Northerly

[lufc618]

Did anyone see Northerl'ys run in the Australian Cup today?
Brilliant run. This is easily Northerly's best run since his last spell.

 

[Catman]

The best I've ever seen!!!

Every preparation he performs at the highest level and does it on more than just the one occasion, like last prep where he won the Underwood, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate. He can maintain his form for the whole preparation.

A Champion.

He will dominate up in Sydney too.

 

[Deej]

What I like most about this horse is his will to win. Ok yesterday was a great performance but really it wasn't a vintage field was it, he killed an average field basically. My favourite performance from this guy was his Caulfield Cup last year, I had everything I had in my kick on him bar $20 for a pizza and coming round the turn I KNEW he was home. Yesterday I'm standing there on the steps in between the grandstands at Flemington and when they jumped and I saw him on the big screen parked outside the leader I got the same feeling, he's home. After winning $160 on Winestock I had 180 straight out on Northerly, $20 left in the kick again for pizza. I love the feeling of putting everything on him knowing that if he loses I'm on the next train home, but then watching him wheel round the turn in front and kicking.

Another thing about Northerly, he's always a good price, got him at $1.85 with Simon Beasley, thank god he got beat last week. I also have a suspicion that many Sunline fans don't like Northerly because he was better than her and kicked her brains in 3-nil, and as a result they try to back something to beat him. I know 3 people like that, they hate Northerly, I just laugh at them and take the money.

Reckon he's the equal to any horse I've seen bar Might and Power, over 2400 I think M&P might beat him, but it'd be close. Apart from that he's my #1. It's a privilege to watch him run. Hope to hell they take him overseas, bugger the Cox Plate go to the Breeders Cup in the states. He could win $25mill if he went os.

 

[Demon3]

A sensational horse, what more can you say.

 

[harry_hawka]

Our family friends are the biggest Sunline fans alive, live in QLD but have flown down to watch all her Cox Plate runs.. and 'surprisingly' they HATE Northerly and would refuse to back him
I reckon heaps of the Sunline diehards push the price out of the WA galloper

 

[Davo75]

Ultimately, when it matters, we (Northerly) always defeat the Kiwi's (Sunline)..........

Northerly kicked Sunline 3 times, hes a better horse than the mare, how can you hate him?????

 

[Deej]

I know 3 people that were diehard Sunline fans and they always try to back something to beat Northerly. Thank god for these people, my bank manager loves them.

3 clashes, 3 kickings, can't say much more about it.

 

[JLC]

Originally posted by Deej
I know 3 people that were diehard Sunline fans and they always try to back something to beat Northerly. Thank god for these people, my bank manager loves them.

3 clashes, 3 kickings, can't say much more about it.

Yeah thats like Jordan at 40 being thrashed by Kobe Bryant in the prime of his career........doesnt mean Kobe is better than Jordan

Sunline wasnt at the peak of his racing when he clashed with Northerly so its a bit misleading to go by that.

jlc

 

[Deej]

Originally posted by JLC
Yeah thats like Jordan at 40 being thrashed by Kobe Bryant in the prime of his career........doesnt mean Kobe is better than Jordan

Sunline wasnt at the peak of his racing when he clashed with Northerly so its a bit misleading to go by that.

jlc

Absolute rubbish. 3 nil thanks for comin she wasn't good enough Sunline raced against crabs most of her career and accordingly looked better than she really was, 7 lengths in a Cox Plate and who did she beat Refferal woohoo when finally a genuine champion came along in her career she was found wanting thats the bottom line.

Keep doubting the champ, my bank manager loves blokes like you.

 

[JLC]

So did ya clean up the other day when Northerly lost....lmao

Only fools bet at such short odds

jlc

 

[sethlad]

Originally posted by Deej
Sunline raced against crabs most of her career and accordingly looked better than she really was, 7 lengths in a Cox Plate and who did she beat Refferal woohoo
my bank manager loves blokes like you.


Well,who should we believe here?

A bloke who is happy to tell us that his opinion comes straight from his pocket or a guy who spends his life comparing form from around the world.

www.sunline.co.nz/recognition.html.

You decide punters.
Sometimes there's more than the punt

Seth.

 

[Deej]

I never said she wasn't a champion mare/miler, in fact scroll through this forum I'm sure I've said it before somewhere. But the way people rate her alongside freaks like Kingston Town, Might and Power and Northerly is laughable. She never raced at 2400 because she would've died of a heart attack against any of those champs. My definition of a true world class champion galloper is not a sprinter or miler, it's a horse that has endurance to break other high class horse's hearts over the classic distances - 2000 & 2400mtrs - by any international standards the ultimate test.

3 nil, nothing more needs to be said.

 

[JLC]

Mr Trickster and Northerly 1-1 using that theory

jlc

 

[Deej]

Ummm, at wfa?

 

[Catman]

Originally posted by Deej
Ummm, at wfa?

Exactly, not conceding 9.5kgs.

He towelled Mr. Trickster in the Aust. Cup on even weights.

 

[sethlad]

Originally posted by Deej

My definition of a true world class champion galloper is not a sprinter or miler, it's a horse that has endurance to break other high class horse's hearts over the classic distances - 2000 & 2400mtrs - by any international standards the ultimate test.


Is it not possible to have a champion sprinter?
The entire Austalasian breeding world is built around the concept.
Seems as though your definition excludes a Manikato or Schillaci from Champion status?

Seth.

 

[Deej]

Originally posted by sethlad
Is it not possible to have a champion sprinter?
The entire Austalasian breeding world is built around the concept.
Seems as though your definition excludes a Manikato or Schillaci from Champion status?

Seth.

Yes of course you can have a champion sprinter and miler, and that's exactly what I think Sunline was. But I don't ever hear people saying Manikato was a better horse than Kingston Town, because he wasn't.

World's best races:

Arc: 2400
BreedersCupTurf: 2400
BreedersCupDirt: 2000
DubaiWorldCup: 2000
JapanCup: 2400
KingGeorge: 2400

Not too many sprint or mile races in that bunch.

Sunline COULD NOT win any of those races because quite simply she wasn't good enough to win them. To compare her to horses (like Northerly) that are capable of contesting and winning races like these is in my eyes ludicrous. I wish Sunline fans could just accept that she was little more than a champion sprinter/miler, and if they want to compare her to other horses they should compare her to other sprinter/milers. She was a level short of the likes of Northerly and Better Loosen Up.

 

[sethlad]

Originally posted by Deej

World's best races:
Arc: 2400
BreedersCupTurf: 2400
BreedersCupDirt: 2000
DubaiWorldCup: 2000
JapanCup: 2400
KingGeorge: 2400

Not too many sprint or mile races in that bunch.

Sunline COULD NOT win any of those races because quite simply she wasn't good enough to win them. To compare her to horses (like Northerly) that are capable of contesting and winning races like these is in my eyes ludicrous. She was a level short of the likes of Northerly and Better Loosen Up


Once again,IN YOUR OPINION!.
There's no fact behind it,you believe she couldn't have won a Breeders or World Cup.You don't know,you can never know.

Most would agree that the Cox Plate is a Australasia's truest WFA 2000m test.
She won it twice,was placed once (beaten half a length by Northerly after doing all the work in front).Yet you believe she was a level short of him.

Northerly is freakish but so far there's nothing to indicate he'll be successful on the international stage.Until he does/doesn't race there.

You can speculate all you like but try not to base every racing opinion you have on your wallet.

Last Autumn after the AJC Derby it was "Don Eduardo will never beat Carnegie Express again."
Once again an opinion based on the punt & one we'll probably never prove one way or the other.

Yes, Northerly 3,Sunline 0. Fact!
Your opinion,despite what you might think,is just that.

Seth.

 

[Deej]

Ok then, I have a question for you. Just how good do you think Sunline was? Don't sit on the fence, let me know if you think she was anything more than a sprint/miler that got away from a couple of average Group 1 fields around a tight Moonee Valley circuit which is renowned for being biased to some runners.

Sunline ran overseas 3 times. Once she won over 1600 under dubious race-rigging circumstances, once over 1750 she got overrun by another champion sprint/miler (FKPrawn) and an average European middle distance horse (JimandTonic) clearly not the top world class middle distance neddies, and once she got obliterated by J&T over 2000 in Hong Kong, ok a good field but certainly not the best middle distancers in the world.

How anyone can rate a mare that never ran past 2040 in the same class as duel CoxPlate, duel AustCup, CaulfieldCup winning horse in Northerly has got me stuffed.

 

[sethlad]

Originally posted by Deej
Ok then, I have a question for you. Just how good do you think Sunline was? Don't sit on the fence, let me know if you think she was anything more than a sprint/miler that got away from a couple of average Group 1 fields around a tight Moonee Valley circuit which is renowned for being biased to some runners.


First let me say I don't ever remember backing the mare.
I have an opinion on most things,but it's not coloured by whether I was cast leaving the track.

I've said all this before but here goes.
I'm happy to listen to Bart Cummings when he says he doesn't think he's seen a better horse in 50 yrs.
I tend to believe the judging panel when they vote her Australia's Horse of the Year twice,as well as Champion Middle Distance performer.(2000m is considered a middle distance).

I saw her become the 1st horse since Kingston Town to defend a Cox Plate crown,at the same time being only the fifth mare to win the greatest WFA race in Australasia.

She was no cotton wool champion,I still think her best performance was her 2001 second in the Doncaster with 57.5,giving Over 6 kg.
The next week at WFA she towelled Over by 6 lengths.

Proven International performer,she put in one bad one out of 3 & she's no good. Those races were open to all to compete in,unless they were invite only.It's hardly the mare's fault what is invited to run against her.

I've seen her win when I thought she couldn't,I've seen her destroy them when they all had their chance.

If you truly believe she was just a sprinter/miler then so be it.
All I know is there have been very few like her,probably will be
few to come.

The 2nd best I've seen in the flesh for quality & longevity.

Seth.

 

[Deej]

Unfortunately horses don't have any say where and when they run. After hearing what Kersley had to say this week about Northerly probably not going over to Singapore or anywhere else to race it seems as though Northerly is in the hands of a wimp trainer with no balls to go overseas and race against the very best, much like Might and Power with Denham and Moriatis. This saddens me greatly and one thing I'll always have much respect for is that McKee never dodged taking Sunline overseas.

She was as durable a horse as there's ever been, freaky like that, freely admitted, and yep she raced well overseas on two occasions, winning once. She was a great horse, I never disputed that she wasn't a great horse, a champion sprint/miler in any era. But I definitely take exception to people saying she's the best in 50yrs, and I cannot understand people saying she was better than Northerly when the ledger was 3-nil. Any talk about her not being at her best against Northerly is pure bull****, she was killing fields before her first loss to the champ.

I'd back Super Impose to beat her over a mile in Sydney at level weights in the Doncaster, fast pace as it usually is. Over could've carried 12kg less than the Super and over the Randwick mile he'd still have got spanked.