Are you saying that horsemen can't tell when a horse isn't travelling well?

The under felt like a bigger longshot than that.

She made up for it by saying she hopes Frankel the horse comes over next year to run in the stakes race (San Gorgonio) that they renamed for Bobby Frankel. He'll need a sex change to be eligible but they are doing amazing things with medicine nowadays, so we'll see.

How do you explain her last race on dirt, the race at Oaklawn? Do you claim that track was much faster than Churchill? They ran the first 3 furlongs in :36, give or take 1/5th of a second. Zenyatta was 8 lenghts back. But when they run :35 at Churchill (mainly on a straightaway), she is 20 lengths back.

Seriously?

No, I'm saying an idiot on the internet can't tell if a horse is happy or not by a still picture.

In the case of the BC Classic, we have more than a still picture.

Did you read the post you responded to at all? I'm talking about a still picture and someone saying she looked unhappy in the picture. That's it.

It's been over a week now. Time to get over it.

So why was the stalker Etched, who had never been more than 2 lengths off the pace in any previous start, 8 lengths from the lead in the early stages despite this being his first start beyond 9f?

Zenyatta was about 12-15 lengths behind him early.

Seems more likely that the "out of the ordinary" was going on up front, not at the rear.

Etched was only 4 lengths back after a quarter mile. He was about 5 lengths back after 3 furlongs. It looked like he was in a good spot. I think Alan Garcia saw that you had 4 horses going at a pretty good clip up front, so he figured he would stay in the clear in 5th.

Just to be clear about my position with regards to Zenyatta, I don't think she was that much further back after a half-mile than she should have been or than I would have expected. She was maybe 2-3 lengths further back than I would have expected, but that's about it. That wasn't what really hurt her. What really hurt her was being 20 lengths back after 3 furlongs. That hurt her because Mike Smith had to use her to get her back in the race. That really hurt her because she ended up having to sprint the final 7 furlongs of the race. To say that's hard to do is an understatement.

Would Zenyatta have beaten Icon Project on the dirt in some of those races last year?

Not in the Personal Ensign in my opinion. She would have never run against her in the New York Stakes obviously because it was scheduled for turf and was run over a quagmire but it would have taken a huge effort to beat her that day at Saratoga.

It seemed to me that two races were taking place at once. Maybe in the initial stages Zenyatta got left for dead (she broke a bit flat anyways), but once the other jocks realized the ridiculous duel going on up front, they all seemed to backed off. If they did purposefully back off (and you said yourself that Etched settled further back after 3 furlongs), then the second flight simply came back to Zenyatta, as opposed to her sprinting the final 7f in some herculean effort.

Essentially, the first 4 were on their own and ultimately immaterial, as they were swallowed up immediately without resistance. Etched was the first to hit the front and make a serious move, and Zenyatta was never more than 14 lengths behind him early and easily within striking distance of him throughout the backstretch.

Zenyatta did break flat-footed but that's not unusual for her. She pretty much always breaks like that.

With regard to whether she was sprinting home or the others were coming back to her, it was clearly a combination of both. The front runners totally collapsed. There's no doubt about that. But Zenyatta did sprint home. If you do the math, she ran her final 7 furlongs in about 1:23 1/5. That is spectacular.

I assume you guys know that Mike Smith admitted that he contemplated pulling Zenyatta up early in the race. I think he knows the horse pretty well. If she felt like her normal self and was travelling fine, do you think he would have been thinking about pulling her up?

Just like Joel Rosario considered pulling up Make Music For Me after he was 20th and 28 lengths behind after just a quarter mile in the Kentucky Derby...before he closed to finish 4th and will now go down in history as the single worst horse to ever make a Superfecta ticket in the KY Derby.




Ice Box was 24 back - I'm shocked Lezcano didn't come out and say he almost pulled him up. If only a Horse of the Year vote was on the line for Ice Box and Make Music For Me might we be treated to such stupidity.

You really are trying to be a wet brained tard. It would be a lot more amusing if you were some deranged clueless pretty poney woman sprinkling each one of your posts with about 7 emotocons.

I assume you know that I contemplated playing a $100 straight Pick 6 of Chamberlain Bridge - Uncle Mo - Goldikova - Dakota Phone - Dangerous Midge - Blame ... I think this proves that I should win an eclipse award for Handicapper of the Year.

Instead, however, you decided to put Quality Road on top (with Haynesfield as your 2nd choice). That was a very nice selection.:rolleyes: There's MUCH to learn from you. ha ha ha

Where do you find the nuts? How does anyone not fall down laughing whenever you post anything, especially when you criticize others, after that FIASCO?

Blame was my 2nd choice... but you know that already you ankle biting stalker. Oh boy, my top pick in a race put in a non-effort at 7/1 odds.

Keep pretending like every bet you've ever made is a winning one - and that you actually make money betting.

How does it feel to be the message board equivalent of Rich Kotite?

Math obviously isn't your strong suit.

Is this the same Mike Smith who is generally regarded as being pretty simple minded?

And thinks Z is the greatest horse that ever was, or ever will be?

I have NO IDEA how old you are Fartman, but it is 1/5 that Drugs knows way more than you. The only thing i would say against his Classic selection was putting Haynesfield 2nd...just his breeding alone would make him a auto toss for me.

I think Rupert usually has one of the better opinions on here. It never ceases to amaze me what Zenyattardism does to people!

Are you freakin nuts? Would you really leave off Zenyatta in the BCC? I bet you even if she runs second in that race, they will pay out the P6 to both the winner and her.