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Who is the fastest horse alive?
Many people considered it to be Chinook Pass until his death in 2010. Laffit Pincay Jr. rode Chinook Pass eight times. While Pincay has called Affirmed the greatest horse he ever rode, he has referred to Chinook Pass as the “fastest horse I ever rode,” meaning, of course, the best sprinter.
Chinook Pass was voted an Eclipse Award in 1983 as America’s champion sprinter. As a 3-year-old in 1982, he sped five furlongs at Longacres in :55 1/5 to set a world record. While that no longer is a world record, it remains an American record, meaning Chinook Pass still has run the fastest five furlongs on the dirt in the history of racing in the United States.
On Dec. 26, 1982, opening day of the winter-spring Santa Anita meet, Chinook Pass zipped six furlongs in 1:07 3/5 to win the Palos Verdes Handicap by three lengths against under Pincay
Leon Rasmussen, the esteemed bloodlines columnist for the Daily Racing Form, was in the press box when 3-year-old Chinook Pass blitzed older foes in the Palos Verdes.
“I sure wish we would not have had to turn in our votes for the Eclipse Awards already,” Rasmussen said to me. “If I could, I’d switch my vote to Chinook Pass. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s the best sprinter in the country based on what I just saw.”
Back then, before computers, when all Eclipse ballots were submitted by mail, people had to vote prior to the end of the year.
It turned out that a 3-year-old was voted the Eclipse as champion sprinter of 1982. But it wasn’t Chinook Pass. It was a filly, Gold Beauty. I voted for Gold Beauty. But like Rasmussen, after the Palos Verdes, I probably would have voted for Chinook Pass if the deadline had not already passed.
To be perfectly candid, even if Eclipse Award balloting in 1982 had been permitted through the end of the year, as it is these days, Gold Beauty probably still would have been voted champion sprinter, mainly because of what she accomplished in New York. She won the Grade II Test at Saratoga (yes, it was a Grade II back then) and Grade II Fall Highweight Handicap by six lengths at Belmont Park against older males. Gold Beauty won six of seven starts in 1982.
Chinook Pass would go on to win five stakes races in 1983, all with Hall of Famer Pincay in the saddle.
Shortly after Chinook Pass’ death, I received an e-mail from Kevin Modesti, who has written about racing for the Los Angeles Daily News for many years. Modesti asked me who I thought was the fastest horse alive now that Chinook Pass had died.
I told Modesti that was a very good question and I did not have a definitive answer. After thinking it over, I said I probably would go with Artax, who was voted the Eclipse as champion sprinter of 1999.
Artax won his final three starts of 1999. He ran seven furlongs at Belmont Park in an excellent 1:21 3/5 to win the Grade I Vosburgh Stakes by 3 1 1/2 lengths. Next, he zipped six furlongs at Belmont in 1:07 3/5 to take the Grade II Forest Hills Handicap by 6 1/2 lengths. And in his final start of 1999, Artax stepped six furlongs at Gulfstream Park in 1:07 4/5 to prevail by a half-length in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He broke Gulfstream’s six-furlong track record set by Mr. Prospector in 1973.
Artax posted Beyer Speed Figures of 111 in the Vosburgh, 123 in the Forest Hills and 124 in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Earlier in 1999, Artax recorded a 123 Beyer when he won the Grade I, seven-furlong Carter Handicap at Aqueduct by 3 1/4 lengths.
Those certainly are impressive times and Beyer Speed Figures. Andrew Beyer wrote in the 2004 American Racing Manual that Artax was the fastest sprinter from 1992 through 2003, with three of the six best sprint Beyers during that time.
In addition to Artax’s victories, he also is remembered for an unsual incident in 1999. In the Maryland Breeders’ Cup Handicap on May 15, the day of the Preakness, Lee Chang Ferrell ran onto the track as the horses were coming down the stretch. Ferrell attempted to throw a punch at Artax, who finished fifth after having the misfortune of being impeded by a fan with a furlong to run.
On Jan. 9 of this year, Michael Burns reported for the Thoroughbred Times that Artax died on Jan. 8 due to complications from colic at Porto Alegre Veterinary Hospital in Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil.
When I read the news that Artax had died, I once again thought about the question, “Who is the fastest horse alive?”
But what, exactly, does that really mean? Is the fastest horse alive a Quarter Horse? Is the fastest horse alive a Thoroughbred sprinter? Does it have to be a sprinter? Does it have to be a horse who has raced on dirt? Or can it be a grass horse?
While I really can’t say for sure who currently is the fastest horse alive (excluding Quarter Horses), here are six candidates that I have come up with, listed in alphabetical order:
BLACK CAVIAR (Active): Is the “fastest horse alive” an Australian mare who has raced only on the grass? Perhaps. Black Caviar is 16 for 16, all in grass sprints.
CIGAR (Retired): Voted Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996 and regarded by many as the Horse of the Decade for the 1990s, Cigar currently is enjoying a life of leisure at the Kentucky Horse Park. He registered Beyer Speed Figures afrom 111 to 121 in 17 of his last 18 starts in this country. To consider Cigar “the fastest horse alive,” one must buy into the notion that “the fastest horse alive” doesn’t necessarily have to be a sprinter. Cigar only sprinted twice, the first two starts of his career. After he finished seventh when unveiled at Santa Anita, he ran six furlongs in a quick 1:09 2/5 to win a maiden race at Hollywood Park.
COMMENTATOR (Retired): At his best, Commentator recorded some very big Beyer Speed Figures at a variety of distances. He posted Beyers of 123 and 120 at 1 1/8 miles. He earned a 121 Beyer at seven furlongs. And he recorded a 119 Beyer at one mile.
In the 2009 Racing Manual, Beyer wrote: “Although Curlin’s overall achievements in Grade I company justifiably earned him the sport’s top honor [as 2008 Horse of the Year], he never ran a race as fast as Commentator’s best. As a 3-year-old [in 2007], Curlin recorded a Beyer Speed Figure of 119 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and because Thoroughbreds usually improve from 3 to 4, he appeared to have almost limitless potential. Curlin did score a smashing early-season victory in the Dubai World Cup, but when he came back home his performances were all subpar, by his lofty standards.”
FORMAL GOLD (Retired): As far as I know, Formal Gold is still alive and thus qualifies as a candidate for being the “fastest horse alive.” After standing at stud in California, Formal Gold in 2010 was relocated to Pierre Esquirol’s Esquirol Farms in Alberta, Canada.
In the 2004 Racing Manual, Beyer wrote: “The Beyer Speed Figures were incorporated into Daily Racing Form past performances in 1992. Their principal purpose is to aid bettors in everyday handicapping by answering the question, ‘Who is faster than whom?’ But by providing an objective measurement of horses’ ability, the numbers also make possible the comparison of horses from different generations.
“During the 12 years the Beyer Speed Figures have been published, the most celebrated horses were Cigar, Holy Bull and Skip Away. But the top performer — from the standpoint of all figures — was a horse who never earned a single championship or the acclaim he deserved: Formal Gold.
“In 1997, as a 4-year-old, Formal Gold recorded Beyer Speed Figures of 126, 124 and 125 in consecutive races — three of the highest numbers from 1992 to 2003. This remarkable streak wasn’t Formal Gold’s distinction: he had won his career debut [a six-furlong maiden race by 18 3/4 lengths at Monmouth Park] with a figure of 112 — the best ever earned by a first-time starter.”
On March 19, 2011, a first-time starter finally recorded a higher Beyer Speed Figure than 112. Maclean’s Music ran six furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:07.44 to win by 7 1/4 lengths while earning a 114 Beyer. Maclean’s Music has not raced again since that scintillating debut.
FRANKEL (Active): The “fastest horse alive” just might be a grass horse in Europe. The brilliant Frankel is nine for nine. His wins have all come in seven-furlong or one-mile races. As a 3-year-old in 2011, Frankel won four Group I races and one Group III event. In three of his Group I triumphs last year, Frankel was dazzling to win by four, five and six lengths.
GHOSTZAPPER (Retired): From a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint, Ghostzapper manage to exceed even the likes of Cigar, Curlin, Commentator, Holy Bull and Skip Away. Ghostzapper was voted 2004 Horse of the Year. In the 2005 Racing Manual, Beyer wrote: “As he compiled a perfect record in four starts during 2004, Ghostzapper did more than earn an Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year. He established himself as the fastest American Thoroughbred in many, many years.
“When the Bobby Frankel-trained colt captured the Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park, he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 128 — the highest number recorded since these ratings were incorporated into Daily Racing Form’s past performances in 1992.
“At the time, some questioned the accuracy of the figure. Ghostzapper had not yet established himself as a major star in the sport, and he accomplished the feat over a sloppy track in a four-horse field.
“Ultimately it was Ghostzapper himself who verified the legitimacy of his historic speed figre. When he completed his season by leading all the way to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Lone Star Park, he earned another spectacular number, a 124, surpassing every Breeders’ Cup performance since 1992. He equaled Sunday Silence’s 124 in the 1989 Classic, before the Beyer Speed Figures had been introduced into the DRF.”
PAUL FREY PASSES AWAY
Kyle Frey, who turned 20 on Jan. 3, accepted the Eclipse Award last Monday evening as outstanding apprentice jockey of 2011.
“I want to thank my grandfather, who passed away a few days ago,” an emotional Frey said. “This is for him.”
Frey was referring to Paul Frey, who died of pneumonia on Jan. 14 at Sanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.
As I mentioned last week, Paul Frey was one of the most successful riders in the history of racing in the Pacific Northwest. He won 2,478 races during a riding career that began in 1953 and ended in 1972.
While I was growing up, my father and a good friend of his, Gene Knudsen, would spend many nights talking about horse racing. From time to time, they would get into a pretty heated argument about who was the better rider, Paul Frey or Lennie Knowles, just as a couple of baseball fans might debate who was the better hitter, Ted Williams or Joe Dimaggio.
Paul Frey was the leading jockey at Longacres in 1964 and 1966. In the history of that track from 1933 until it closed in 1992, he won 810 races to rank fourth, behind Gary Baze (1,538), Lennie Knowles (1,263) and Larry Pierce (1,039) and ahead of such accomplished riders as Vicky Baze (754), Gary Boulanger (642) and Hall of Famer Gary Stevens (524).
After Paul Frey won 1963 California Derby aboard On My Honor, they finished fourth at 30-1 in the Kentucky Derby. Chateaugay (ridden by Braulio Baeza) won, with Never Bend (Manny Ycaza) second and Candy Spots (Bill Shoemaker) third.
Frey won the biggest race in the Northwest for 3-year-olds, the Longacres Derby, on Sparrow Castle in 1960. He also was the regular rider of a local favorite, Lak Nak, a multiple stakes winner at Longacres. Lak Nak and Frey twice competed in the most prestigious race in the region, the Longacres Mile. They finished fourth in 1965 and third in 1966.
I saw my first Longacres Mile in 1967. Before the race, Lak Nak, who recently had been retired from racing, paraded on the track with Paul Frey in the saddle before being honored in a special ceremony in the winner’s circle.
How sad that Paul Frey passed away just two days before he would have been able to see his grandson receive an Eclipse Award.
