Top 10 Horses of the Decade: It’s Tiznow

It was difficult for me to pick what I thought was the best racehorse this past decade because by its very nature horse racing is a sport that rewards non-competitiveness. Often times, a terrific horse like both Street Sense and Hard Spun in 2007 are retired to stud all too early.

Their greatness is never tested on the racetrack. That’s not true for the #1 horse on my list. He was tested on the largest stage in horse racing and prevailed not only once but twice.

Top 10 Horses of the Decade

1. Tiznow – - The son of Cee’s Tizzy was a late bloomer to the racetrack in his three year old season, but he improved and matured greatly to win the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic. He followed up his 2000 BC victory with a win in the 2001 BC Classic. Tiznow is the only horse to ever win two classics and in both races, he had to throw down against the best that Europe had to offer. As a three year old in 2000, Tiznow had to beat the #4 horse on this list, Giant’s Causeway. Then, a year later, he took down Godolphin’s Sahkee in a famous race that New England Patriots’ football coach Bill Belichick used to fire up his team during the NFL Playoffs that same year. A winner of over 6.4 million dollars, Tiznow simply did something that no other horse had ever done before him and no other horse has ever done so far after him. Because of that, he’s the horse of the decade.
2. Sea The Stars – - Sea The Stars is considered by many horse racing fans to be the best racehorse that Europe has ever seen. If he had come over to the United States to take on Zenyatta in the BC Classic, then he probably would have jumped ahead of Tiznow in my mind, but winning two BC Classics trumps what Sea The Stars did on the racetrack. The son of Cape Cross won the Beresford Stakes in 2008. In 2009, he won the Eclipse, International and Irish Championship Stakes, the 2,000 Guineas and Epsom Derby and the Prix D l’Arc De Triomphe where he beat 9 other Group 1 winners including two time BC Turf winner Conduit.
3. Zenyatta – - Zenyatta finished her racing career by winning the 2009 BC Classic against the boys. She also finished her racing career undefeated with 14 victories and over 5.47 million in the bank. The only real knock is that unlike Tiznow, Zenyatta did almost all of her work over all weather surfaces and never won a truly significant race save for the Apple Blossom in 2008 outside the State of California. Still, she dominated her division and did finish her career undefeated.
4. Giant’s Causeway – - Giant’s Causeway won 5 straight Group 1 races in 2000. He would have won the 2000 BC Classic as well if Tiznow hadn’t kept him at bay as he ran up to the decade’s best horse. Giant’s Causeway never finished worse than second in 13 straight races with 9 victories and 4 second place finishes.
5. Rock of Gibraltar – - Aidan O’Brien, who trained Giant’s Causeway in 2000, brought Rock of Gibraltar to the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Mile with 7 straight Group 1 victories on his resume. The horse could finish no better than 2nd in that race to long shot Domedriver, but his accomplishments in both 2001 and 2002 cannot be understated. Gibraltar won 10 out of 13 races and finished 2nd twice in a 13 race career.
6. Curlin – - Curlin won the Preakness Stakes and BC Classic in 2007 and finished third in that year’s Kentucky Derby and second, to the filly Rags To Riches, in that year’s Belmont Stakes. He also won the Jockey Gold Cup twice and the Dubai World Cup in 2008. In the 2008 BC Classic, going off as the 7 to 5 favorite, Curlin could do no better than finish 4th. What happened? He didn’t like the all weather track at Santa Anita. It’s a damn shame because if the race had been on dirt, the Steve Asmussen trainee no doubt would have won the BC Classic in 2008 and probably would have jumped to #1 on this list.
7. Rachel Alexandra – - She dominated the 2009 Preakness and beat up on the boys two more times in the Haskell Invitational and Woodward Stakes. She’s going to run in 2010 and no doubt could cement her reputation as the greatest female horse to ever run, but for now Zenyatta gets the nod because of her victory in the BC Classic. Don’t worry, Rachel fans. I’ve got the feeling that she’ll jump up to #1 on this list in 2019 after what she does in 2010.
8. Invasor – - He won 11 out of 12 lifetime races including victories in the Pimlico Special, Suburban and Whitney Handicaps and the BC Classic in 2006. Not many racing fans remember the South American bred horse, but make no mistake, he was damn good. His victory in the 2007 Dubai World Cup, his last race, was a thing of beauty.
9. Ghostzapper – - Bobby Frankel, who passed away on Nov. 16th in 2009, trained a lot of terrific horses. Ghostzapper was his best. The brilliant son of Awesome Again finished off the board only once in 11 races. He had 9 victories in his all too brief career including winning the BC Classic in 2004 at Lonestar Park. Not only did Ghostzapper win, but he shattered the track and race record by crossing the finish line in 1:59.02.
10. Azeri – - The third female horse on this list won 12 Grade 1 races in a 24 race career. She won the Apple Blossom three straight years from 2002 to 2004 and raced until her 6 year old season. She trotted away from racing with a record of 17 victories and 4 seconds out of 24 races and earnings of over 4 million dollars.

If you enjoyed this article then get full access to all our other features plus a 50% bonus when you sign up with us by clicking on this link!