his day. Would have seriously fancied him to destroy an Ascot Gold field on the flat.

Sea The Stars and Nijinsky are the Flat legends for their versatility. El Gran Senor was poetry in motion over two seasons. Hawkwing deserves a lot more respect than he gets, one astonishing run and a heap of top top form over 3 years with High Chaparral's presence denying him a 12 length Derby win for a horse who shouldn't really have got the trip.

No other horse trained in Ireland that I can think of would have caught St Jovite on his Irish Derby win.

Sinndar was a tough tough horse who is much underappreciated.

Carvills Hill was a mudlark. Most Roseliers needed soft ground. He never would've won an Ascot Gold Cup, unless it was a quagmire.

tryfix

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

Carvills Hill was a mudlark. Most Roseliers needed soft ground. He never would've won an Ascot Gold Cup, unless it was a quagmire.

Very true about the ground not ability, forgot about his soft ground penchant as it was all a long time ago.

Do you remember his 20l ? racecourse gallop thrashing of Classical Charm, think it was over hurdles.

The Mig

NH: Bit before my time but the likes of Arkle, Flying Bolt, Dawn Run(can't believe nobody has mentioned her yet) were greats in my fathers eyes. My era would be the likes of Hurricane Fly, Istabraq, Moscow Flyer, Hardy Eustace and Beef or Salmon.

Flat: Can only be one for me and that's STS. "Perfection in Equine form" as Jim McGrath called him. From 8f-12f he done it all.

Panrich

tryfix wrote: »

Very true about the ground not ability, forgot about his soft ground penchant as it was all a long time ago.

Do you remember his 20l ? racecourse gallop thrashing of Classical Charm, think it was over hurdles.

I remember the commentators saying that Dreaper would be over the moon after Classical Charm finished 2nd in the champion hurdle based on that very piece of work.

Shemale

I am surprised Denman has not had a mention, one of the most impressive winners of the RSA and Gold Cup, demolishing Kauto, he won two Hennessys the second of which after his heart condition.

handsfree2

Shemale wrote: »

I am surprised Denman has not had a mention, one of the most impressive winners of the RSA and Gold Cup, demolishing Kauto, he won two Hennessys the second of which after his heart condition.

Neither were Irish trained or Irish owned.

The Mig

handsfree2 wrote: »

Neither were Irish trained or Irish owned.

He was bred in Ireland which is in OP's question

andyman

If we're including Irish bed horses then surely Best Mate has to be in there?

andyman

FIVE2_THREE wrote: »

A duel cox plate winner and a 10 times G1 winner overall and you call him overrated ? I'm sorry where exactly are there 10 time G1 winners walking around ? as far as STS goes that was my view of him. regardless of what you say my view of him wont change. you are welcomed to post a list of your own instead of focusing on mine. I'm sure the author of the thread wanted a wide range of answers and opinions not just bone pickers who feed off on other peoples opinions. have a great day.

P.S. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LIST

Relax, regardless if what the OP was looking for this thread was always going to spark debate. A lot of people would disagree with your views of STS.

Itziger

Ah Folks, we'll have to leave out Irish bred, cos we'd be here for a decade.

Some fantastic horses mentioned already. From what we saw here in Europe there is no bloody way you can include So You Think in that list. If we said 45 best Irish trained horses he might squeeze in. I love I Said's list. The Nijinsky Dewhurst is a thing of beauty. Then there's the question of consistency; anyone who saw Hawking's Derby 2nd and the following year's Lockinge would be well impressed but he was a bit disappointing on other occasions. St Jovite is a horse that's overlooked on these top lists things.

As for the jumps, well Arkle was on his own though there are those who say Flyingbolt would have given him problems. How in the name of Jaysus did they end up in the same stable at the same time! Anyone mention Captain Christy? Again, only saw the brilliance once or twice but I read once that when he won a King George (I think it was a King George) that those watching thought the jockey got the distance wrong and didn't realise that he had to do it all again. But he did. If the OP's Dad is into the hurdles he'll be looking for Monksfield, no?

Itziger

The Golden Fleece Derby is a superb 12f performance. Shame we didn't see more of him. Could he have done that at 10f?

Gringo180

tryfix wrote: »

Sinndar was a tough tough horse who is much underappreciated.

Totally agree on this one. That was a strong classic year and his Arc win he put away a lot of top class animals, Montjeu, Hightori, Samum, Egyptband etc

His Derby win he had Sakhee, Beat All and Best of the Bests in behind him too.

It was a shame Ox didnt campaign him in some of the top 10f races. He could of had a similar cv to Sea the Stars.

Panrich

andyman wrote: »

Relax, regardless if what the OP was looking for this thread was always going to spark debate. A lot of people would disagree with your views of STS.

And the stick used to beat STS (retired at 3) could equally be applied to several others on the list.

cashcarson

Ability wise he might not of been in the same league as a lot mentioned before in the thread but I always had a soft spot for Danoli he was around at a time when there was no real super powers in the irish game and it was a case of the little man taking on the big boys he had some heart and after all he achieved over hurdles to comeback to leopardstown after a bad fall and win a hennessy beating Jodami no less was a fair achievement.