the mighty altior.

​I have no doubt, irrespective of official ratings, that Altior is the top horse trained in this country. I seriously doubt if Cyrname will ever again put up a performance to warrant his current inflated rating. Indeed with Altior set to be campaigned over longer distances during the coming season I would not be at all surprised if Paul Nicholls attempts to fill the vacuum left by Altior’s absence from the 2-mile division by running Cyrname in the Tingle Creek and the other Grade 1’s over that trip if he should succeed in the first, ensuring, that like with Altior, there is no opposition strong enough to boost his rating any further than where it currently sits.
Altior is mighty, though quite where he stands in the pantheon of 2-mile chasers is not easy to benchmark. Nineteen straight wins represents quantity; it does not necessarily represent quality. That in no way is angled to suggest that Altior is not quality from the tip of his muzzle to the hairs in his tail. To win three or four in a row can sometimes be down to luck or circumstance. To win nineteen in a row is to rule out every governing factor except class. And Altior has a bucket-load of class.
But is he better than Sprinter Sacre in his pomp? Or Badsworth Boy? Moscow Flyer? Or Dunkirk?
It is a subjective debate. Definitively we shall never know. No algorithm would be capable of solving the question. Recently the Racing Post concluded that Sprinter Sacre stands at the top of the all-time 2-mile chasers. I tend to agree. At the height of his powers, before his heart problem, obviously, he not only looked unbeatable in the division but he also possessed the potential to become one of the best steeplechasers of all-time, to be talked about in the same sentence as Arkle, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star. He was truly awesome. A black and magnificent aeroplane. It is a bizarre and almost cruel coincidence that a heart condition should render two of the great horses trained by two of the great trainers a shade of their brilliant best. If Denman had also not suffered a heart problem, I am convinced he would have won three Gold Cups and his name would be mentioned in that sentence that included Arkle and Desert Orchid. Altior/Sprinter Sacre. Kauto Star/Denman.
Altior might yet follow the trail of Kauto and win a King George (or two) and a Gold Cup. Then, without any debate, Altior will become as legendary as Arkle and co.
But is he a truly great 2-mile chaser? Can a horse be authentically described as a ‘great’ without beating a horse within a pound or two of his own rating? When Sprinter Sacre won his first 2-mile champion chase he beat Sizing Europe by a long way without ever being asked a serious question by Barry Geraghty. Oh, by the way, the connections of Sprinter Sacre and every enthusiast of our sport owe Geraghty a huge debt of gratitude for having the experience and foresight to pull-up Sprinter that day at Kempton. To have persevered would have caused ever-lasting harm to the horse and there is no way he would have risen from the ashes to claim a second and more astonishing 2-mile crown. Incidentally on that occasion defeating the following season’s 2-mile champion chaser and the Ryanair winner.
Has Altior beaten a similar quality of chaser? I do not believe he has. Of course, by this time next year we might be asking how he won so many races over 2-miles when he is inexorably better over 3-miles and he will be elevated in all our estimations because of his exploits over shorter distances.
In the same way that I believe a horse should not be given a humungous rating on the basis of one race, I do not accept that a long unbeaten sequence is a defining factor in describing a horse as ‘one of the greats of the sport’. Altior is certainly unique. He is most definitely a crowd-pleaser. And he warrants the accolade of best horse currently in training. As I write, and I am prepared to be discredited by results come this time next year, I can’t have him mentioned in the same breath as the legends – Arkle, Desert Orchid, Golden Miller, Red Rum, Kauto Star.
But by God aren’t we fortunate to have him to dream about, to wonder at what heights he might yet achieve?