Way to keep the hope alive Dougie!

hey, hopes about all they have...lol

I got the Zen beyer about 90 to 92, what do you have. Clearly RA ran the superior race.

As I have written previously, a loss at FG takes the pressure off of RA's camp should they decide to skip the Apple Blossom and train her up into the La Troienne. They can now save face and skip the Hot Springs race. I think Jackson has this fear that RA would be 90% for the Blossom, lose to Zenyatta, and then Zenyatta would never again leave SoCal. If RA shows up in the Stephen Foster, Woodward, and BC Classic, then Z will have to engage her at some point along the road.

So you think the Zenyatta camp fears RA? :zz:

The Zenyatta camp fears the whole east coast, judging by her PPs

I'm not sure they would ship to NM to face Pepper's Pride Kev..

If the last two years are any basis, I think they fear leaving Southern California. I would love to see RA, Z, Summer Bird, and Quality Road all show up in the Stephen Foster at the top of their games.

Certainly Moss has tired of beating up on basically the same horses in SoCal. Doesn't he want his prized mare competing against males on the East Coast? Lady's Secret did it. Personal Ensign did it. RA did it. Wait a second, I just mentioned the last three females who were Horse of the Year.

So when Z doesn't show up at the Apple Blossom I guess we'll know that they are ducking RA...

Looking at personal ensign she definitely feared taking on males on the west coast!

As I'm sure you know, the BC was at Santa Anita the last two years. Since obviously its taken hold with many in the racing business as the end-all to every racing season and that to run outside CA is to not run on synthetics, one can hardly blame Zenyatta's connections for not shipping. I doubt fear was involved in her campaigning last year.

As far as Moss or her fan base being tired of her beating on the same old rivals, I think today's race reveals a somewhat disappointing possibility. Zenyatta faced the worst field of her career today, but because of a less than stellar trip, she made things quite exciting.

Is it possible that these "one hand tied behind my back" efforts will be enough to keep the public satisfied that she's an all-timer?

The reasonable route is often not the most challenging or exciting path. I want to see Zenyatta stray from her comfort zone. If Moss has the best horse in North America, then he should prove it beyond all reasonable doubt by racing her against top males on a conventional dirt surface at least once this year. If Zenyatta runs in the BC again, it will be interesting to see whether she shows up in the Distaff or the Classic.

Why face males on dirt? I thought RA already showed she is better than any of them. If you can't beat little Z, how you gonna beat big Z? Too bad Sherriff retired LIS, you could have shot for the moon and tried to beat his second string.

No, you missed the West Coast-based Azeri, who never ran against the boys when she was HOY.

They fear Colonel Klink :D

Asmussen taking the bullet for this result
 

Not sure how you run a short horse especially if it is the reigning HOY but that's what we got folks from team Asmussen yesterday. I for one am not convinced that what I saw yesterday was a short horse or a horse that may not get back to the level of performance we saw last year.

Rachel was just plain average at best yesterday and at 1-9 and should have easily defeated this bunch if she was short, missing one leg, etc.... Forget the Apple Blossom fans,,,you need to wonder now if you saw Rachel for the last time yesterday.


Scat OUT

from bloodhorse:

There was some doubt from Rachel Alexandra’s camp after the race as to whether she would still be pointed toward the Apple Blossom.
"We'll have to be cautious. We want to do what's right for the mare," Asmussen said. "The filly's lacking fitness. It was my job to have her there, and I didn't do it.
“How tired she is off of that will be established in the coming days. She’s not where I thought she was and if I had thought she’d get beat she wouldn’t run. You take her back, you evaluate her, you see how her mood is, her diet, how she goes back to the racetrack, how she breezes. No crystal ball could see that far ahead."

I always forget about Azeri. Probably because I was never a big fan of her.

Maybe she was a bit short yesterday, but it might turn out that Zardana isn't a plug either. She might be a horse that just wants to run on the dirt. But some credit should be given to her and her connections, even if Shirreffs just sent her their to be a fly in the ointment.

You forgot that, yet you remember Personal Ensign being HOY? (She was not.) Interesting revisionist history.