I have to have my little 2 cents here....
I own Tommy Hotspur currently... The grand old man turns 21 this year. I have had him since 1999, and he is now fully retired! Up until his retirement from all riding, he could still put up an unbelievableturn of foot over 2 furlongs. He is very comfortably sound and happy at the moment. He still has many admirers, and a Fan Page on Facebook. I of course adore the old man, and he will be with me for all the rest of his days.
I have watched the collection of his wins "uncountable" times... And having ridden him (in his post-racing days), and *felt* that speed, I can only say that it is, simply put, pure magic. The crop of sprinters he ran with, were some very talented horses. Just Do It Joey, Dolphin Song, My Lord, Basic Instinct, Zim Champion Sprinter Man In The Moon, Golden Loom (his arch-nemesis), Harry's Charm, Levendi, Divine Force, to name but a few. He had fused hocks, a rare and sprinter/ harness horse condition called trochanteric bursitis, and compass legs (each one pointed in a different direction!), and yet he still won his first 8 in a row. He then ran 2 narrow seconds in the Joe Dorffman Memorial, and the Gr1 Computaform Sprint. A year later, he won the renewals of these two races, carrying more weight, and beating those that beat him the year before - quite well in fact. His scintillating early speed will be something that nobody can dispute as being awe inspiring. Now I may be biased, as I own this gentle soul, but having nursed him all these years through many soundness issues, I can only imagine what he could have done if only ONE of those 4 legs were sound! He was thrown off the National 1 and National 2 sales because of those legs. He is the best horse I have ever worked with. He retired in 1999, and earned just R40 000 short of the R1 Million mark I which for a sprinter, racing in the 90's was quite an accomplishment!
In a lifetime, one is lucky to have worked with one great horse. I have been lucky enough to work with 3 (Pierre Jourdan is the 3rd), and my namesake, Ruby Clipper is the 2nd one. 3 of her races stand out for me.
1. As a 2yo filly, she set the course record for 1200m at Scottsville, when she won the Gr1 Allan Robertson. It was only broken many years later, when Key of Destiny won the Golden Horse Sprint as a 5yo.
2. She still holds the 1100m course record at Turffontein, which she set winning the Spring Sprint Handicap. The only filly in the race, she beat some of the best in All Will Be Well, Fov's Favourite, and Golden Loom. Her time here was 56.66. (In her next start she won the Lebelo Hcp over 1000m beating Golden Loom, in 55.65 I her fastest race ever.)
3. In the 1999 Gr 3 Magnolia Hcp 1000m, she carried top weight of 62.5kg (unheard of back then). The next horse down carried 51.5kg - KZN champion sprinter Happy Harriet. It was pouring with rain, and it was a chilly night meeting. Ruby won by 2.5 lengths easing up, breaking Harry's Charm's course record! That is a *trouncing* of note! One of my favourite racing memories of all time.
To round it all off, Ruby's son, Seventh Rock, won the 2007 Tommy Hotspur Sprint at Turffontein. Although I never worked with Seventh Rock personally, it was a hugely sentimental win for me.
There may have been better, but these are the best I have known...
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