1. Sinbad Bay - undoubtedly my favourite by a long way but unlike most people who loved his guts and freakish ability over time, my love for the horse actually came from watching him lose lowly class races in Tassie. He was a rogue as a young horse and would regularly miss the start by half a lap and make up an enormous amount of ground which as an uneducated punter back then was a thrill to watch. Would not back him with $8 notes nowadays but back then it was a buzz even if he was costing me a fortune. He was also my first ever $1000 bet when a group of us flew over to Melbourne when having his first start with VJ Knight (can still recall he drew the pole and bookies opened him and one called Old Pebble 10/9 each of 2, needless to say that 10/9 didn't last long and he duly romped in and 3 weeks later won the Victoria Cup as an M1,C4 death seating). I am biased but had he not been crippled by injury he would have been the best pacer this country ever saw
2. Safari - another we never got to see the best of due to tendon injuries but I got to know a couple of the owners so always had a soft spot for him. Plus I love watching tough horses and he was as tough as they came
3. Vertical Horizon - best known as a claimer but was very good to me when first starting out on the punt, always seemed to win whenever I needed one. Will always have a soft spot for old Vertical, think I read that he was Jodi's favourite horse as well so I am sure he is enjoying his retirement
4. Master Musician - another injury plagues pacer (what is it with me and these horses???) who was competitive for an entire decade. I usually detest NZ horses but was a huge fan of the Master
5. Halyer - bought me my first decent car when he won the Australian Derby, had an unbelievable turn of speed and was cruel to see him beaten in the InterDom at Harold Park running 4th to Weona Warrior and climbing all over them up the straight
6. Franco Ice - tough as they came and any race he competed in was a great spectacle. Looking back now, the owner didn't do him many favours either as went through trainer after trainer
7. Prince Nijo - used to love this horse down in Tassie, think he won 11 of 12 before going to Melbourne where he got sick and was never the same horse again. He was as good as any young Tasmanian horse I ever saw and it was sad that the rest of the country didn't get to see it
8. Westburn Grant - was always the enemy with his battles with Sinbad but he won me over when I had a crack at the Melbourne InterDom and he got up at double figure odds
9. Almeta Boy - bit of a lovable rogue this bloke, had untapped ability but rarely produced it due to a few sheep being loose in the top paddock
10. Queen Of The World - should not even be mentioned in the same hemisphere as anything else on here but have a soft spot for her, the little grey mare got me $15K one night at Echuca then another $4k when she won the last at Shepparton one night. Only backed her 3 times as well so gotta love horses like that
Nothing against any of the greats like Blackie, Thorate, etc but they weren't favourites of mine. Blackie is still my biggest collect ever but strangely I didn't warm to him like some others. Must apologise to Jane Ellen for her non inclusion but have to cut a few but she was next in line
