What a horse...the arc in 86 was simply the best race I have ever seen...strongest field ever put together..he was a country mile behind coming in to the straight...there will never be a race like it or horse...fitting legacy for Pat...
@@davidwills3107: Honestly friend Dancing Brave was my all time fav horse & made my pockets a lot heavier BUT the 86 Arc which had 18 G1's between them & the Epsom, French, German & Irish Derby winners it was the 2nd strongest Arc ever assembled behind Sea Birds Arc. But the greatest Arc to watch ABSOLUTELY 👍
I have never had the privilege in my life to ever witness such a horse advancing Brave. Pure speed and electrifying acceleration is in my opinion something that I have never ever seen in my life. You have to see the acceleration in the arc to truly believe it. I am sorry,Frankel cant be held anywhere near him. To do that would be ridiculous
Totally Agree ! At the furlong pole there was 7 group 1 winners in a line ! Can’t remember Frankel ever encountering opposition like that ! I think at 10f Dancing Brave would have toyed with Frankle
He is the best racehorse I have seen and that includes Frankel. I was there at the Derby and everytime I watch that replay I still can't believe he was beaten. I was also there at Goodwood for his prep race for the Arc, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life as everyone had gone there to watch his last race in England. When he went to the front everyone started clapping something I have never seen before, we all knew we were in the presence of greatness, the fact that he broke the track record in a canter says it all.
Superb documentary about the exceptional Dancing Brave..the best flat horse I’ve ever seen in 50 years of following the sport.Poor Greville Starkey..he was hung drawn and quartered..”oh so much to do”
Always remember my dad win money on sharastani . But he was lucky and he knew that himself . Dancing brave , sea the stars have been the best I’ve seen in my 40 yrs of watching racing .
Frankel didn’t race at 1M 4F I’m talking about horses at that distance . Yes probably frankel could have done that distance when he was 4 but I’m talking about horses that have done the distance.
I backed Sharastani at 8/1 but very lucky to win. Seabirds Derby win in 65 was unreal though, I'm not sure if DB could have won that even without the Jockey error
I will always remember his derby loss, as my dad lumped his weeks wages on him. My dad went berserk with Starkey! He was eefing and blinding at the tv lol. Amazing horse though, that Arc makes the hairs on your neck stand up, great commentary too. 👍
True George, although where he came from, nearly last the speed he produced in the last 2 furlongs was nothing short of incredible and to lose by a head was a travesty, if the winning line had been another 10 feet away he’d have won but in my eyes he was the winner anyway.
When you see a horse of this quality you know people are easily pleased when they say enable was a great mare, she’d not get within 4 or 5 lengths of him, he was unique and brilliant.
My favourite racehorse! I lived in Newbury in the 80's when racing was still very popular. Remember shouting home The Brave in the King George with a group of mates all trying to get the money we had lost backing him in The Derby. Traded at 6/4 2nd fav behind Shahrastani that day. A gift from the bookies. It doesn't happen very often!!
There’s always a horse who wins you money John... My horse was High Chaparral... Went of jt fav with Hawk Wing (became Aiden’s highest rated horse) for the 2002 Derby. High Chaparral’s stamina proved best. 9/4. At 11/4, I bet him heavily for the Irish Champion stakes & he won by a nose from Falbrav. Then he went on to win the Breeders cup turf. Then doubles it up with a dead heat heat, the following year, alongside Johar & Falbrav a neck behind. I had a monkey on both them wins... Happy man I was. Best horse that came out of him is Altior... A true champion chaser... Dx
Agreed. In any other year Bering would have been hailed as the second coming of Sea Bird yet Dancing Brave went past him like he was standing still. To complete the Eclipse and King George double was amazing. I have never seen a horse quicken like him. I love Sir Ivor but have to admit this horse was fabulous. If Lester had been around and somehow got himself the ride on the horse on Derby day he would have won it by 5 lengths hard held. Nobody felt a horse like Piggott and that is what made him the greatest.
That arc performance will stay forever.prince khaled is lucky to have great horses through the years;dancing brave,frankel,enable,arrogate,empire maker,kingman,etc.
That Arc race was absolutely out of this world, it was packed with class horses, all champions in their own right, but the Brave must have gone past 10 horses in the last half furlong and won it going away, truly incredible. I have never seen any horse that comes close to him since.
@@doodles863 Dancing brave was the most brilliant horse that i have ever seen.but ,he had his vulnerable moments,and was not as consistent as frankel.from the versatility point of view,he was better than frankel.
Darryl5015561 you buy it on dvd now, a few other old videos to like Orson Welles narrating A horse called Nijinsky and The year of Sir Ivor. I’ve got a reference point VHS narrated by Desmond Lynam to. There were also excellent VHS videos with Brough Scott, the racing year 81-88 series, an in-depth look at each racing season.
I always say sea the stars would beat frankel but when it comes to dancing brave i think he was the best that arc win was just class and what a field he beat and the best arc ride u will ever see
It's just as good acceleration as Forego in the Marlboro. Arazi in the Breeders Juv will compare with Braves big run. Secretariat's Preakness yet another...
The question is Secretariat... which horse is better in the 12f on firm tuff? Secretariat is the only American bred horse to stand in Dancing Braves way.
I was a milkman during the time of dancing brave.. in the Sunday times Brough Scott wrote a piece saying that there was no way he'd lose the Derby.. He was 5/1 on Sunday.. These were pre internet betting days, so the only place you could get a bet on was at the "turf accountants".. Anyway... I was determined to "get on" but... I amtjdmtpjddp get to the bookie's until I'd finished my milk round .. Monday is "bottle day"..you've got the whole weekends bottles to pick up.. it takes longer to do the deliveries.. So.. Eventually at about mid day I arrived at my local bookie's ... the price was now 2/1!!!! To say goodbye was distraught, was somewhat under playing it.. However.. The independent bookie agreed to give me 5/1!!! Twenty quid later.. I was on ... Two days later.. at Epsom.. it all went "Pete tong "... Sharasthani got the run on dancing brave.. I was on him on his arc day though..
The Derby was run on a Wednesday back then and from what I remember The Sporting Life reported he had picked up an injury the Friday before race. You are correct he drifted to 5/1 even 11/2 because of the rumour. Greville Starkey said he was on a porche against mini's. The over confidence proved costly!
The Late and Great Walter "the choir boy he's got lovely hands" Swinburn was on record as saying he had never travelled as fast going into and out of the dip at Newmarket in his life ! and was left wondering what type of Monster had just zoomed past him like he was a tree , incredible stuff
Sadly,khaled abdullah his owner died several days ago.he was a man of owner.when henry cecil was down and out,he stood by him through thick and thin.Rip
A fine tribute to one of the greatest flat runners of the 1980s, possibly in racing folklore. To beat the Derby winner, Sharastani in the King George and then in the Arc De Triomphe, truly special. Sadly, the horse's career at stud was short lived, produced I think Commander In Chief, 1993 dual Derby winner.
BEST HORSE I EVER SAW HE WAS THE FIRST HORSE I PUT 1OO POUNDS ON FOR 86 DERBY .SHOULD HAVE WON I DID NOT MIND LOSEING IT WAS .A GREAT RACE I GOT MY MONEY BACK IN THE GREATS RACE EVER THE ARC
Poor judgement by jockey Greville Starkey cost Dancing Brave the Epsom Derby that year. He was fabulous in beating a very good Arc field under Pat Eddery. Always difficult to rate against horses from different era's. Reckon Sea Bird, Dancing Brave, Nijinsky, Frankel and Shergar all amazing racehorses. Maybe Baaeed about to join them.
Only 4 likes after a month.. How sad...The Greatest Horse of my Lifetime.. Who was Barely 3 when he ran in the Guineas.. A May Foal.. Get your head around that.. And who never had the Opportunity to run as a 4 Yr old like Frankel...
The “black mark” of the derby 2nd for me always means people will never be 100% convinced he was the best .. for me he is the best European middle distance Horse of the past 50 years.. he would have won a st ledger or a July cup if he wanted and that’s what sets him out as the best ... Pat always says he was the best and thsts enough for me .. the derby would have been merely the final nail .. Also remember the king George and eclipse were the biggest WFA races at the time behind the arc ..
Pat never rode Frankel or certain other horses and can only really say Dancing Brave was the best he rode. That doesn't mean he wasn't still the best ever but it's hard to say that for sure about any horse.
@@jasonfox4857 But we do not know that wouldn't have applied to Frankel too, considering many thought he was only a miler at one time and if he had not stepped up to 10 furlongs, I am sure many would have said he would not have stayed. There in no doubt in my mind that Frankel would have stayed 12 furlongs easily.
@@seanscanlon9067 yeah i undertand where your coming from....i think Frankel would of got the 12 furlongs personally but whether frankel or any horse would of been able to beat the Dancing Brave that won the 86 Arc i just don,t see it...to fly past EIGHT group 1 winners within 300 yards is just unheard of and probably won,t ever happen again in my lifetime...would of been a great race with Frankel tho!
I think Frankel & Dancing brave were both briliant.DB Proved more vesatile than franke,but he had his vulnerable moments and he did not win as often as frankel did. Thanks for posting this doc.
Really enjoyed this vid and the comments are brilliant. Great horse, but for me the spectacle of Nijinsky cruising up with Lester on aboard makes the hairs on your neck stand up and we will never see that again.
I saw it run at Sandown first run I knew it was special gliding in perfection could not have realised how much it would achieve ...just looked special...
Its silly to try and compare all these great horses over the years, however, Dancing brave was the best horse over varied distances i have seen in my lifetime. Silly me....
It goes without saying , that Dancing Brave would have won every sprint that year if they had so desired that is how fast he was, best clip in this? interview with Prince Khalid
@Stephen Small not at all , Won a very slowly run 2000 gns beating that years Champion sprinter in the process i.e Green Desert , readily outpacing him the Brave had speed to burn magnificent horse
@Stephen Small Not really. Pat Eddery stated that you could not only run DB in the top 6F races, he'd win them. I recall Cumani saying that Commanche Run was fast enough to run in sprints and also John Oxx said similar things about STS. CR or STS wouldn't have troubled the frame in any top sprint race,
I'm convinced Dancing Brave would have beaten any horse over 1.4m he had this acceleration that was just unreal , he should have been unbeaten Starkey gave him a terrible ride in the Derby and it was crazy to run him in Breeders cup after such a hard long season
If we could put the top 20 best horses at 1M 4F from the last 40 yrs to race together it would probably be a outsider that wins it . We’re all so sure it would be dancing brave or sea the stars or whatever your favourite horse is. But how many times have we watched a race and you were sure it would be between 2 horses for sure and both of them weren’t even in the first 3 .
At that time my father had £2k on dancing brave outa of £2,500 compensation money I think it was only time Dancing brave was ever beat but that,,s at least our mum got the other £500 Quid great horse but boxed in that so sharashanti won Derby ..That was life then. Bye the why my father,s friend told me this ..next time Dancing brave win6/4 my dad had £40.00 on it ..God bless O.P FROM BELFAST
@@davehenderson1239 frankel never raced at the distances dancing brave did, frankel couldn’t stay 1 and a half miles that’s why he never ran that distance, dancing brave ran different distances and won, the brave was different class to frankel.
You’ve also got factor in the quality of the opposition, Dancing Brave always ran against top class group 1 horses and beat them. Frankle was class but I’m not sure the opposition was of the same quality.
These People know About Donkey Race the 1986 Derby was to Show the Power of Dancing Brave the Jockey make a Mistake for not up with the Pace more Early
When khaled abdulla (owner of both dancing brave and frankel)was asked,which of them was the better horse?he said;Frankel.i think when it comes to versatility,Dancing brave proved to be a brilliant horse.
At that point, Frankel was about to begin life as a sire and Dancing Brave was long gone, so what would you expect him to say? When a very high profile horse is on his way to stud, connections only talk about their horse in the most positive of terms. Positive sentiment tends to support asset valuations.
I remember talking to Alex Bird at Haydock on the Friday evening 2 days after the ' 86 Derby and he still couldn't believe DB didn't win. What a tool DB was
@@georgefindlay1982 no, I think he could have run 12f as a 4yo but he wasnt ready for it at 3, the way he was running in the Juddmonte and Champion Stakes he was settling well and was push button, the extra 2f would have been fine at that stage
@@mrvillan6951 Well the Derby was obviously pilot error as we all know, DB was superior to Shahrastani as he proved. In the US he was not fit, lost weight in travelling over, nearly died just a while after. They all get beat except Frankel as special as he was he was well placed and they did not take risks.
When i look back at horses from the past,he is the only one i look at(of couse with frankel).he was in a class of his own.i wish if he had won the breeders cup in 86,it could've been the greatest career of all time.
He was Just unlucky that there was a big field that year and because of that he had to go so wide and then ran down Epsom's camber. Don't forget too that in later races Eddery and Starkey had the luxury of already knowing Dancing Brave stayed the longer trips, which was not yet known on Derby day and so the horse was dropped out and ridden to see if he got the trip. By contrast Shahrastani had already won the Dante and so getting the Derby trip was less of an unknown.
That did happen once in awhile but not very often . The Dancer sometimes not just once but 2 or even 3 times on a lot of horses pedigree after all the little Canadian bred horse was the greatest sire of the 20th century and a lot of his sons turned out to be great sires
Starkey cost Dancing Brave the Derby, Very poor judgement. The greatest horse in my lifetime was simply given too much to do. Bad positioning and much too much ground to make up even for this machine. Starkey knew he had cocked it up. Over confidence. He was quoted as saying "I suppose they will crucify me now" - He was right. He retired shortly afterwards. It cost me a small fortune on the day. haha! The last half mile Derby stats say it all. The greatest horse never to win The Derby. (I won it all back and more in the Arc and the King George) Magic Memories. An absolute machine.
Hi Blondie, I hope you mean “the best you’ve ever seen” & not the best ever......? As there is quite a difference here... Dancing Brave is far above the 2 you state sir. That’s why we have an opinion!
@@101mossie ur putting Sea the Stars in the same league as The Great Dancing Brave?!!! ur either Irish or ur need to go to Specsavers pal... Sea the Stars was good but The Brave was pure class....86 Arc best line up probably ever assembled.... "and here comes Dancing Brave flying down the outside" PAST JUST THE EIGHT GROUP 1 WINNERS!
@@101mossie yeah...at the end of 86 a panel of racehorse handicappers met from the major european countries to determine the international classifications...the yearly ratings of thoroughbreds who have ran in europe...Dancing Brave was given a rating of 141 the highest rating ever given to a horse in racing history...is that any good?