Perhaps; it's the age-old conundrum of comparing horses from different eras. We can't know for sure how good Hay List is compared with e.g. Schillaci. But the premise of handicap racing being to give each horse an equal chance of winning means a good horse needs keep improving, or win with something in reserve, to stay on top. Handicappers generally resist assigning outrageous weights because the race clubs don't want to deter champions from running, so the weights of the opponents will be lowered instead. Bernborough is the textbook example of a horse continually beating the handicapper in top company, but even he met his Waterloo.
Following his defeat in the Stradbroke under 56.5kg, Schillaci was largely restricted to WFA events:
11th/20 Doncaster Hcp G1 56.5kg
9th/10 Hall Mark Stks LR 60kg
1st/15 Caulfield Spr G3 60.5kg
5th/17 Sandown Stks G3 60kg
5th/14 Qantas Cup G2 59kg
2nd/20 Stradbroke Hcp G1 58kg
His record in handicaps wasn't too flash after his 3yo season. And I rate Schillaci as the best in my time after BC.
Arguably. The placegetters in Schillaci's second Lightning win - his greatest IMO - were Clever Zoe and Oozook. Handy horses but not top class on any sort of regular basis.
First time I went to Moonee Valley in 1988, the feature (Manikato Stks) was a Group 2 containing Placid Ark, Vo Rogue, Special, Rancho Ruler, Campaign King, Our Westminster & Kaapstad (among others). Now that's depth!
Fields entered in BC's races are small because the opposition is running scared, but I grant you, depth isn't great.
A bona fide turf legend, but they can't really be compared. The top staying and middle distance events have always held more prestige than their sprint counterparts, which probably traces to the thoroughbred breeding ideal of producing horses with speed and stamina. Unless BC retires undefeated, I somehow doubt she'll become a household name in the same sense as Phar Lap or Tulloch, or even Makybe Diva, just as the uninitiated of today aren't familiar with the deeds of Todman and Vain.
