In the last 40 years there's been some top races with brilliant horses- Shergar's Derby, El Gran Senor's Guineas, Dancing Brave's Arc and many others....but nothing comes close to this. This is Nijinsky showing why he is a legend.
@Stephen Small Can't agree. What I will say is that GF had the potential to be more successful than Njinsky. Do you think GF would have beaten Kalaglow in the King George? Course he would have. Eddery would have been looking over his shoulder with 2 furlongs to go. Would he have beaten Akiyda in the Arc? Beyond doubt. I rate GF as one of the best Derby winners I have ever seen, but sadly injury prevented him realising his potential. That's why I think Nijinsky was O'Brien's best, whereas Golden Fleece is only what might have been.
@Stephen Small Eddery would probably have agreed with you - Piggot not so much. Just a shame that injury curtailed what I think would have been a glorious career.
i absolutely love this race he gets it spot on "what a horse this is hes trotted up" theres nothing better than watching a horse cruise past class horses without effort. nijinsky was brilliant. one of my favourites
You had to be there of course (40 odd years ago)... but listen to O'Sullivan this is a class field and Nijinsky makes it look easy.Possibly the best horse I've ever seen, unbeaten till the Arc where he must have been knackered! Never seemed to win flashy just very smooth.
I completely agree. He lost his Arc by running in the St Leger and apparently lost 31lbs after the race. He was over the top by Arc day, no doubt and by the Champion Stakes he was totally gone. And remember he had a dose of ringworm shortly before the Leger which put a stop to his training and must haven taken a great deal out of him.
This was as easy a King George win you'll see. Had Nijinsky won the Arc, he would have then been retired with no defeats - and would have been hailed as horse of the century. As it happens, after his Arc defeat, Vincent O'Brien tried to redeem the great horse's reputation by winning the Champion Stakes at Newmarket a fortnight later. He lost. Such a shame, as he was a magnificent racehorse.
Best 12f horse i have ever seen, although his timeform rating of 138, does not fully reflect his brilliance, as he was never extended when he was at his absolute peak, as lester's riding style of holding him up to effortlessly cruise past the opposition in the last furlong rarely saw him win by more than a few lengths. The only winner of the English triple crown in the last 77 years says it all. Skipping the St Ledger for just the Arc would almost certainly had seen him retire undefeated.
When he ran in the Arc, he had just recovered from bad bout of ringworm and was well below par, but still only got beat by Sassafras by a length..The huge mistake was the madness to run him at Ascot in the Champion Stakes. Th horse was done by then, and it was horrible to see such a great racehorse get beaten by an inferior horse. Why do they do it? Is it greed?
I've never believed it was greed that made them run in the Champion. I think they ran cos they wanted the horse to bow out with a win. Note :- I'm assuming here that the decision had already been made that the Champion would be his final race. But I don't know that for certain.
@bigttim1 I love Dancing Brave but Nijinsky would have had too much for him. DB took too long to get going. Both Nijinsky and Mill Reef were better. DB was a fabulous horse. i love him. However those two were absolute superstars with efforteless ability.
When Lester saw him in the paddock for the Arc, he knew it wasn't the same Nijinsky, especially the day of the champions stakes he couldn't believe how bad Nijinsky looked.
To give this horse a 138 rating was shameful. Considering that Harbinger got a 140 rating. Harbinger ran a great race in the KG but he did not achieve anything close to what Nijinsky did. Nijinsky should be 141+ IMO.
I totally agree but unfortunately Timeform can only rate what they see and not what they think the horse can do. Nijinsky was easily worth 141-142 in my book.
I Know people will disagree and argue,but in my opinion what got him beat in the Arc was Lester! after a hard season going from country to country and performing at his best Lester give him far to much to do,He would have been unbeaten but for that ride.
I am in agreement about timeform that it is ill judged. however what do you think about the International classifications that started in the 70's that have Dancing Brave at the top on 141 for a 3yo. regards
great comment about timeform its an absolute joke. theyre obviously clueless with some of there rankings.harbinger above nijinsky hahahaha he won one group 1 race against a piss poor field. and gets 140.
In the last 40 years there's been some top races with brilliant horses- Shergar's Derby, El Gran Senor's Guineas, Dancing Brave's Arc and many others....but nothing comes close to this. This is Nijinsky showing why he is a legend.
@Stephen Small Easily the best. Sir Ivor and Alleged not in the same league as Nijinsky.
@Stephen Small Can't agree. What I will say is that GF had the potential to be more successful than Njinsky. Do you think GF would have beaten Kalaglow in the King George? Course he would have. Eddery would have been looking over his shoulder with 2 furlongs to go. Would he have beaten Akiyda in the Arc? Beyond doubt. I rate GF as one of the best Derby winners I have ever seen, but sadly injury prevented him realising his potential. That's why I think Nijinsky was O'Brien's best, whereas Golden Fleece is only what might have been.
@Stephen Small Eddery would probably have agreed with you - Piggot not so much. Just a shame that injury curtailed what I think would have been a glorious career.
The best son to come out of Canadian champion stud Northern Dancer truly talented
One of the most charismatic horses of all time. The horse who so nearly won it all !!
i absolutely love this race he gets it spot on "what a horse this is hes trotted up" theres nothing better than watching a horse cruise past class horses without effort. nijinsky was brilliant. one of my favourites
Probably Nijinsky’s best performance. Rarely if ever has a horse won the king George without even getting out of second gear.
Shergar is the only other one that comes to mind , I never have seen a horse destroy a field like him with ease .
Nijinsky is the wonderful horse that got me completely hooked into flat racing
Me too. He was a truly great horse.
My all time favourite !!!!!
Mine too. Very very unlucky not to retire undefeated, as one if the very best middle distance horses of all time. He was just a magnificent racehorse.
You had to be there of course (40 odd years ago)... but listen to O'Sullivan this is a class field and Nijinsky makes it look easy.Possibly the best horse I've ever seen, unbeaten till the Arc where he must have been knackered! Never seemed to win flashy just very smooth.
The best no triple crown winner since
I completely agree. He lost his Arc by running in the St Leger and apparently lost 31lbs after the race. He was over the top by Arc day, no doubt and by the Champion Stakes he was totally gone. And remember he had a dose of ringworm shortly before the Leger which put a stop to his training and must haven taken a great deal out of him.
What a powerful beast he was.. We rarely see his like anymore..
What they put this horse through in his condition was horrible. This was a brilliant horse.
This was as easy a King George win you'll see. Had Nijinsky won the Arc, he would have then been retired with no defeats - and would have been hailed as horse of the century. As it happens, after his Arc defeat, Vincent O'Brien tried to redeem the great horse's reputation by winning the Champion Stakes at Newmarket a fortnight later. He lost. Such a shame, as he was a magnificent racehorse.
The greatest horse in the past 40 years... End of story
Just a well bred monster if a horse! All class!
Best 12f horse i have ever seen, although his timeform rating of 138, does not fully reflect his brilliance, as he was never extended when he was at his absolute peak, as lester's riding style of holding him up to effortlessly cruise past the opposition in the last furlong rarely saw him win by more than a few lengths.
The only winner of the English triple crown in the last 77 years says it all.
Skipping the St Ledger for just the Arc would almost certainly had seen him retire undefeated.
One of the greats. A sick horse in his last two runs. Sad.
It is great to see these famous races. Thanks
He would have won the Arc if Lester had have given him a chance and not have thought he was on a jet fighter.
greatest racehorse of all time without question
One great, great racehorse - they asked too much of him - with a rest he would have won the arc, champion stakes and if kept in training a lot more.
When he ran in the Arc, he had just recovered from bad bout of ringworm and was well below par, but still only got beat by Sassafras by a length..The huge mistake was the madness to run him at Ascot in the Champion Stakes. Th horse was done by then, and it was horrible to see such a great racehorse get beaten by an inferior horse. Why do they do it? Is it greed?
I've never believed it was greed that made them run in the Champion. I think they ran cos they wanted the horse to bow out with a win.
Note :- I'm assuming here that the decision had already been made that the Champion would be his final race. But I don't know that for certain.
@bigttim1 I love Dancing Brave but Nijinsky would have had too much for him. DB took too long to get going. Both Nijinsky and Mill Reef were better. DB was a fabulous horse. i love him. However those two were absolute superstars with efforteless ability.
This is my geldings great grandad :)
I own Nijinsky's great grabnson!!
The Best
trust me he was a monster....
When Lester saw him in the paddock for the Arc, he knew it wasn't the same Nijinsky, especially the day of the champions stakes he couldn't believe how bad Nijinsky looked.
Exactly, I rest my case. Poor horse was done.
So easy!❤
I own a great grandson of his, Painters Lad ^^
To give this horse a 138 rating was shameful. Considering that Harbinger got a 140 rating. Harbinger ran a great race in the KG but he did not achieve anything close to what Nijinsky did. Nijinsky should be 141+ IMO.
Totally agree. How can Harbinger get a rating above Nijinsky, on the strength of one wonderful performance.
I totally agree but unfortunately Timeform can only rate what they see and not what they think the horse can do. Nijinsky was easily worth 141-142 in my book.
I Know people will disagree and argue,but in my opinion what got him beat in the Arc was Lester! after a hard season going from country to country and performing at his best Lester give him far to much to do,He would have been unbeaten but for that ride.
I agree. It wasn't Lester Piggott's finest ride.
Plus of course the customary poor 'draw' given to non-French trained favoured runners in the Arc.
I always wondered by how many length's would he have won on most of his races if he was pushed hard to the post.
I am in agreement about timeform that it is ill judged. however what do you think about the International classifications that started in the 70's that have Dancing Brave at the top on 141 for a 3yo. regards
great comment about timeform its an absolute joke. theyre obviously clueless with some of there rankings.harbinger above nijinsky hahahaha he won one group 1 race against a piss poor field. and gets 140.