Real Quiet And The Worst Beat In Racing History

I think one of the toughest losses I have ever seen would have to be the BC Mile with Rock of Gilbralter. The Rock to me was clearly the best horse in that race and he came from dead last comming home and had to run around a fallen horse that unfortunatly died and closed like a true champ. Unfortunatly the race was a mile and not a mile and 50 yards. But thats horse racing for you.... the best horse...... doesnt always win.

By a nose...by a heartbreak...one less Triple Crown winner that should have been. Real Quiet...you will be missed, but your brilliance will never fade.

It is laughable to suggest RQ would have been taken down and denied the TC. Heck, they'd probably give it to him now just to try to revive interest in the sport. I also think it debatable that RQ was better at longer distances. His best races, like the Hollywood Futurity and the Preakness, were at shorter distances. He was almost caught in the Derby and wobbly by the Belmont finish (yeah, all the armchair jockeys will blame Desormeaux - again). And Midnight Lute is his son.

Yep, Kent should have broke TWO INCHES later. Sure is easy to ride a racehorse from a living room chair.

Real Quiet had the win until KD quit riding him. One of the worst jockey rides I ever saw. I still get aggravated when I think about it. Real Quiet should have been in the history books.

R.I.P. "The Fish" I was there on this Belmont Day (as I was for Silver Charm and Charismatic's TC tries) and remember being in absolute tears when the OFFICIAL came up. The place absolutely GROANED. But it endeared RQ in my heart forever and it was a fun ride with Baffert and Pegram. How horrible his death must have been, falling in his paddock with his shoulder ripping into his spinal cord.

Real Quiet was the kind of distance horse not popular in this country anymore. As another poster said, not so good at less than 9f. "The Fish" was old fashioned but won at the top level every year he raced in the few races at distances that suited him. Worthy of winning the TC? Well, there is only one measure of that and Real Quiet came closer than any other horse. He came so close! He was definitely the best of his generation at classic distances. As a sire he didn't produce precocious offspring, if his line continues it will be through Midnight Lute who was not very like him. Funny, he would have been better off in Japan instead of War Emblem. Bad timing again!

Yes I remember this race and I was heartbroken because I've never seen a triple crown winner, and I used to love Real Quiet and saw him race at Hollywood Park....but even if Kent moved too soon, if a horse is truely great enough he can still win..like Secretariat...thats why they run the races...

He would have been disqualified. Desormeaux knew he was caught and did everything he could to win the 5 million bonus. Good effort by Kent. Another bad beat was captain bodgit in the derby. how he didn't blow by silver charm in the stretch is still a head scratcher. And one more for the hard core fan was powerscourt in the arlington million. had him for a 4k pick 4 and the rest is history. brutal. needless to say i am not a big jamie spencer fan.

Lets not forget that Real Quiet battled bravely to get the place money in the New Orleans Handicap when he came back as a 4 year old off a long layoff and lost to millionaire Precocity. He also won the Hollywood Gold Cup against Malek, Budroyale, and Puerto Madero when pinned on the rail until the final 1/8th mile. He also showed tremendous class by out dueling the awesome Freehouse in the Pimlico Special. Can you imagine the 1999 Pacific Classic if Real Quiet and Victory Gallop hadn't both been injured and retired? It would have been a classic and I think Real Quiet is very underrated in history. He certainly proved at 4 that he was no fluke.