For many people, first place is all that counts. But every once in a while, a horse turns in a heroic performance in defeat and despite failing to pass the post first, nevertheless earns plaudits for showing courage and determination against all the odds. The following is a list of horses whose greatest career performance may well have come in defeat.

OUIJA BOARD: By the time she retired, this brilliant racemare was the best-loved racehorse in Britain, having come back from a career-threatening injury to prove her mettle time and again at the highest level in big races around the world. Her glittering CV saw her pick up a string of Gr 1 prizes including the Oaks in both England and Ireland, two Breeders Cup titles and the Hong Kong Vase. The most famous of her victories came in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood where she edged out Alexander Goldrun after a heart-stopping head-to-head duel over the final 400m. The most prestigious came in the Gr 1 Prince Of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot where, despite being cramped for running at one stage, she unleashed a sensational turn of foot to beat a clutch of high-class male runners, bringing the house down in the process.

Yet, for all her magnificent victories, her greatest performance came arguably in a race where she was beaten: the 2004 Arc de Triomphe. Ouija Board turned for home a long way out of her ground and to compound matters, she could not get a clear run down the straight. Jockey Johnny Murtagh threaded his way as best he could, but by the time she saw daylight, the high-class French colt Bago  had got first run and was busy cutting down Cherry Mix who had stolen a lead a furlong out. Bago duly nailed Cherry Mix and Ouija Board had to settle for third, but she was finishing best of all and would surely have gone closer with a bit of luck in running.

Interestingly, in December 2006, I had a chat with Peter Stanley, breeder of Ouija Board and he endorsed this view, agreeing that of all her performances, this particular one stood out in his mind as the best of the lot.

OLYMPIC DUEL: Olympic Duel has reasonable claims to being the best female runner to be bred in this country, certainly over a middle distance. In a career spanning 30 starts, the daughter of Dancing Champ never ran a bad race, winning twelve times and including several Gr 1 triumphs among them, including the J & B Met, Mainstay 1800 [Champions Cup], Paddock Stakes (twice) and both the Cape and South African Fillies Guineas. All this came despite her being psychologically scarred from being involved in a horrendous trailer crash early in her 3-year-old season - she became claustrophobic and was afraid of entering the starting stalls for the remainder of her career.

The real mark of her ability is that spent most of her time competing against top-notch male opposition such as the likes of champion miler Flaming Rock, often lugging big weights in the process and never once disgracing herself.

Despite her string of impressive big-race victories, her greatest and most moving performance came in the twilight of her career, in a race where she was consigned to defeat: the Rothmans July of 1992. Olympic Duel entered the race under a cloud: the 5-year-old mare had suffered an injury-interrupted season and there were doubts as to whether she was still as good as she used to be. To add to this, she was set to carry a hefty 57,5kg (conceding weight to all bar Flaming Rock who had 58kg) and drawn near the car park at barrier 16.

Due to her poor draw, jockey Jeff Lloyd opted to drop her out, the right thing to do in the circumstances, as there would be no point in exerting herself too much in the early stages. Turning for home, Olympic Duel was near the tail end of the field and left with an impossible task down the short Greyville straight. Up front, Spanish Galliard and Eastbrook were engaged in a rousing finish, with the former eventually prevailing by a half-length. It was another half-length back to Olympic Duel who was flying at the finish, but just found herself anchored by her big weight. Considering that she got as close as she did, though, conceding 3kg and 4kg respectively to the first two, she was far from disgraced and she had once again done her connections proud.

WESTERNER: French long-distance superstar Westerner was the world`s best stayer in his prime and he duly crowned his career with a win in the Gold Cup over 4000m at Royal Ascot in June 2005. Later that year, his connections raised a few eyebrows when running him in the Arc de Triomphe. Having shown his best form over 3000m and further, it was surely unrealistic to run him in the world`s premier turf event, where the 2400m trip would be much too sharp for his liking and he would be facing several high-class middle-distance performers who would pack far too much speed for him. Indeed, this was one of the better Arc fields put together. What made the decision even stranger was that earlier on Arc day was the Prix Du Cadran over 4000m - a race that Westerner had won before and in which he would be a penalty pick to win.

Owner Daniel Wildenstein had made up his mind however and Westerner duly took his place in the Arc. Although a hold-up specialist who was best when produced very late, jockey Olivier Peslier kept him handy in third place so as to avoid having to make up too much ground on the middle-distance specialists in the race. The pair then made a bold bid for victory hitting front halfway down the straight. On any other day it might have worked, but unfortunately for them, a freakish talent named Hurricane Run was winding himself up for the performance of his life. The latter produced a sensational finishing burst and ultimately, Westerner had to settle for second as Hurricane Run recorded most brilliant Arc victories in the history of the great race. Although beaten, the great stayer had nevertheless turned in the best performance of his career.

After the race, Wildenstein was thrilled with Westerner`s run and said, quite rightly, that second in the Arc was a far more prestigious affair than the near-certain victory that Westerner could have pulled off in the Prix du Cadran on the same card. Hurricane Run was the best turf horse in the world at that point, while Westerner had beaten home some serious horses: Bago, previous Arc winner and placed in several Gr 1 events since; Shirocco, subsequent winner of two major prizes in the Breeders Cup Turf and Coronation Cup; Motivator, runaway winner of the Epsom Derby; Shawanda, an equally facile winner of the Irish Oaks; and the top racemare Pride, future winner of three Gr 1 prizes in the Champion Stakes, Grand Prix de Saint Cloud and Hong Kong Cup.

ARKLE: The greatest steeplechaser of all time turned in any number of magnificent performances during a memorable career which saw him win 26 races over fences from 30 attempts. It was the tragic end to his racing days however which, poignantly and ironically, really illustrated his unparalleled stature. Racing in the 1966 King George V Chase, one of steeplechasing`s championship events, he was a certainty to win, especially at level weights and the crowds came out expecting to see a victory procession by this equine god. Halfway through the event, Arkle broke a pedal bone in his foot and he must have been in incredible pain for the rest of the race. However, jockey Pat Taaffe did not initially pick up that something was amiss and he continued to ride as normal. Despite running the remainder of the race on three legs - yes, that`s right - the champion almost pulled it off. Only at the end did the pain become too much and as Taaffe realised something had gone horribly wrong, Arkle was overtaken close home and beaten by Dormant.

It seems strange to class this as Arkle`s greatest performance, but in its own horrific way, it showed just what a bizarrely gifted racehorse he was. To be crippled as he was and to still nearly win one of the sport`s biggest prizes, speaks volumes of his ability. For the record, in none of Arkle`s four steeplechasing defeats was he ever beaten by a better horse: on each occasion it took a combination of extreme bad luck, sometimes coupled with extreme weight concessions of up to 15kg, to defeat him.

For the past forty years, fans of National Hunt racing have been waiting for the next Arkle to arrive. Deep down, we all know it will never happen.

NATIONAL CURRENCY: One of the most brilliant sprinters ever bred in this country, National Currency`s premature demise came as a cruel blow to racing. During the time allotted to him, however, he turned in a string of superb performances, winning among others, the Mercury Sprint, Computaform Sprint and Gold Medallion.

It was on the foreign shores of Hong Kong, however, that the son of National Assembly did South Africa really proud, in a race where he was beaten but not humbled in any way. Having his first run away from home, he was taking on local hero Silent Witness in the 2003 Gr 1 Hong Kong Sprint, one of the highlights of Hong Kong`s biggest race day of the year.

Unbeaten in seven starts, Silent Witness was already being spoken of as the greatest horses ever to race in Hong Kong and with one exception, all his wins had been with ridiculous ease. He was sent off a hot favourite to maintain his 100% record. Considering that National Currency had barely had much time to acclimatise (he had had his last run in South Africa barely two months earlier before leaving for Hong Kong) he certainly looked to have a bit of a mountain to climb. However, nobody had told the horse this and he proceeded to set up one of the greatest races ever seen in the history of Hong Kong racing.

Taking no prisoners, jockey Weichong Marwing set National Currency alight the moment the pens opened and the South African hope shot out like a tracer bullet, setting a scorching pace. None of the opposition could live with him in the early stages and passing the 400m mark, he was still well clear. By now local fans were distinctly worried as the expected victory procession for Silent Witness was not in sight and indeed, the favourite was having to be shaken up quite earnestly by Felix Coetzee.

National Currency was still in front at the furlong pole, but Silent Witness was now gathering his stride and he eventually wore him down, passing him inside the last 100m to win by a length. It had been a fantastic spectacle and both horses deserved the plaudits for contributing to a memorable race.

The true brilliance of National Currency`s performance only became clear in hindsight. Silent Witness went on to notch up a 17-race unbeaten run and established himself as the best turf sprinter in the world, before injury and a virus sadly took their toll on him. National Currency was possibly the only horse to put him under pressure when he was at his peak and to have challenged Silent Witness as he did on his home turf was a performance of the highest order. For South African readers to gauge the brilliance of Silent Witness, they need only consider the statement by jockey Coetzee that he rates the great sprinter as the best horse he has ridden - even ahead of the great Empress Club.

Sadly National Currency only had one more start, a runaway win in Dubai, before his untimely death, but he will be long remembered for his heroic effort on a foreign field, his blinding speed and unquestionable courage.