Wonderful horse. One of the very best. Some great memories - good and bad. His close defeat of Sunline in the Caulfield Stakes. That Australian Cup. His Caulfield Guineas win. A couple of poor rides come to mind where the jockey badly misjudged the pace of the race and set him an impossible task.

In fact sticking to the theme of the thread, here are my top 10 Caulfield Guineas winners since I started following racing around the mid-late 70's

Lonhro and Manikato were the two to go on and win the most Group 1's (or in Manikato's case, the most Principal Races) and would be the two I rate the highest.

2019	Super Seth (AUS) 2016
2018	The Autumn Sun (AUS) 2015
2017	Mighty Boss (AUS) 2014
2016	Divine Prophet (AUS) 2013
2015	Press Statement (AUS) 2012
2014	Shooting To Win (AUS) 2011
2013	Long John (AUS) 2010
2012	All Too Hard (AUS) 2009
2011	Helmet (AUS) 2008
2010	Anacheeva (AUS) 2007
2009	Starspangledbanner (AUS) 2006
2008	Whobegotyou (AUS) 2005
2007	Weekend Hussler (AUS) 2004
2006	Wonderful World (AUS) 2003
2005	God's Own (AUS) 2002
2004	Econsul (NZ) 2001
2003	In Top Swing (AUS) 2000
2002	Helenus (AUS) 1999
2001	Lonhro (AUS) 1998
2000	Show A Heart (AUS) 1997
1999	Redoute's Choice (AUS) 1996
1998	Kenwood Melody (AUS) 1995
1997	Encounter (AUS) 1994
1996	Alfa (AUS) 1993
1995	Our Maizcay (AUS) 1992
1994	St. Covet (AUS) 1991
1993	Mahogany (AUS) 1990
1992	Palace Reign (AUS) 1989
1991	Chortle (AUS) 1988
1990	Centro (NZ) 1987
1989	Procol Harum (NZ) 1986
1988	Vitalic (AUS) 1985
1987	Marwong (AUS) 1984
1986	Abaridy (AUS) 1983
1985	Drawn (AUS) 1982
1984	Red Anchor (NZ) 1981
1983	Beechcraft (NZ) 1980
1982	Grosvenor (NZ) 1979
1981	Binbinga (AUS) 1978
1980	Sovereign Red (NZ) 1977
1979	Runaway Kid (AUS) 1976
1978	Manikato (AUS) 1975
1977	Luskin Star (AUS) 1974
1976	Surround (NZ) 1973

It really is a race of champions and Lonhro was one of the very best. Good race for future sires as well.

Looking through the list of earlier winners you have Artilleryman, Heroic, Ajax, Tulloch, Time And Tide, Storm Queen, Vain.

Notable absentees include Phar Lap and Kingston Town - the King was 3rd to Runaway Kid and Phar Lap had his lead up to the Vic Derby in the Craven Plate beating another champion in Mollison.

Hard to disagree with those PP.  Wily is right, so many great horses!

Even looking through the early 70s you add Dual Choice, Sobar and Grand Cidium (which was such a promising horse), then the 60s with the under-appreciated Time and Tide as well as Storm Queen and Vain, while Star Affair (which beat Tobin Bronze) and Rajah Sahib had impressive records. 

What about Black Caviar?

She drew next to Here De Angels one day in a Moonee Valley sprint and the connections complained that Here De Angels had bad barrier manners (way overstated) and threatened to scratch BC.

Unbelievably they put Here De Angels to an outside barrier!!

My memory is they left a vacant barrier between the two but didn't alter the order.

You are correct, but as the CM report said, it was an extraordinary step - you just don't do that sort of thing.

If you do, then down the track people (like me) have the right to point out the fact she was given favouritism.

STEWARDS have taken the extraordinary step of reallocating the starting gate of noted barrier rogue Here De Angels which will protect champion Black Caviar from potential harm at Moonee Valley.

Here De Angels drew the outside of the five-horse field in Saturday's Group Two Schweppes Stakes (1200m) but will now start in barrier six with an empty gate between him and Black Caviar in barrier four.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/steards-shift-starting-gate-of-here-de-angels-to-protect-black-caviar/news-story/2612c4fbc4753f2112b6d49e518154f5

Here De Angels was then trained by Wendy Roche who recently won the Doncaster with her good mare Nettoyer.

HDA ran 2nd to BC beaten 2.25 lengths - one could cynically argue it should have been closer. 


I'm being tough on what we describe as top 10. Top 10 horses are racing in better races than 5 horse G2 MV sprints where the stewards are giving her a leg up 

Luskin Star, Black Caviar - not deserving of top 10 status. Happy to cop discussion otherwise. 

Funny how you take pot shots at BC etc and then don’t want to discuss Super and Bluey’s issues raised by many on this forum with consistency and  getting regularly beaten by Vo or at set weights or not winning in some states etc. Even Lonhro was weak at times, never won a handicap or a Cox Plate, or raced over 2400m but considered a champion by miler / middle distance by people.

Top Ten Europe (flat racing)

The Top Ten Europe (flat racing) was selected from those horses that raced in the modern era of flat horse racing which I have taken to align with the running of the first Melbourne Cup in 1861. 

...

Pretty Polly (IRE) 1901 (mare)
24 starts: 22 wins (8 x G1 later), 2 seconds, 0 thirds,  Win % 91.7, Place % 100.0
Champion filly who won the English Fillies Triple Crown and won in open company as 4 and 5 year old winning 8 races later classified as group 1 races.

The Criterion Stakes is about to be run at Newmarket.

When it was a race for 2 year olds it was won by Pretty Polly way back in 1903.

Horse Racing Planet’s current Top 10 a

https://horseracingplanet.com/the-worlds-top-20-horse-racing/

1.   Enable  6m  John Gosden (GB)  Nathaniel (IRE)
Ghaiyyath beats Enable: here’s the Coral-Eclipse takeaway – race of season
2.   Ghaiyyath 5h Charlie Appleby (UAE) Dubawi (IRE)
Ghaiyyath beats Enable in race of the season: here’s the Coral-Eclipse takeaway
3.   Almond Eye 5m Sakae Kunieda (JPN) Lord Kanaloa (JPN)
Arc entries: Deirdre the sole Japanese name with Almond Eye and Contrail absent
4.   Stradivarius 6h John Gosden (GB) Sea The Stars (IRE)
5.   Maximum Security 4c Bob Baffert (USA) New Year’s Day (USA)
Saudi Cup: Maximum Security inquiry held up by coronavirus – set to run in G2 San Diego Hcap on July 18 at Del Mar
6.   Battaash 6g  Charlie Hills (GB)  Dark Angel (GB)
Royal Ascot Day 1: here’s the takeaway as Battaash blitzes them behind closed doors
Kieren Fallon: Golden Pal can defeat Battaash in Nunthorpe showdown
7.   Magical 5m Aidan O’Brien (IRE) Galileo (IRE)
8.   Midnight Bisou 5m Steve Asmussen (USA) Midnight Lute (USA)
She’s amazing, she’s really special: she’s Midnight Bisou and she’s back in business
9.   Contrail 3c Yoshito Yahagi (JPN) Deep Impact (JPN)
Star colt Contrail powers away in Japanese Derby – but connections rule out Arc bid
10.   Love 3f Aidan O’Brien (IRE) Galileo (IRE)
A ‘freebie’ for Serpentine, Kameko to cut back, Triple Crown for Love? Here’s the Derby takeaway

They also have Nature Strip at 12 and Beauty Generation at 18.  I would like to see how Contrail goes in the end of year races before considering him for a top 10 spot.  Ditto for Love. 

Cheers