May 1st 1971. The Mayday Massacre.

Have to agree with you there brigust.  It is the best 2,000 I've ever seen and I never tire of watching it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfmpSIJjHNU

agree brigust

Frankel would have won by 10L on the bridle imo     

Wrong thread SS. That's been done. It would also mean that Dubawi Gold would win by 4 lengths. Silly boy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-2191614/Frankel-good-Brigadi...

Those horses took on the best not like Frankel. A cotton wool job.

There were less Group races also,they had too meet!(CLASS)

Certainly one of the best, but with hindsight, not so great as it appeared beforehand.

Mill Reef subsequently showed he was best over 10f-12f, and that 10f was barely far enough for him.
My Swallow never won another race, and had been a big, very precocious 2yo, and had been distinctly unimpressive in his only 3yo win in the Usher Stakes against ordinary opposition.
Minsky never won above Group 3, was blinkered, temperamental, and had his d1ck hanging out in the parade ring beforehand.

Can't fault the Brigadier though.

Just goes to show Jed that even Minsky,the worst of the four, was good at something!

Arkle2 - I guess he was, but considering he was surrounded by colts at the time, one wonders what, exactly.

just for Brigust - Double barrel    http://youtu.be/d78uZNVN1fg

Thanks for the Daily Mail clip Metro, I hadn't seen that one I will get a copy for the scrapbook.

I don't agree with the Mill Ref thing though. His breeder said before the Guineas that Mill Reef would only stay 12f over his dead body. He won the Gimcrack by 10 and the Coventry by 6 and won over 5 furlongs first time out. Obviously the Derby was the race to go for after the Guineas and he was such class he would have won at any distance. BG won from 5f to 12f. Nijinsky had that kind of class and so did Dancing Brave. It was such a pity Henry was so tight with Frankel. He could have been a true great in my opinion. I prefer to see horses do it, not be told they would have done it. Tudor Minstrel was long odds on for the Derby but got stuffed. Had he not run they would be saying he would have walked it. And the same applies to Camelot in the St Leger. But they did run and lost.

I was sired by Good Bond!

Terrific race i am biased having backed BG and won a fair bit of money on him for those days.

I backed him too Dod. I got 12s ante post and did him in a double with Persian War for the Champion Hurdle (2nd). Still have the double ticket. His lead horse won the race before the Gns at 11/2 I think loads of doubles in DH's yard that day. I was there, great day.

Had an ante post voucher on Mill Reef from October , totally gutted on the day , but steamed in on the Derby (I was there) got 4/1 off John Banks on course , he was still paying out after the last , great days.

Brigadier Gerard- The 1971 2,000 Guineas Stakes (Newmarket) - http://youtu.be/OfmpSIJjHNU

Me too Bob. I backed Mill Reef throughout. No doubts, except Epsom Coronation Cup.

After the close call in the St James Palace I had a real good bet at 6/4 for the Sussex. I saw him on the track on the morning of the race and rang the bookies from the security gate phone you should have seen their faces.

To compare different generations is almost impossible,Myself a fan of Harbinger for one off performances and i will argue with anyone about the quality of horse behind him that day,(they give me the ground argument and i understand that) but these were inform 3yrlds is my answer and a fast ground Derby winner the latter won the Arc..There are many generations before the 70s mind and there was a French filly called  Imprudence who was a revelation in 1947 era little said about her these days(and i had too look hard for info) but we must judge those behind, and the Brigadier  record since the 70s does stand up. Sea The stars was very special and form does stand up too close inspection.

I'll never forget that race. Neither will I forget the vital moment that possibly decided the outcome, a few minutes before the start. Brigadier Gerard did an absolutely enormous dump pre-race, which can only have helped the horse's well-being. It actually happened, yet there is an almost Omertà attitude amongst the racing media and connections about it. No-one who saw it will forget it.