I agree umrum,

This horse is /was undeniably one of the greats. Let's not forget that we on the east coast acknowledged his credentials for being recognised as one of the "greats."
As far as "champion," well, I'm sorry, but the jury is still out.
I still think that he was a horse , if handled better, would have eclipsed some of the records of our more recent "champions."
What do you think?
Looking forward to your thoughts.

Cheers.

xanadu,
No doubt he is one of the greats. I also think he is a 'champion'. His record will probably show that in times to come. An interesting point to ponder is whether Sunline is/was a champion. I think she is and therefore Northerly must be defeating 4 from 4, two of them in her prime at her favourite course/distance...

I think he was trained magnificently by fred kersley. Highlighted by his caufield cup and cox plate victory's within 7 days. I think that there were races that he could have contested and won that would have made him eclipse certain records. Races such as the yalumba, mackinon and other G1's. Also the ranvet and Bmw two years ago. All of these would have given him more stakemoney and G1's to his name. Also when first up he was ridden quietly and perhaps was not fit enough however I believe he could have picked up some "easy" G1's like the Orr and Futurity. But perhaps if he was ridden harder or more trained up he may have hit a flat spot later on and not won the cox in successive years or the caufield. I think his record in the autumn shows that he was probably flat from his spring feats. But we will probably never know his full potential.

cheers
umrum

p.s watching him before he was a star is unbelievable. He was 3 wide in his first Australian cup and smashed the course record. Also his feehan stakes win over sunline makes the blood really pump. And his first cox plate he was off the bit 3 wide again(oliver loved racing him wide) and still won. Go the champ.

[ This Message was edited by: umrum on 2003-07-25 12:37 ]

just heard news from reliable source close to
connections of Northerly. Sad news was;
Northerlys racing days are over :sad:

umrum,

Northerly was a great horse but settle down a bit on his CC win being the greatest ever.

Eleven horses have carried his weight or more and won the Cup before and all of them at a time of less compressed weight scales.

It was a good win but not mind blowing. Sunline's weight carrying feats in handicaps were superior to Northerly's.

Hammers.

I can't help but wonder just what Northerly's career stats would be if he had been in the care of one J.Hawkes?IMO Fred Kersley is a "good"trainer.J.Hawkes is a great one.Putting Fremason in the same boat with Northerly is like comparing Dame Edna with Nicole Kidman.Take P.Payne's butt out of the pigskin and he wins in a canter.A champion horse needs a champion trainer and a champion jockey.Look at the late great T.J.Smith's record of making great horses out of good horses that were going nowhere with ordinary trainers.Gunsynd springs to mind.My condolances to all you guys that obviously idolised this fantastic racehorse.The memories of his deeds will last forever.I hope they put him in a lush paddock with a beautiful mare to keep him company for the rest of his days,God knows he's earned it.

I do get carried away with him because he is the champ. Just remember before the race. On weights he should never have won. He gave Fields of Omagh what 4.5 kgs. He gave fremason 4.5kgs. he gave republic lass 5 or 6
kgs. These horses have all proven to be quality group one performers. To carry that weight over 2400 is phenomenal and to give other runners 4 kg and win is even greater. He also did it from the front, fields of omagh was within 2 lengths at the turn and couldnt run him down. I think it rates right up there with the best and dont get me started when he beat the best field ever assembled in the cox plate.

G'day angel,

I tend to agree with your comments but nothing should detract from the performances of this mighty horse. He gave his best each and every start and deserves a peaceful retirement. Although, an opinion expressed by one of our media personalities suggests that, being a gelding he will still enjoy the atmosphere around the stables because his competitive spirit will not have diminished-I agree with those sentiments.
By the way old son-we did you in the State Of Origin series but your mob came back well in the third game and spanked our posteriors.
Also, I noticed in another post that you felt your comments were not being acknowledged by some posters-don't worry, I find your opinions worthwhile and constructive so keep 'em coming!

Cheers and good luck to you.

g'day guys,

i know the general consensus is that Northerly should have been placed better but
Fred Kersley is an absolute genius horseman dont worry about that. AS I have stated previously P. Payne slaughtered him and cost him but I think Fred has done a sterling job. Not many horses have backed up to win the cox plate after shouldering 58kg's to victory in the caufield cup just 7 days earlier. Anyway sorry about the repetitive nature of this post. well done fred

I certainly classify Northerly as a champion - he had a tremendous determination to win and could overcome setbacks in a race to win.

I think New Zealand's Trevor McKee, trainer and part-owner of Northerly's arch-rival Sunline has summed it up best - "He was one helluva champion galloper, He probably had the most unorthodox style I have seen in a racehorse. I was in awe of him. I never thought I would see a horse who could meet Sunline four times and beat her four times."

Enjoy your retirement CHAMP :sad:

Today on Racing Retro Fred was interviewed and the general consensus was that Northerly will be retired to a quiet paddock somewhere in the west.
It is not unusual for such well performed thoroughbreds to be inducted into the police force. Horses of this calibre are usually very intelligent and brave and thrive on the constant attention they receive as well as performing a public service. I'm sure his connections will make the right decision which is in the horse's best interests.

Cheers.