Top Ten Forgotten Horses
Everyday, we at Nostalgic Horse will highlight the career of a horse we feel never got the recognition they deserved. Feel free to send us your favorite underdog. We just may select them next!
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Don on 03 Aug 2007 at 12:21 pm #
The site is looking good. Reading the bit about Noor, I had a couple of thoughts. I completely agree with you that he was a better horse…at the time they met…than Citation. It is doubtful, though, that he could have out performed Calumet’s colt in 1948…especially if he had been of the same disposition as was reported from Great Britain. Showing the same kind of inclinations that had cost his sire, Nasrullah, a number of races, and perhaps a classic win, he was a monster to deal with at three…raging against his handlers and skylarking through his races. What changed his outlook, once he reached the Howard stable, I can’t even guess at. Citation was never the same horse, after 1948, but he indeed was a capable performer…and the fact that Noor could take his measure was outstanding. I’m not too inclined to give him a lot of kudos, though, for having beaten Assault. King Ranch had stood Assault for a couple of years, without any success, and thought returning him to the track might change his attitude about the breeding shed. Like a number of members of his tail male line he had proven infertile. Bringing any horse back from the farm and the routine of breeding is usually a difficult task…generally ending in failure…which was pretty much the case with Assault. During his come-back attempt, he was never the same horse that had taken the Triple Crown. It is an interesting bit of history, though, that Noor did count two Triple Crown winners as horses he defeated. All in all Noor was one that should be remembered…both for his racing days and for the contribution he made to American breeding. His racing abilities caught the attention of A. B. Hancock and other American breeders…to the extent that they sought out and purchased Nasrullah…a transaction that changed the face of American bloodlines. Glad to see that you added this one to your list.