EC1
On a break
No but I've seen the tapes and most of the horses were donkeys lets be fair
how did you measure the level of donkeyism?
No but I've seen the tapes and most of the horses were donkeys lets be fair
Great you put up figures 212 191 to prove your point but ignore the figures that say Kauto Star was far superior to Denman.ARKLE 212 KAUTO STAR 191
E.O.S
Now as I have said before...this is an Arkle Appreciation Thread...by all means set up your own one about your inferior star if you wish.
Then I will set one up about his superior stablemate,Denman !
Denman could have posted a higher rating than Kauto Star did had he not suffered from his debilitating heart problem and was thus unable to fulfill the obvious potential he had shown when being unbeaten over fences beforehand.
Denman still beat Kauto Star three times out of the four they met irrespective of that and when comparing both of them at their very best,Denman remains the better racehorse.
If Kauto Star had suffered from the same problem post the 2008 Gold Cup then he would never have performed anywhere near as well as he did thereafter ,and ,even then he was still beaten too many times and pulled up twice too !
Those are the facts of the matter.
You'll have some fookin job explaining how on earth you come up with Denman was Kauto's superior.
Over all Kauto was different class to Denam who was never asked to take on the best away from Cheltenham that was left to his much superior, winner of 5 King George's, stable companion.
The ratings mean nothing...
what conditions would mean that Arkle had to give so much weight though?..that seems more like a handicap race
Indeed so, a conditions race (conditions differ in such races and are not standard) in which one horse has to concede so much might justifiably be seen as a handicap (and of course handicaps are ‘conditions’ races of sorts themselves).
In fact Arkle was so dominant that he brought about an unprecedented change of rules in his sport. In Ireland, authorities decided to use two distinct weight systems in the Irish Grand National to level the competition – one when he was racing and one when he was not. Even with this rule change Arkle still won the 1964 Irish Grand National, despite giving two and a half stone to the rest of the field with most forced out of the handicap proper.
Yes but put arkle in today scheme of things I'm certain they wouldn't of changed the weights for him in today races !!!
I know this wasn't addressed to me but as I've mentioned many times in the past the comparison is to a large extent meaningless.
Denman proved superior to Kauto at Cheltenham and was a powerful carrier of weight, but would likely not have matched Kauto round Kempton (although I would have liked to have seen it), where Kauto was brilliant.
However neither were in Arkle's bracket. Arkle didn’t carry less than 12 stone in his last 19 races. Rated 212 in 1965/66. The most he carried was 12st 10lb in the Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup in which he was beaten a length in third. He ran 26 times over fences: won 22, 2nd 2, 3rd 2. In 1964 he beat Mill House in the Hennessy Gold Cup by 10 lengths under 12st 7lb and beat Mill House 20 lengths in the 1965 Gold Cup. Stalbridge Colonist beat him half a length in receipt of 35lb in the 1966 Hennessy Gold Cup. Six horses finished in front of him in steeplechases and five of those were in receipt of upwards of 21lb.
I have never denied Arkle his rightful place at the top of the ratings but ask yourelf this. Of all his opponents how many won 5 King George's and 2 Gold Cups or even came close to achieving anything remotely like that.
No one on this forum knows What A Myth better than I did I backed him in ever race he ever ran in, The horse was my hero as a kid but he wasn't within a stone of Kauto Star and neither was Stalbridge Colonist.
This thread starter has Arkle beating Kauto Star 20 lengths round Kempton which is the biggest load of tripe ever written.
Kauto's performance in 2008 was breathtaking and for Arkle to have beaten him that sort of distance he'd have to have run faster than Frankel over the last mile.
To beat Kauto by 20 lengths in 2008 Arkle would need to have recorded a time of roughly 5 mins 37 seconds. When Arkle won the King George his time was 6mins 9.2 seconds . Both races were run on good ground. In 4 of his King George's Kauto did a faster time than Arkle and a couple of those were on good to soft and on good to soft again he was only 2 seconds slower than Arkle.
We can't really judge the quality of the opposition each faced but we can look at times and say if it were once Kauto did a better time that is one thing but when he did it 4 times you have to sit up and ask just how superior actually was Arkle...... I reckon superior for sure but nowhere near what the Timefor figures suggest,,,,,,not even close.
It's one thing celebrating Arkle as saying he was the greatest steeplechaser of all time very few will argue but it's another thing completely being so fanatical about it you resort to spouting complete garbage.
Did the KG have the same prestige in those days? (IE did the very best of the rest try to win it?) It's clear that if Arkle hadn't run in his Gold Cups, we'd be hailing the winners as greats of their time.I have never denied Arkle his rightful place at the top of the ratings but ask yourelf this. Of all his opponents how many won 5 King George's and 2 Gold Cups or even came close to achieving anything remotely like that.
Fanciful, maybe, but tripe? If people believe Kauto was 191 and Arkle 212 at their best - and Kauto's best was round Kempton whereas we can only guess if Arkle's very best form was recorded at the track - then those 21lbs would equate in theory to 28 lengths. Maybe Arkle didn't produce his very best in the race (although it's possible he did, if he could run so well at Sandown) but 20 lengths is 15lbs so Arkle would 'only' need to be 206 to do the job.This thread starter has Arkle beating Kauto Star 20 lengths round Kempton which is the biggest load of tripe ever written.
This is a red herring. You cannot compare times like this. After all, the handicapper Knockroe ran the 12f at Epsom faster than Sea Bird carrying more weight. You only need to look at track record holders at a random selection of tracks to see the actual race time is meaningless. Red Rum, in catching Crisp, took a huge chunk off the track record and people thought it would stand for ever. A number of years later, Mr Frisk took something like another 30s off the record. This doesn't mean winners before Red Rum were incapable of running that fast. They just didn't have to. Arkle didn't have to run any faster than he did but it doesn't mean he couldn't have if he had to.To beat Kauto by 20 lengths in 2008 Arkle would need to have recorded a time of roughly 5 mins 37 seconds. When Arkle won the King George his time was 6mins 9.2 seconds . Both races were run on good ground. In 4 of his King George's Kauto did a faster time than Arkle and a couple of those were on good to soft and on good to soft again he was only 2 seconds slower than Arkle.
Firstly, Kauto didn't run to 191 that year. If he did Alberta's Run would have run to 185, some way above his level. The conclusion has to be that the ground was faster than just good. Secondly, 20lbs doesn't equate to 20s over 3m. It's more like 4s. I reckon on fast ground, a smart handicapper could run in the low 3m50s round Kempton.To beat Kauto by 20 lengths in 2008 Arkle would need to have recorded a time of roughly 5 mins 37 seconds.
Did the KG have the same prestige in those days? (IE did the very best of the rest try to win it?) It's clear that if Arkle hadn't run in his Gold Cups, we'd be hailing the winners as greats of their time.
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The KG has always been held in high regard. One only has to look back at he history and line ups for that to be confirmed.