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Best Fillies/Mares of All Time on the Flat

Discussion in 'Horse Racing' started by mallafets123, Nov 4, 2018.

  1. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member
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    <laugh>
     
    #61
  2. Reebok

    Reebok YTS Mod
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    My memory isn't the best, but I can remember being gob-smacked in 1983 by the runaway success of Sun Princess in the Oaks, winning by 12 lengths. It was widely accepted that she could have won the Derby if she'd been entered there instead! She went on to win the Yorkshire Oaks and the St Leger, and be placed in the King George & QE stakes plus the Arc. Although she never reached these heights again, she deserves a mention here based on that Guineas win alone :)
     
    #62
  3. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member
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    Yes, and we named one of our Afghan Hounds after her so should have remembered that one. Another one we named one of Afghan Hounds after was Madelia. She was a lovely filly who won 3 G1s in France but I don't remember her running in England. We also had a Petite Étoile (alredy mentioned)
     
    #63
  4. Bustino74

    Bustino74 Thouroughbred Breed Enthusiast

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    Glad someone mentioned Sun Princess. I came home one Friday afternoon and watched my video of that afternoon's Newbury races. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Carson's riding of this once-raced filly in the Sandleford Priory. Used to seeing him throwing everything but the kitchen sink into a finish he patiently rode this filly to a couple of length's defeat in heavy going behind Ski Sailing. The next day I walked into the bookies and backed her and Teenoso (I'd been at Lingfield the previous Saturday and had seen him win the Derby Trial) in singles and doubles. Apparently Carson had a side bet with Cauthen after that race that Ski Sailing wouldn't beat him again. Carson knew he could have won that race that day but he might have lost the Oaks in doing so.

    I was at Epsom on the Saturday to see the Oaks. From the gate Sun Princess was fighting Cauthen for her head;and after 2f he gave up restraining her. At the top of Tattenham Hill she was about 5 lengths clear and by Tattenham Corner that distance was 10 lengths. You'd expect her to weaken but she came home 12 lengths clear (the 2nd, Acclimatise, later won the Nassau). Yes it was said she probably would have won the Derby and she underlined that by beating the Derby 2nd in the St Leger without really extending herself.

    Hern said Sun Princess was the best filly he ever trained and he trained some good and very good ones: None Nicer, Highest Hopes (Champion European staying filly of 1970, beating fillies like Lupe, Sweet Mimosa and Miss Dan), Highclere (1000G and Prix de Diane), Dunfermline (Oaks and St Leger, the only horse to beat Alleged and rated by Michael Oswald as the best horse the Queen ever had; even better than Aureole whom he rated her 3rd best), Bireme (Oaks winner, and rated the best European filly of her year jointly with her stable companion, Shoot a Line, who won all the top fillies races after Bireme was sadly injured after the Oaks). An article in the RP last year about the bloke who looks after the Felsetta website said in 1982 he was visiting West Ilsley and one of the stable lads took him to see an unraced filly and said she was next year's Oaks winner.

    On going firmer than she liked she was beaten by Time Charter at Ascot. She then easily won the Yorkshire Oaks beating the Irish Oaks winner Give Thanks (who also won the Lancashire Oaks from Ski Sailing and Acclimatise). After the Leger she was strongly fancied to win the Arc but came up against a near great filly who was on an amazing thread of form, All Along ( having been a top 3yo filly, as a 4yo in a about 6 weeks she won the Arc, Washington International and the Turf Classic).

    I don't think Sun Princess was a great filly but she was pretty near to it.
     
    #64
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2018
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  5. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member
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    Nice post Bustino. And thanks for reminding me of Bireme, daughter of Grundy out of a mare by Ribot. I had high hopes of her
     
    #65
  6. Cyclonic

    Cyclonic Well Hung Member

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    An absolute stinker of a race call. In the clip below, Sun Princess isn't mentioned until the half mile. Some probably didn't get a mention during the whole event. The filly settles well back and looks to be in all white. She has a baldy face and comes widest of all.

     
    #66
  7. Bustino74

    Bustino74 Thouroughbred Breed Enthusiast

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    We'll never know how good Bireme was, as she ran only 4 races. Any year it is difficult to compare one generation with another. Shoot a Line, who was definitely the stables' 2nd or 3rd string in the Oaks was not beaten again as a 3yo. She also happened to come from the same family as Bireme and became the Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch's granddam.

    Always felt sorry for Jack Bodell. His career was blighted by the initial victory over Henry Cooper. The main cause of the problem was Harry Commentator. I was in Uni Hall the night of that fight and listened to it on the radio. The commentary was by the great Eamon Andrews and the end of round summing up from the magnificent Barrington Dalby. Andrews gave a fair commentary and Barrington had Bodell as a clear winner. If you listened to Carpenter you'd have thought it was totally the other way and that the referee had had a brainstorm. He totally ruined that referee's career.

    Carpenter's banter with Ali was always amusing but I grew up thinking thinking he was a poor judge. My father had boxed a bit and got me interested in boxing and would point out the point scoring punches. I watched a McGowan fight one day and Carpenter got it totally wrong. He also never rated whom I think for one year or so was the best boxer in the world, Ken Buchanan. Even Ali praised him, and I have no problem with Ali being the greatest.
     
    #67
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