Brigadier Gerard

As good as Brigadier Gerard was, and there is no doubt that he was a truly brilliant miler, he was not as effective at distances in excess of a mile.Yes he won over 1mile 4furlongs,but the opposition in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was hardly top class and when he did come up against a decent horse in the 1972 Derby winner Roberto his limitations were well and truly exposed. Personally,I believe Timeform have overrated Brigadier Gerard by awarding him a figure of 144.

secretariat was not awarded 144 by timeform,nor would they put him in the 140 range.

The greatest miler of all time and possibly with Mill Reef the greatest rcaehose to have raced in Britain in the last Century.The manner he so consistently disposed of his rivals in the major mile events is unequaled by any miler ever.His best efforts were when he thrashed sparkler by 6 lengths in the 1972 Queen Elizabeth Stakes and when he beat Mill Reef and My Swalow by 3 lengths ,the graetest 2000 guineas peformance of the last Century.(Only Tudor Minstre's 8 length win in 1947 could compare with that)What was remarkable that the Brigadier had the tenacity to win big races upto a mile and a half like in the 1972 King George where he defeated hores like Parnell,the Irish Derby Winner Steel Pulse Etc.He even convincingly thrashed colts like Gold Rod and Riverman.He improved his peformances as a 4 year old even though as a 3year old he won the big mile races by margins of over 8 lengths!His defeat at the hands of Roberto in theBenson andHedgesGold Cup in 1972 is almost unexplainable bu... Read more

British racehorse, Brigadier Gerard must surely be included in the greatest horse of all time category. Considered by many to be the greatest miler of all time, 'The Brigadier' won 17 of his 18 races, winning his first 15 before losing to 1972 Epsom Derby winner Roberto, over a mile and a quarter at York. Trained by Dick Hern and ridden by Joe Mercer, Brigadier Gerard won his four starts as a 2-year-old, most notably the Middle Park stakes at Newmarket. His re-appearance as a three year old saw him matched against the previous season's top rated two year olds, My Swallow and Mill Reef in the 2,000 guineas. Starting third favourite, The Brigadier stormed away from them in the final furlong, leaving an ever increasing three lengths between himself and Mill Reef (who had the benefit of a previous winning race). It was decided to keep him at a mile for his next four races, winning all, before ending the season with a victory in the mile and a quarter champion stakes at Newmarket. Retu... Read more