We all wished we owned the perfect racehorse. But what does that consist of?
And in fact, if we can go all Frankenstein on this, why don't we just create it in our laboratory?
So here goes - Matt Smith and a couple of racing tragics (Tim Aldridge, of NZTR, and the Otago Racing Club's Andre Klein) have figured out the perfect specimen of a thoroughbred racehorse to run any distance, made up of the best parts of horses over history - with maybe a slight bias towards the modern era and to our part of the world.
HEART
Hard to go past Phar Lap. For starters, his cardiac organ was massive, weighing almost twice the size of a regular horse's heart.
While big hearts (literally, not figuratively) have been the downfall of big American wrestlers (with drugs thrown in), Phar Lap's heart pumped blood through the body at a great rate until his much speculated on death in North America.
LEGS/FEET
Despite suffering a tendon injury early in her 3yr-old season, Sunline's legs carried her through an outstanding career in New Zealand and Australia, and even further afield in Hong Kong and Dubai.
Considering she raced 48 times for 33 wins and 12 minor placings, it's safe to say her legs were a strong part in her making the grade as a top-class racehorse.
HEAD
The recently departed Rough Habit makes it into the head category, but for all the wrong reasons.
The John Wheeler-trained galloper was described as having ''a head like a barn door'', according to Tim, although Tim never quite knew what he meant.
''Either way, he was a pretty ugly animal, but one with a big motor,'' Tim said. But the winner is Zabeel - the super sire has a beautiful strong head and has passed on that trait to many of his offspring.
BODY SHAPE
You could go down three roads - or racetracks - for this category. Beast, perfectly proportioned, or the pocket rocket.
Empire Rose fell into the first category - she weighed 650kg during her racing career, about 100kg more than a regular thoroughbred. So You Think ticks boxes in the middle category - perfectly proportioned and with a frame that could handle all distances of racing.
Tulloch was a smaller horse, at just 15.2 hands high - the average racehorse is around 16 hands - but that didn't stop him winning a Cox Plate, a Mackinnon Stakes, a Caulfield Guineas and three Derbys in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Considering So You Think's frame helped him win across hemispheres and over a variety of distances, we'll go with him.
WILL TO WIN
Kincsem is a natural contender for this category. The Hungarian won 55 races from ... well, 55 starts, and Black Caviar's unbeaten career over 25 races is certainly worthy of mention too.
If that's not a will to win, what is? But the Kiwi bias comes into play here. Bonecrusher is Tim Aldridge's favourite horse, one of mine and Andre Klein is an unabashed fan as well.
We'll leave it to Tim to describe why he is the horse we need for this category:''His will to win was never better shown than in his Australian Cup win against At Talaq when both jockeys and horses conspired against him, but he somehow prevailed despite looking to have lost. Frank [Ritchie, trainer] reckoned that race took its toll and he was never quite the same after that.
Also in the AJC Derby where he got shoved into the running rail and sported a white stripe on his stifle for the majority of the race. At the 200m he looked beaten with numerous horses challenging him inside and out.''
And that's without mentioning his win over Our Waverley Star in the 1986 Cox Plate.
TURN OF FOOT
Frankel's ability to put away his rivals in a matter of strides was part of the reason he retired unbeaten after 14 starts.
Tim suggested La Mer due to her New Zealand Oaks win at Trentham in 1977, which featured the late great Peter Kelly's famous call of ''... in the twinkling of an eye''.
She could go from a small lead to a large lead in a very short distance. Balmerino gets a mention, but we better give one to the States, and that's Zenyatta - the wonder mare from a few years back.
STAMINA
Makybe Diva is an obvious contender here for her three Melbourne Cups. Kiwi jumpers Hypnotize and Hunterville thrived over the 6400m of the Great Northern Steeplechase - both winning three renewals of the race.
Il Tempo won two Auckland Cups and a Wellington Cup and Castletown loved the Wellington Cup too. But if you want stamina, it's time to call on a three-time English Grand National winner Red Rum. If you can handle the fences at Aintree and come out victorious three times, the energy stores must be bottomless.
Pacing and trotting powerhouses
How about the great pacers and trotters? Matt Smith looks back over his time following harness racing and picks out a few who fit into some of the vital categories.
Legs/feet: While pacers and trotters don't have the same hard impact on the ground as the gallopers, they do have tireless hours on the jogging tracks and the training tracks to contend with, so a good pair of feet is vital. The wonderfully temperamental Lord Module was, well, wonderfully temperamental for several reasons including quarter cracks on his hooves, so his success despite such problems is impressive. Dual New Zealand Cup winner Just An Excuse excelled despite having a club foot. Mainland Banner flew through the grades to win the 2005 New Zealand Cup with barely a scratch until a flexor tendon injury the following year essentially ended her career. Flashing Red had the odd bump and bruise over his career, but to get through 171 starts, including many at the top level, is good enough for me - especially when you recall his two New Zealand Cup wins.
Body shape: Two outstanding pacers spring to mind in this category. Christian Cullen redefined the breed in New Zealand with his incredibly athletic body. He was an imposing figure on the race track, and he has carried it over to the breeding barn, passing on his muscular frame to many of his progeny. Courage Under Fire was known as ''The Pocket Rocket'' for a pretty obvious reason - he wasn't very big - but boy, could he run. He won his first 24 starts, including one win by almost 50m and will forever be remembered as the dominant force in age-grade racing around the turn of the 21st century. But let's stick to Christian Cullen for this category - he gets the nod for his superior record at stud.
Will To Win: How can you go past Blacks A Fake in this category? 105 starts, and 72 of those ended in victory. Throw in his $A4.5 million in prize money and his utter refusal at times to let any horses past him, even when he had a torrid run, he has this prize all sewn up. Honourable mention, however, to Smoken Up who had a similar hatred of losing.
Turn of foot: Many horses can look impressive coming off a hot pace - most recently, our very own Jaccka Justy in the Interdominion. But one horse made an art form of a searing sprint - and that was Themightyquinn. The Southland-bred pacer could turn a race from a lottery to a sure thing in a matter of 100m with his electrifying sprint.
Stamina: Terror To Love - three New Zealand Cups. What more do you want? Notable mention to the freakish trotter Lyell Creek.