The real “great three-year old crop” is not the one they all thought it was
People in this game love to be premature. They see a flashy three-year-old win a prep, run fast in May, or look good in a workout, and suddenly we’ve got “the best crop in years.” They love the word freak. This season was no different. All summer long you heard it: This is a deep class. Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza, Nevada Beach — good horses, no question. Talented, improving, and fun to watch. But I’ve been around this sport long enough to know you don’t crown a crop in July. You let the calendar, the miles, and the aging process tell the truth.
And the truth is this:
Last year’s three-year-olds were the real monsters — and they just proved it in a way I can’t recall ever seeing in my lifetime.
Everyone missed it. Nobody wrote it. Nobody even hinted at it. Maybe they were too busy posting clocker videos or debating figs. Meanwhile, the biggest piece of evidence that last year’s group was a legitimate powerhouse was right there on center stage at Del Mar. Twice!
The Breeders’ Cup Classic Told the Story — Twice
Last year, as three-year-olds, Sierra Leone, Fierceness and Forever Young ran 1-2-3 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic — an already impressive feat for a trio that young in the sport’s toughest, deepest race in the states.The three-year-olds go 1-2-3.
Then they came back as four-year-olds and did something I’m not sure has ever happened before:
The same three horses finished 1-2-3 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic again — only in a different order. Forever Young, Sierra Leone and Fierceness. The astute eyes will know Sierra Leone lost his chance to become only the second repeat Breeders’ Cup Classic winner not to the horses he faced, but to a speed biased racetrack that made it almost impossible to make up ground and finish. For now Tiznow stands alone as the only two time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner.
You want to talk about class? Durability? True division-shaping talent? That’s it. That’s the definition. Forget hype, forget morning-line chatter — this is historical.
I’ve followed this game closely for decades, and I don’t recall another instance where the top three from the Classic repeated as the same top three the next year. It’s the sort of accomplishment that should’ve been shouted from rooftops. Instead, it slid by almost unnoticed, lost in the noise about CAWs, late odds drops, and whatever drama people were chasing that week.
This Is Why You Wait Before Declaring a “Great Crop”
Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza, Nevada Beach… they may very well end up proving they belong. Time will tell. They’re a nice bunch with upside. It also looks like we may see at least a few of them stick around.
But this year’s enthusiasm reminded me why I always say: slow down. A crop isn’t defined by one flashy performance or even a big Saratoga summer. A crop is defined by how the horses come back at four, how they handle older company, and how many of them keep punching when the division toughens up.
Forever Young, Sierra Leone, and Fierceness didn’t just keep punching — they knocked the door off the hinges. They stamped last year’s class as exceptional, not just in real time but in historical context.
The Feat Speaks Louder Than the Hype
While everyone was distracted crowning this year’s group, the real headline came from the horses who proved their greatness twice, a year apart, against the best the sport had to offer. And it wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t a fluke. It was the rarest kind of confirmation you get in racing: the kind earned over time.
Funny how the sport loves to rewrite its own story, yet sometimes it completely misses the plot. They will likely put an exclamation point on “their silliness” voting Sovereignty horse of the year.
