Dancing Brave comes late but can't catch Shahrastani in the 1986 Derby - an unforgettable renewal

Shahrastani, ridden by Walter Swinburn, wins the 207th Epsom Derby Wednesday, famously holding off Dancing Brave and Greville Starkey by half a length.
Was Dancing Brave set an impossible task or did Swinburn give Shahrastani a brilliant ride to win the world-famous race? Probably a bit of both - although Dancing Brave went on to prove himself an outstanding middle-distance champion and plenty still believe this was a race that should not have been lost for the 2-1 favourite.
#horseracing #derby #epsom #thederby #thoroughbred
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[@paulbowles7426]

At least Dancing Brave showed how spectacular he was when he won the Arc in a field of champions

[@millonthefloss]

I REMEMBER THIS SPECTACULAR RACE,,,,,AN ABSOLUTE HEART BREAKER 😢,,,,,DANCING BRAVE,,,,TODAY IN 2023 ,,,,THE RERUNS OF THIS RACE STILL GIVES ME THE SHIVERS 😢

[@elgransenor1965]

Watching this in 2023 still hurts. Dancing Brave was THE best horse NEVER to have won the Derby. The Arc win later that year was one of the greatest races I have ever seen.

[@davidmccarthy5975]

DANCING BRAVE IS THE BEST IN MY OPINION EVER !

[@seamusfallon3104]

RIP late ,great Walter Swinburn

[@alankicks788]

There can be no doubt about which was the better horse, as he proved in subsequent races - the best horse I have ever seen.

[@Vibesman2021]

Just shows the Derby is a tough race to win. You would think its easy to win, judging by comments in last few years.

[@issyjas3309]

Same here even after all these years, Dayjur a close second

[@dudleyhardial2273]

Nearly forty years later, but I remember this as if it was yesterday. I still blame Greville Starkey for the defeat of Dancing Brave, who I believe was the best horse I have seen in my time.

[@FIamingMoeBUBU]

I guess you never saw Frankel is Sea the stars then 😂

[@csb7376]

He cam down the hill like he was on 3 legs, can't blame Starkey for that.

[@countbelalucozade]

​@@csb7376Absolutely. He was always over the place at Tattenham Corner.

[@johnwhite7306]

​@@FIamingMoeBUBU Go and watch the 1986 Arc and a field of champions were left for dead. Both good horses but how many champions did they beat?

[@Scoobydoo19677]

@@FIamingMoeBUBU Did frankel won a classic???

[@jamfornite6738]

Dancing Brave what a icon of the sport of King's

[@colinthompson8305]

What a sprint by dancing brave Starkey just left it too late

[@stevo62ful]

rivals Seabirds finish in the '65 Derby

[@user-gk7qh3ir1p]

Dancing brave SHOULD have won the derby obviously and then how it won the arc. If it had have won the derby I believe it would be the highest rated horse ever

[@salfordchris3035]

Maybe his best performance considering what ground he had to make. Dancing brave what a horse

[@studatelya]

the splits for the last 3 furlongs breathtaking the best i ever saw

[@Mike20216]

Great ride by Swinburn, always up with the pace, sadly greville rode a stinker

[@martindoherty6855]

To get so close after being so far back was incredible.

[@seanhallam4649]

Mistakes happen... they get made...& then trying to rectify that mistake is just too much to put right....But Dancing Brave will ALWAYS be the greatest horse never to win The Derby.....in fact, I don't give a stuff what Timeform rate him....he's still the best since Seabird II in 1965....Frankel was great....but Dancing Brave was a notch or two above.... 🐎

[@don__hector7845]

genius effort off of such a crawl

[@michaeldowd5545]

DB Definitely ran an extra 5 to 10 lengths going wide and very wide sometimes.

[@keithblack1336]

Oh so much to do. Gives me goosebumps

[@blairarcher8952]

He didn't have to be kept last .He didn't handle the track but he was so superior it shouldn't have mattered.

[@reynoldgibbings4592]

Best racing in the world.

[@keithjones6602]

Dancing Brave powering down the centre of the track but with oh so much to do

[@RTBS5]

Like i already love shadwell and aga khan silk make me happy to see this beautiful horses won big races and make history They are my LEGENDS 🔵⚪️ 🔴🥗

[@songsmith31a]

Like the song says: Ah yes, I remember it well. Probably one of the most controversial rides given to a horse. Trainer Guy Harwood's stable jockey Greville Starkey took a lot of flak for his early positioning of his mount and it might be said that his career never really recovered from his decision that saw the extraordinary acceleration of Dancing Brave go to waste at the finish. It begged the question - how could it happen under all the circumstances, not least the familiarity of the horse's ability that should have been known? The "Brave" was to make up for this "not quite" result with a devastating turn of foot that obtained victory in the Arc de Triomphe under Pat Eddery.

[@frankschlanker]

Watch a documentary on Willie Carson and he says they always go to fast in the Derby except 1 year ask Greville Starkey. Slow pace and what they thought at the time was a doubtful stayer, he was told to hold him up. Nevertheless Shahrastani's Irish Derby win was something else and with The Brave winning the Eclipse this was a year of 2 exceptional horses and by the end of the season 1 exceptional one. Pity they got too greedy and almost killed DB at the Breeders Cup, the horse was sick and they still ran him.

[@songsmith31a]

@@frankschlanker Thanks for the reply. I know from both attending and watching that famous racing occasion that Epsom is a specialist course demanding the range of a horse's abilities, and the same applies to the rider. Holding up a horse is a matter of judgement about timing and positioning. Starkey was too far off the pace at a vital period for whatever reason. My abiding memory of Dancing Brave was his triumph in the Arc under Pat Eddery. Regrettably, they went to the well too many times.

[@user-ke2bz8yy8y]

Dancing brave was giving the worst ride i have witnessed in 50 years it was a complete shambles of a ride

[@caeglas1]

Great commentary from Goode

[@waynegrow4141]

At the 6 pole there were people between the barriers, very close to the horses.

[@leroyosborne5546]

Dancing Brave won the 2000 Guineas weeks before not even Guy Harwood knew he would get the trip he was ridden with that in mind yes he was spectacular in the King George and Arc de Triomphe but hindsight is a wonderful thing. 3:48 w

[@davidblackie227]

if you watch starkey in the parade ring he looks at someone in the crown stratches his palm tugs his shirt as if he is telling someone to get his shirt on him

[@williammitchell9974]

Alas Thee Maestro Wold Have Bagged This🏇🏇🏇

[@janine2371]

Dancing Brave simply ran out of track. Looks like he made up at least 10 lengths in the stretch. To me, he looked much the best in this race. I don't think Secretariat could have caught Shahrastani. Dancing Brave's late rush reminded me of the great American multiple champion, Forego in the Marlboro Cup when he caught Foolish Pleasure by a nose.

[@alistairmccausland1580]

Never forgot this race watching Greville Starkey put Dancing Brave in an absolutely impossible position to win anything. The trainer Guy Harwood put Pat Eddery on Dancing Brave for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. It clearly shows why Pat Eddery was the top jockey, winning the race in style...

[@robertdelacy3434]

Grevile Starkey rode him in the eclipse an would rode him in the king George if he wasn't injured

[@philipwright5350]

You know nothing about racing. Greville rode him to win the Eclipse and would have rode him in the King George if he wasn’t injured. If you watch the race very carefully you will see Dancing Brave lose balance coming into the straight out of Tattenham Corner. That is what cost him the race. At no time did Guy Harwood or the owners blame Greville. The only ones that did were the punters talking through their pockets!

[@Newworldman66]

@@philipwright5350 If Eddery only got the DB ride in the KG because of an injury to Starkey, why wasn't Starkey back onboard in the Arc? Eddery's ride in the KG was far from perfect.

[@chinering23]

@@philipwright5350 You don't know much either. Greville gave him too much to do, exactly what the commentator is saying, left it too late, his fault, it's a shame but it is what it is. If he had won it then this race would also be a top candidate for the best race but that got given to DB anyway for the Arc. DB was superior and any capable jockey could make him work. To quote the lad "I think we've got a racehorse here".

[@williammitchell9974]

Oh Greville 😢GRH Mr ( Horseman) Starkey 🏇🙏

[@keybuckley]

I still think he's going to get up.

[@philipbarnes1225]

Dancing Brave didn't handle the course it's a tribute to his greatness that he came so close to winning.

[@andymason5715]

Starkey didn't handle the horse by being at the back then expecting a miracle to happen 5 furlongs out

[@andymason5715]

The best horse never to win a Derby. Starkey was to blame 100% all he had to do was settle mid divison, not at the back. I think he would have won by 5 or 6 lengths going away

[@countbelalucozade]

Dancing Brave never handled Tattenham Corner and he often took a while to hit top gear.

[@frankschlanker]

He didnt have this unbelievable instant accelleration that people seem to think he had. It took him a furlong to hit really top gear. If you watch the Arc he disappears for 10secs before he hits top speed but my god did he move!!

[@countbelalucozade]

@@frankschlanker Very true. In the king george Pat Eddery's riding of him was not good in my opinion, unnecessary showboating by Eddery. The horse didn't seem to be as effective being ridden like that.

[@yingyang9414]

On that day I was happy because I had the winner but Starkey give Dancing Brave a bad Ride and it cost him his Derby Dancing Brave should have won by a mile but Starkey take too long to move him look when Pat. EDDERY ride him in the Arck he pass them like if the anchor and G.strakey had to stay home and watch the Race

[@neilhamilton5951]

Greville😢😢😢

[@Essydyk]

Never quite got the grief that Starkey took for this. The horse clearly didn't handle the track well - at times he is pushing it just to stay in touch. In the home straight he begins his run at the 3 furlong pole with very little response - between the 3 and the 2 furlong pole he loses ground to the winner who quickens. Only at the 2 furlong pole does the horse start running on strongly but the ground lost in the previous furlong has cost it the race.

[@1362462]

Not every horses goes down the hill at Epsom, especially when you see Greville Starkey already squeezing Dancing Brave while coming down the hill. It's just sad that such a champion could not win in the Derby.

[@sconzerb7780]

Excellent assessment.

[@alankicks788]

If Piggott or Eddery had been riding him, he would have won confortably

[@waynegrow4141]

@@alankicks788 what like El Gran Senor?

[@waynegrow4141]

Interesting that Graham Goode implies at the end of his commentary that he got the horse beat.

[@KryptonitetoallBS]

The single worst performance by a jockey I've seen. Yes, Epsom is a tough track, but when you're sat on a phenomenal horse like Dancing Brave, sorry there's just no excuse to be 10 lengths back with 1 furlong to go!!

[@callumtomsett178]

Another 25 yards and he gets up

[@deano007]

Greville starkey lost that not dancing brave…starkey was like a washing machine on a horse absolutely useless

[@ronaldparsons2131]

Check out the fourth horse,cauthens,more unlucky than the second

[@devshibhudia8760]

Ididsarastani

[@sandrarichardson4639]

@National Green Party volunteer Public Relations Officer Cyber Mabouya ™

[@darwin-zn9gt]

Troy was a lot further behind than dancing brave and against a far superior field,what beat dancing brave was they went to slow if it was a normal fast run derby DB would have won slow run race beat him

[@keithblack1336]

Rode him to get the trip when they needn’t have worried. Hindsight is a great thing. Grenville was a top jockey he made a mistake. Ryan Moore makes plenty

[@WESSERPARAQUAT]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

[@mallafets]

Most unlucky high profile loser ever. Starkey gets the blame, rightly so. Badly positioned and got unbalanced. However, run this race another ten times and Starkey wins in DB. DB the best I have seen over 8-12f and I am 48.

[@Martin.Lewis..]

Guess you must of not seen his running in the BC to add to the derby failure… #dreadfulruns #hypehorse

[@mallafets]

@@Martin.Lewis.. the horse was sick and should never have ran. Lost weight and almost died afterwards. Horses so get beat.

[@johnrobertson6770]

Biggest non trier in derby history not the horse the jockey starkey was very poor still annoys me nearly 30 years ago if Carson Cauthen or eddery was on it wins on the bridle

[@Martin.Lewis..]

Massively overrated.

[@madtingsadting]

Best comment yet 😂😂😂😂😂😂🔥🔥🔥

[@mallafets]

Oh!.really. Harwood, Stoute Starkey and Eddery all mistaken and DB was not one of the all time greats.

[@Priyath1010]

The super jockey I've ever seen Walter Swinburn sheer talent better than Lester to me he was champ. R I