Oh the ironing.

Hey, GENIUS (I assume that's what you are trying to hint at by calling everyone else IDIOTS)...what does Rachel Alexandra have to do at this point with Zenyatta and a campaign towards HOY?

Not sure if your vision is obstructed sniffing all the back ends while riding the slipstream in your continuous Tour De Douche.

Nonetheless, carry on with your "In the Land of the Blind, Mister One Eye is King" routine.

Unfortunately, from where I stand, Mister's one eye is merely an azzhole...

The funny thing is the thread starter has been pro-Zenyatta for the most part. It is possible to like the horse and have an issue with where she runs this year.

What we definitely needed was for Rachel Alexandra to be invoked into this thread where there was no reason whatsoever. Now it'll only be a matter of seconds before Smooth Operator and CSC show up.

NT

You have a horse that's never lost. And, she's never lost by running a single way. This means she needs to have, essentially, the same 'setup' every time she runs. In other words, she DICTATES setup, which is something that, pretty much, no other horse has done -- at least not running from way back.

So, the end result is:

1) constant criticism that she doesn't run FAST enough. (And that even the present RA would beat her)

2) She's beating NOBODIES

Well, 1) is just a result of the present rating system in place. Since this isn't irrefragible, who cares what the numbers say?

And, for 2), she showed up when it counted. Why in the world do her connections need to give her HARD races? She'll be there for the BC; I could care less what she does till then.

I just don't get why a horse that has done something so unique needs to constantly be criticized. If this isn't IGNORANCE, I don't know what is. This si MIKE the EUNUCH BS.

the_fag_man always goes after RA and the connections for ducking the BC and Apple Blossom.

But Zenyatta's connections are above criticism. Lets forget about the Woodward last year. That doesn't count. The sissies weren't butthurt over an award at that time. Bravery doesn't count until the Eclipse awards happened.

GET IT RIGHT YOU MORANS!! MOMMY ISSUES!

Wait for "The Great Sportsman" Jess Jackson to respond in a press conference...he was mapping out a 3 race series for Zenyatta earlier in the year. I'm sure by now he has made a few revisions and will gladly pass them along to the Mosses at a later date.

As the one who started this thread, I'll confess that in the Zenyatta v. RA discussion, I came down on the Zenyatta side. As a Zenyatta fan, I'd like to see what she can do when tested. Along those lines, when they "unretired" Zenyatta, the Mosses stated that the whole point of bringing Zenyatta back this year, having won the BC Classic at 10F against males, was to do something different and challenge their mare. Judged against that standard, a decision to run against what likely would be a field of allowance caliber of fillies in the Vanity rather than against the top handicap male on the West Coast in an historic race would be rather disappointing. And at that point, it's hard to defend against the criticism that her connections have carefully picked a "cupcake" schedule for their mare.

This gets to the heart of the Zenyatta discussion.....instead of ever focusing on the discussion at hand, those that blindly defend Zenyatta ( not those that realistically discuss her ) have to turn to Rachel Alexandra, even though she has absolutely ZERO to do with the current topic.

The valid point was, since she is staying home at Hollywood, she should face Rail Trip, arguably one of the top horses in training, in the marquis race at Zenyatta's home and favorite track, Hollywood Park. I don't see how any racing fan could argue with this. If, instead, she runs in the Vanity, it becomes more clear that it is not shipping she is avoiding, but the toughest possible competition.

I know I would be disappointed, as a Rail Trip/Zenyatta matchup would be very exciting....and even in possible defeat Zenyatta would enhance her reputation. Let's hope it happens.

Yeah

So, we haven't yet come to a consensus that Z is the best FEMALE currently in training, as the RA contingent would tell you that RA is still better. But let's assume, so I can make a reasonable point, that Z is the best MARE in training presently. Why then don't some of the other top fillies/mares in the country get their asses over to CALI and run against her? Or, if their connections don't want to ship across the country (as Z's crew is criticized for not doing more often) why not just start squaring off against the best males? Certainly, if they could beat some of the better males, then an argument could be made that they're better than Z. What's the problem, THEIR connections don't have the NUTS to map out CHALLENGING campaigns for them? Who the **** with a decent horse wants to pick the most challenging races ALL the time? For the most part, they pick out a few races a year they point to. For you, however, it's not enough that this mare was prepared for the AB or that she's being pointed for the BC. She absolutely, positively must face, arguably, the best male out in CALI in order for her connections to be doing the right thing. I don't see QR running a bunch of races and shipping all over the place. He's being pointed to a few key races for the year. Oh, but wait, he got TESTED down in Florida didn't he?:rolleyes:
He went up against some real tough competition down there.

Let's hold Z to different standards, however.

Really? Weren't you a strong detractor of RT just last year? How does she 'enhance' her reputation by losing to a 'distance challenged' horse? Of course, he now has a real jock.

What do you envision: a MILE match race?

I agree with those that say Rachel is not part of this discussion, when and if she can beat the likes of a Zardana and or Unrivaled Belle then yes, maybe she can be mentioned with a horse of Zenyatta's ability again. I will reserve judgment until after 2010 to see who and what she faces this year. The BC Classic is the goal, it's on dirt and it's against males, so if she fulfills that critaria a matchup with Rail Trip will be a blip on the radar. If I had my choice the 2 races are not even close in terms of stature, just as the Woodward and the Classic aren't, I wouldn't want Zenyatta to have the excuse of racing too hard early in the year and then miss the championship game as you know who did last year.

I'd just like to make it through the decade with a job.

In CSC's defense, she has already jogged around the track twice against allowance company before the date that she had even started 2009's ambitious, pant-wetting, thrilling campaign for the ages that solidified her place in the record books as best horse EVAR.

I, for one, am equally concerned about public workouts taking the starch out of her before the big day.

She has already proven she can handle males on synth, if beating Gio Ponti and gang in the classic was not enough to appease her naysayers what is beating Rail Trip in the Hollywood Gold Cup to prove? Her final test is to beyer 115, win on dirt and beat the classic field at CD's, if she can throw in a race against males in the fall as the Goodward as a prep I can see this being a far more logical campaign that will hopefully make everyone happy