Surprised Girolamo hasn't been included as I thought he stepped up nicely. Wasn't a vintage Vosburgh field certainly, but he rolled them (:22.2, :22.4, :24.1) and showed a new wrinkle being on the lead.

Agreed...

And by the way... No one was more impressive, in defeat, than Crown of Thorns. That was some try in the Goodwood.

Are they planning on sending him to the Breeder's Cup?

Zenyatta looked like she was beaten and got up to win at a distance that isn't her favorite. Gary Stevens was there and impressed as well. Garry said 'she just continues to amaze me'.

My pick is Zenyatta.

I'll have Mandella today (I think) and find out plans. If not a Classic try, then wouldn't a cutback to the Dirt Mile be right in his wheelhouse at this juncture?

Rigoletta's effort in the Oak Leaf is another weekend effort that was outstanding..

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the weekend live. I am really looking forward to your view on blame and who you think is the horse to beat in this years BCC.

Actually it has never happened.

Cigar and Pleasantly Perfect couldn't do it … and there were probably other decent 6yos along the way which have tried.

Gives you some idea of what Z is up against here...

Thanks I'll be listening, always liked Crown of Thorns...and yeah that was kinda my next question...which race would they be pointing towards. What did you think of Winter Memories? That seemed really impressive for a second time starter.

:tro: Well said SB. He was tons better than Richards Kid, imo.

Uncle Mo had a nice workout. I didn't see it, but it had to be awesome.


I was more impressed with Blame than most anyone else this weekend.

I still say Zenyatta likely only won because of Switch getting green late.

Hedging?

For some, perhaps she will get the credit she deserves if she wins. But let's also be realistic, it won't matter. I doubt a 120 beyer, secretariat like margin would suffice the detractors, it will probably be passed off as that she got the perfect trip, set up, the competition was mediocre, others had rougher trips....ect... You know excuses and you know the drill...My advice to you, is it doesn't matter what others think, don't waste your time. If they don't she's a great horse by now, why would anyone in their right mind think this will change after the BC?

Sharp post

I thought the performance of the weekend was by Larry Collmus on ESPN.

Richard Mandella just confirmed on ATR that the Dirt Mile will be their first choice with Crown of Thorns with the Classic as a remote possiblity...

Winter Memories was tremendous. It's hard to conceive of her turning out even as good as her dam, but she's certainly off to as ideal a start in that direction as possible. Little in the upcoming Cup would please me more than Jimmy Toner getting attention and doing well.

The filly was tired. She didn't switch because she was "green" all of a sudden. Many horses swap their leads when they get tired. There's a couple of pictures up of both horses at the wire. Z's ears are straight up and Switch's are back. Switch ran a terrific race, but the pictures show who was well within themelves.

Thanks for getting the info...hopefully they stick to the Dirt Mile. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Winter Memories can do in a few weeks. Good stuff with the Johnny D segment...it was kind of like a horse who is a runoff.

Yeah, just a couple minor differences between Zenyatta and the horses you mentioned:

Cigar's BCC at 6 was his 8th race of the year, all against major league competition...and it was the 33rd race of his career. I'm not sure if the horses he faced in his last BCC would compete with this year's version though.

Pleasantly Perfect's campaign at age 6 began in February, included a Dubai trip(beating Medaglia d'Oro), and also the Pacific Classic. He also faced Roses in May(the following Dubai Classic winner) and Ghostzapper in the Classic.