Nijinsky 1970 Arc de Triomphe

Nijinsky loses his unbeaten record.

[@seamusfallon3104]

remains one of the truly great horses in Racing history, his name still resonates down the ages

[@philgina200]

The greatest ever flat racing horse ever to have graced a track.
Immortal

[@tropicaldan]

Shergar?

[@thomasjohnrobinson4658]

Not according to his jockey who gave that greatest label to Sir Ivor.

[@kurman4749]

@@thomasjohnrobinson4658 And when Lester was asked by Channel Four's Nick Luck what was the greatest racehorse he'd ever seen, he unhesitatingly said Sea Bird II. I agree with Lester.

[@johnlivesey7892]

I Agree with is trainer not enough time between races,plus Nijiinski was probably past is best.
But still to this day one of the best horses I have ever seen.....

[@quick46]

Main factors here
1. Stinking ride from Piggott, truly awful. O'Brien told him he should lie up, but he wasn't interested2. The horse had a hard race at Doncaster after the ringworm. He lost a lot of weight after the Leger, so O'Brien couldn't train him hard for the Arc because he was trying to put the condition back on him3. Press were all over the horse in the paddock before the race & one Japanese tv man even put a microphone near the horses mouth & his nerves were shredded by the time he got to the startTaking all this into account, he did well to finish 2ndThe Champion Stakes was a huge mistake, the Arc finished the horse & it was tragic he lost to a horse he would have picked up & carried in July of 1970.....
Great horse who went on to become a great stallion

[@keithf_]

@quick46
Great post

[@johnnywires943]

Maybe should have taken him out of the Arc due to him not being quite ready.He was a wonderful horse and a mistake like that cost him his unbeaten record.

[@suemaher5282]

Thanks for this great comment love learning of this Legedary horse.

[@laurenurban3942]

That’s what happens when a great horse is mismanaged and run when they’re not in peak condition. I hate when owners do that. I also don’t like a horse that needs 2 to 3 months between races…you know, the ones that average about 4 starts per year. That’s okay if the horse can’t handle more than that but that horse should not be considered for any championship or year end awards.

[@daxashah1506]

Arguably the most unlucky horse Nijinsky who lost by a whisker.If ridden straight he would have won the race.

[@ramierechristiane]

Un très grand moment de sport. Personnellement, j'attendais beaucoup de Gyr (4e) mais le duel entre Sassafras et Nijinsky fut extraordinaire. Ce fut aussi un beau duel entre les deux plus grands jockeys européens de l'époque, Lester Pigott et Yves Saint-Martin. A graver dans les mémoires
Merci pour cette vidéo.

[@kevinmunday5782]

He had ring worm before st .leger, Vincent o brien didn't want to run him . But owner Charles engelhard wanted the triple crown. Lester said he didn't win leger as easy as it looked. He still lost the arc in a photo to a decent horse, when obviously past his best. His final race the champion stakes was a shambles, he sweated profusely but still managed second to a vastly inferior horse. A true legend imo

[@gordonhamilton9028]

Your absolutely right in your comments. I would only add that Nijinsky lost 29lbs after his St ledger win, due to the ringworm. The Arc comes only 22 days after the St ledger....the reason no horse competes for the triple crown in recent times.

[@simonhindley65]

Engelhard got Nijinsky beaten in the Arc by insisting on going to the Leger. O'Brien knew it was the wrong move.

[@mikedavies9953]

Can you imagine a Horse today running in the ledger then the Arc the following month it would just not happen , must have been a truly great Horse winning the Guineas , Derby and the St Ledger

[@talladale]

Hasn't anyone seen the documentary 'Nijinsky' ? Lester was not good at using his whip in his left hand, and the head-on view shows Lester continually whipping with his right hand causing Nijinsky to veer left and end up halfway across the course. He must have lost at least half a length to a length doing that and he was only beaten a short head. That's what caused his defeat. Even sadder was the fact that they brought him back just three weeks later to try to redeem his reputation in the Champion Stakes. He was in a muck sweat by the time he got to the start, and was beaten into third place. A sad way to bow out. Lorenzaccio won the race.

[@keithf_]

I think he squeezed into second place in the Champion.

[@Koshkamitsu]

Nijinksy only just missed out, it's not like he wasn't right up there scrapping away. Shame that some think this made him a lesser horse, even after everything he'd accomplished beforehand.

[@nightowl7459]

It didn't make him a lesser horse, he had a long three year old campaign and was possible feeling it, a big mistake to run him in the Champion stakes after his defeat.

[@neilcarpenter2669]

Possibly the greatest racehorse of all time, when fit and healthy he was special.

[@jsilkcut]

Certainly a case of going to the well too often, but it looked like Lester mistook the winning posts- there were two at Longchamp in those days and he appears to ease up just before the actual line. Still the best horse I have seen over the years and by the way Sassafras was the French Derby winner. Forget the last two races he lost and look at what he won... a true Champion.

[@keithf_]

I agree. In over 50 years of watching horse racing, Nijinsky at his best is still the best thing I've seen on 4 legs.

[@tonymcgrath700]

You'd have thought Piggott would have learned from the awful ride he gave Park Top the previous year , gave that great mare far too much to do and did the same thing on Nijinsky

[@alansmith1989]

Yes! This was later regarded as the worst ride of Piggotts career! I'm old enough (mid 60s) to recall the `flak` the `Pig` got in both the racing press and general media at the time!

[@quick46]

@@alansmith1989 Alleged in the Leger would take some beating as the worst ride of Piggott's career in big races, he got completely suckered into chasing the pacemaker & got the horse beat for the only time in it's life by a filly he was a stone better than

[@alansmith1989]

@@quick46 That's true. Its that the 1970 Arc was such a big race and Nijinski was so good that year. Piggott later said Nijinski was past his best in the Arc. He never seemed to take any blame himself.

[@keithf_]

Alan Smith
Yes I agree with that. In the Arc, Nijinsky produced a blistering finish, but it was a poor Piggott ride, giving the horse too much to do.
And ... am I correct in remembering Nijinsky being given a bad wide draw in the Arc, as the French often do with 'foreign superstars'.
Ultimately that year Nijinsky was a very unlucky horse. Had he not have suffered ringworm in late summer he would have won the Arc in a canter and retired unbeaten. Even so, a great great horse, even today I believe undervalued by his official rating.
Yes Lester has never held his hands up and said it was a bad ride.

[@dominicmccarthy2770]

@@keithf_ Nijinsky also got beat in the Champion stakes that year

[@dinotheodorou3842]

not only was nijinsky getting over a bout of ringworm but he was sweating in the paddock as there was a legion of photographers and pressman around him before the race and I think Lester piggott did well to calm him.
Nijinsky was known to have a good temperament and on the day he had been unnerved by the amount of attention directed at him.
Nijinsky was a true legend and if he had won the arc and the other 2 races he lost, we would be putting him up there with secretariat and man o war as the best ever.

[@seamusfallon3104]

Only beaten once more, in the Champion STakes just after the Arc when a long way below his best to then retired

[@blkbruv]

i think that sir ivor was beaten fair and square by vaguely noble in 68. in 69 he openly admitted that he messed up big time on park top and on nijinsky on another day the horse would have won if he didn't veer off to the left with the race at his mercy.i believe that the horse wasn't 100% fit that day.we would be calling nijinsky the horse of the century or dare i say of all time if he had won.

[@ThefightingCelt]

He was bred in Canada. By Northern Dancer out of Flaming Page.

[@joeviner7100]

You are absolutely correct in your assessment of this race, shaffi 1. Piggott gave Nijinsky far too much to do and he had little left at the business end,but I have no doubt that the connections of Nijinsky, ultimately, were responsible for Nijinsky's defeats in his final two races. To expect a racehorse, even one as great as Nijinsky, to be kept on the go from April to the end of October, and bringing him back from 14 furlongs to race over 12 and 10 in the Champion, was asking too much of him.

[@alansmith1989]

Thankfully, Mil Reef showed `em the following year!

[@keithf_]

Nijinsky ran 8 times as a 3-y-o, which is unheard of for a superstar middle distance performer these days. Of those, 6 wins (5 Group 1's including the English Triple Crown, Irish Derby, King George), ending with 2 second places.
I don't think any other 3-y-o has won those 5 Group 1's in the same season.
So on that basis, yes he had a very busy 3-y-o campaign. But, to be fair to the owner, who could begrudge him giving the horse the chance of the Triple Crown. And the Arc was a logical step, although yes it sounds like Vincent O'Brien feared the Arc was one journey too many.
But still he was immensely unlucky in the Arc.
I still think he's the best horse I've ever seen.

[@peace-now]

Of course he would. Nijinsky is the best know and most famous European racehorse here in New Zealand (flat I mean). Red Rum is as well known.

[@an08p]

his style of running looks so much like sea the stars

[@andreaseconomides6396]

I remember that race... Nijinsky lost because there were fortunes on him.when huge amounts of money is concerned then the result is fixed.Still happens today.

[@RobinCarmody]

He had problems riding short home straights on occasions, c.f. Petite Etoile losing the 1960 King George at Ascot (available somewhere on here I think).

[@quick46]

Yes he was shit on her that day too

[@keithf_]

Not sure the Ascot home straight is particularly short. Grundy & Bustino had a right old epic fight down the home straight in the classic 1975 King George.

[@davidsheridan1699]

I remember old sassafras !

[@TheDarleyarabian]

the owner just got greedy and ruined his record by asking to much of him. the triple crown aswell as the king george an irish derby took to much out of him vincent o brien admitted that an no one knew nijinsky better. he told the owner as much. he was a fantastic horse with a great burst of speed. would of been great in any era

[@1964karlos]

The horse that beat Nijinsky, Sasafrass was well beaten by Stintino earlier that season in the prix lupin and Nijinsky had gone past Stintino at Epsom with ease so on a line through Stintino Nijinsky was clearly superior to Sasafrass and was obviously not right on Arc day..

[@keithf_]

The attack of ringworm Nijinsky suffered between the King George at Ascot and the Doncaster St Leger certainly took its toll. He completed the Triple Crown ok at Doncaster, but was not quite the same horse after that.
But very unlucky not to win the Arc. (I assume the French gave him a rotten wide draw in the Arc, as they always do with foreign top horses).
Had he won the Arc he would have retired there and then, an unbeaten true equine superstar.

[@csracingreport2024]

Did GRAHAM GOODE call this Arc 4 ITV or the BBC the "day of" or is this a later " Re - Do" / Voice Over? I recall he was a backup 4 either ITV later 2 become Channel 4 and/ or the BBC... C Simms from the CSR Report asking any 1 w/ Info from the US ...

[@stephenmcwilliams5842]

It sounds like a voice-over.

[@thomasjohnrobinson4658]

Sassafras owned by Madam Plesch who also owned the Dick Hern trained Derby Winner Henbit.

[@FORESTDONS]

It should be the other way around.

[@valerysandy7563]

Yves Saint Martin,
sa safran 🥇.
Nijinsky 🥈

[@tigerarmyrule]

Lester is the greatest big race jockey ever. No argument no discussion but this was a poor effort by The Maestro's unequalled standards.

[@williammitchell9974]

Open Minded( Does Lester Get Thee Winning Post Wrong) All Said Thee Best Be Nijinsky☝️👏💯🌟

[@gonfalon]

Did he even lose?

[@Jeanemilr-hn7tj]

J' étais présent,
SASSAFRAS, 10 JOURS PLUS TÔT,
REMPORTAIT, LE '' ROYAL OAK ''
SUR 3100M.A ''MAISONS-LAFFITTE' 'CHEVAL DUR, VAINQUEUR DU '' DERBY FRANCAIS. IL NE MERITAIT PAS LES 17/1,
UNE FOIS DE PLUS,
YVES SAINT MARTIN,
DONNA UNE LECON A LESTER PIGGOTT.

[@sicks6six]

Piggott is one of the most stubborn riders of all time, I admired his skill but not him, if he had listened to the trainer Nijinsky would have finished a champion, not an also-ran, I loved this horse and it was Red Rum who replaced him for me, they were the housewifes choices for the big races,

[@grincher2006]

stewards enquiry please

[@laurenurban3942]

Great horse, Nijinsky. Should have been retired by this time.

[@leerobinson3586]

Lester was jailed lol

[@user-zp3qc8qf9g]

Dancing Brave best horse ever

[@boomdocker100]

bbb