Mill Reef

Mill Reef was the best middle distance horse in Europe in 1971,but over a mile was put firmly in his place by Brigadier Gerard in the Two Thousand Guineas. This horse had a tremendous attitude to racing and  always had a great public following . Irishgit  is probably right;I doubt that Mill Reef would have coped with the very best.

Timeform of England rated Mill Reef at 141, which placed him as the #8 in the world for the 20th Century. His record of 6 straight Grade 1 wins stood for 30 years. He was the first horse to win the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the same year -- not bad for a three year old? Yes, he lost to Brigadier Gerard; maybe he would have again, maybe not. Street Sense demolished Curlin the 1st time out, but Curlin beat him twice after that. Who knows? One thing we do know, Brigadier Gerard didn't handle Roberto.

A hell of a horse, and I won a ton of money on him, but I wouldn't put him in the top 40 all-time.

possibly the best horse of the late 20th century.his running style was pure poetry in motion as in the arc where he beat that brilliant french filly pistol packer with such ease.thanks for the memories.

Mill Reef was a truly great champion. He tasted defeat only twice - once as a two year old in France against top rated two year-old, My Swallow and once as a three-year-old in the 1971 2,000 guineas at Newmarket, finishing a well betean three lengths behind Brigadier Gerard, who was unbeaten in four races as a two year old and unlike Mill Reef, was making his seasonal re-appearance in the mile classic. Put simply, Mill Reef was beaten by a crack miler; arguably the best ever seen over that distance and would have been unable to beat the Dick Hern horse had they met again at that distance. However, Mill Reef would have proved the better of the two over a mile and a half - a distance at which the great Ian Balding colt was undefeated. It should not be overlooked that both colts were meant to face one another again as four olds in the 1972 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown (Mill Reef had already won that race as a three year old). As it turned out Mill Reef didn't run and The Brigadier subsequen... Read more

There is no doubting that Mill Reef was a very good horse. But i find it difficult to see him as one of the all time greats. Firstly he was beaten by Brigidier Gerard in the 2000 guinees, thus showing that he was not top class at a mile. He won the Derby but not without a battle. He matured into a real racing machine when the Arc came around and produced an excellent performance to win, however i would rate his Arc performance behind Dancing Brave's, Sea Bird's and Ribot's.

I will never forget standing on the Roof at York Races on a rain soaked August afternoon in 1970 as Mill Reef sauntered away with the Gimcrack as a two year old. As a fourteen year old, I was simply mesmorised! In my opinion that stands as the greatest two year old performance in the last forty years (all that I can personally recall) Just think the runner-up that day (a very long! ten lengths in arrears) Green God went on to be named champion sprinter as a three year old and the third Swing Easy, went on to land the Irish Two Thousand Guineas as a three year old. Mill Reefs's performances,as a two year old beginning with a facile victory in Royal Ascots Coventry Stakes through to an even easier win in the Dewhirst in October, and then his exploits as a Three year old, culminating in what people tend to overlook - a simply spellbinding win in the Prix Ganay (discount his narrow win over Homeric on his final run as he was definitely in the grips of the virus)coupled with the class of op... Read more

Mill Reef was a beautiful, intellegent racehorse, so close to perfection in every way that it was almost breathtaking. When he injured his leg in a race and needed surgery, everyone was skeptical. Most horses waking up from anesthesia would panic and thrash, as Ruffian did, and have to be destroyed later. But Mill Reef stayed calm, and later returned with his left foreleg held together by steel plates. He is definately a racehorse to remember.

The greatest British Middle distance racehorse of the last Century who could perform outstandingly on both firm and heavy going and over all distances.Mill Reef's 6 length win in the 1971 King George and his 10 length win in the 1972 Prix Ganay are possibly the greatest post -war middle distance performances by a British racehorse.I would rate Mill Reef jointly with Brigadier Gerard(Greatest miler ever with a record 15 consecutive wins for a British racehorse and was a champion at 3 and 4 years .He also had amazing versatality winning upto a mile and a half in the 1972 King George) as the greatest British racehorse of the last Century.THe Brigadier could never perform outstandingly on heavy going.At his best i would rate Mill Reef superior.(Brigadier's amazing consistency gives him rating on par with Mill Reef) Nijinsky although a triple Crown winner(In addition to the Irish Derby and theKing George) did nor beat the same class of opponents in such a breathtaking manner.Dancing Brave ... Read more