Editing Exceller (section)

==American racing career==
In the middle of 1977, Exceller was shipped to [[California]] and placed in the care of [[Charlie Whittingham]]. At first, Whittingham didn't have high expectations for a horse who walked stiffly on arrival and seemed the worse for wear. However, a little time off and some of Whittingham's expertise soon had Exceller competing and winning against some of the best horses in America.

As a five-year-old in 1978, Exceller had his best season on the racecourse, winning 7 of 10 starts, all in top company, on both dirt and turf racetracks. After claiming the [[Hollywood Gold Cup]], [[Hollywood Invitational Turf Handicap]], [[San Juan Capistrano Handicap]], [[Sunset Handicap]], and [[Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship Stakes|Oak Tree Invitational Stakes]], Exceller had his crowning moment. With [[Bill Shoemaker]] in the saddle, he came from 22 lengths back to beat [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]] winners [[Seattle Slew]] and [[Affirmed]] in the [[Jockey Club Gold Cup]]. Affirmed's saddle had slipped, effectively taking him out of the race, and Seattle Slew had hung up almost suicidal fractions on the lead, but Exceller still powered through the [[Belmont Park]] mud to win by a nose.

Exceller came back again at age six and managed some placings, but was not quite the same horse.

In sum, he had won 15 of 33 starts, including 13 stakes races, and placed in 11 more in France, England, Canada, and the United States and had earned $1,654,003. He and [[Noor (horse)|Noor]] were the only horses in history to defeat two U.S. Triple Crown winners, and Exceller was the only one to pull off this feat in a single race. Most racing writers agree that, along with [[Gallant Man]] and [[Lure (horse)|Lure]], he may have been the best horse to race in the United States and not win a year-end championship.

Exceller ran best, like many European horses, "covered up"—deep in the pack early. In the late stages of the race he produced a powerful burst of speed and caught the leaders in the stretch. His final quarter mile times are notable because he regularly sprinted this distance in under 25 seconds. His fractions of 23 2/5 seconds at the end of the [[Hollywood Gold Cup]] and [[Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship Stakes|Oak Tree Invitational]] is very fast, as 23 seconds is considered a quick first quarter in such a race.