If Tiago had the same schedule as Zenyatta last year, even though I realize this is completely hypothetical since it isn't allowed, he'd have an undefeated year and look just as invincible.

I do not agree, but you know what they say about opinions ...

You are entitled to yours ...

I have always loved Tiago, but this is a bit over the top.
He has never put it all together, and continues to look like a clunker, who sucks up in races. I think he would be a lot better on a dirt track " last year he did beat Heatseeker" but we won't see that this year.

lmao

you, schooling others on what is over the top?!

beyond comedy.

You actually misread my comments on Tiago finishing ahead of Curlin---I dismissed that as false fodder for a future argument .

I know Tiago's third was a suckup---re-read my post ...

You have to know I do not have hard-ons for horses, nor am I equipped to do so with any authority, Hossy ...

And I am not obsessed with Tiago---he is not of enough consequence to me for such emotion.

I will however allow that I have seen many great fillies in the decades I have followed racing , and Zenyatta has " it " for me in many ways .

She is a charismatic individual who races with flair and playfullness , and in the grimy vortex of today's racing she puts a happy spin of hope and quality in said vortex for me----maybe even worthy of a hard-on ....

Sorry , I have had an absessed tooth and am on major meds---so can I sit on your lap now and say I am sorry ?

Oh yuck---I take nothing for meds--they sent me to worshipping at the porcelain alter ...

I'm not a huge fan of Zenyatta, as we've discussed before. I want to see her race against males in G1 company before having an opinion on how good she really is.

But Tiago, I like how hard he tries. He's always there, even if he doesn't win.

the last few years, the handicap division has been considered substandard, while the distaff division was felt to be more contentious. so why would zenyatta need to beat substandard horses to get a better rep?

To satisfy those who think beating the opposite sex is the gold standard .

But then, of course, they would wail how bad the boys are, and how it doesn't count anyway .

Beating the opposite sex is not always doing something better than what you are already doing. There is a feeling among most people that Zenyatta is the best horse in the country this year. A lot of people also feel that Indian Blessing might be the best sprinter in the country. So if a female opponent beats one of them in a female restricted race this year, why should it matter that they didn't beat the boys? It's the same as when people want to give extra credit to a 3yo for beating older horses. That alone is not an accomplishment. Easy Goer beat up on older horses in the Whitney, Woodward, and Jockey Club Gold Cup. But he couldn't beat fellow 3yo Sunday Silence when it mattered most. So what did beating older mean in that case? To me, it's about beating the toughest competition. I would have rather seen Zenyatta beat Hystericalady, Proud Spell, Music Note, Ginger Punch, and Cocoa Beach than seen her beat Mast Track and Zappa and Mostacolli Mort just because they are males.

Excellent comment. Sounds like a Steve Haskins influence. I saw her at Santa Anita and man was she impressive. Big, long striding filly that just eats up ground.

Dr. Pleasure

What about Heatseeker and Go Between? Would you have taken Zenyatta over them on a synthetic racetrack in a fairly run race?

Go Between, hell yes. Heatseeker would have been a tougher deal.