Zaftig to the Cigar Mile?
 

According to the DRF, this race will be under serious consideration for her. Either that race or the Top Flight. Citing that the Top Flight is a grade two and for less money than the grade one Cigar, they are leaning towards the Cigar. They don't seem to be worried about any of the possible competition in the Cigar saying that she's run faster than all of them so if she runs her best race, she wins. All of them except for Commentator, who if he happens to show up, she won't. I would love to see here there.

In related news, John Shirreffs was asked what he thought about the possible move and he said he thought it was galactically stupid, mentioning the names of Ruffian and Eight Belles. When the names Zarkava and Goldikova were brought up, he raised an eyebrow and asked "who are they?"

The Cigar Mile is one of my favorite races and this year it's looking a bit dull, especially with Zito pointing to the Clark with Commentator.
If Zaftig runs it might spice it up a bit.

Of course, I should probably cancel my seating reservation if she runs, because we all know that racing against males makes fillies' legs snap and I hate to see such things.

The ironic thing is that this filly's leg did already "snap".

Wasn't she out all summer with a fractured shin?

I assume she was already pushed pretty hard to make the BC where she didn't exactly light the world on fire. A start in the Cigar should effectively obliterate any momentum she has heading into her 4yo campaign.

Should have left her in the Fasig-Tipton sale. Maybe somebody with more sense, like Paul Reddam or Frank Stronach, coulda plucked her away from her current connections.

I don't see alot of Reddam's horses winning here in the US and horses like his Great Hunter were not spotted all that well. As far as Zaftig, she did have a fracture but to come back in the BC and run a solid third to Ventura who freaked and IB who is a very nice filly was a big effort. I figure she could bounce sky high but she could move forward as well.
I like Jimmy Jerkens but he trains them hard and either way, she'll have to stand up to a tough regimen.

The story at SA prior to the BC was that Jerkens was not crazy about running her but that the owners wanted to have her and Doremifasollatido both run. Given his history of shipping, it almost seemed as if his hand was forced.

In my opinion, Zaftig ran a terrific race given that Indian Blessing is the best female sprinter around and Ventura ran an incredible race.

The most hilarious part of this thread is that John Shirreffs continues to get blasted. Of all the people in this sport who cannot only be questioned but chastised, he gets it. Amazing.

NT

IB is the best female sprinter around when she's running on tracks where speed holds. On anything approximating a FAIR situation, Ventura (or some filly like her) bends her over every time.

Ventura's run the third split was every bit as impressive as Goldikova's (who actually sat a picture perfect trip) YET the latter is a freak and IB is getting all the press. Only in the land of figures does **** like this happen. :rolleyes:

High Beyer figures or not, Indian Blessing was the best female sprinter in the country this year. On the most important day she lost to Ventura, who ran a remarkable race. I don't think that takes anything away from Indian Blessing, who prefers conventional dirt.

The bottom line, and the origin of the discussion is that Zaftig, off a long layoff, ran a very strong race to finish 3rd.

NT

The owners of Zaftig pick all the races for their horses (Moores). I would assume it is a tough situation for Jim Jerkens, but for the amount of quality horses that they have with them, I'm sure it is a small cross to bear. While the Breeder's Cup was a bit of a stretch off a long layoff, she did run a very nice third against two top quality female sprinters. The notion that it wasn't a good effort is just plain ridiculous.

For the most part, the connections do spot their runners in competetive spots, a run in the Cigar would make this race at least a little interesting.

She started even with Tizzy's Tune at the quarter pole, then she 'distanced' that one by a whole 2 lengths, while both of them steadily retreated. I mean, look at who was in that race? Dream Rush, Jazzy, etc. In the mean time Venture was gaining 9 lengths between the quarter and the half while 8 (out of 12) other horses were also gaining. THAT's IMPRESSIVE ****; not wiring the field when the track is in your favor. Can any of those girls run when the bias is not in their favor? Absolutely not. I sit here reading thread after thread about all the impressive one dimensional dirt horses and how synthetics are bad for the game. Then I chuckle when these 'plodders' fall on their face when a little bit of athleticism or other than one dimensional racing is required.

She needed the race. We can hook her up with a rail trip at AQU next out.

Zaftig needed the race, you got that right. As far as calling her a plodder, if you believe her effort in the Acorn was something a plodder would put forth then our opinions on this game differ quite a bit.

NT

Two points.

1) This isn't 1970. Horses don't 'need' races anymore; and you certainly don't give a horse one in the biggest race of the year (relatively).

2) In what sense is the Acorn impressive? 4 horse field, two dooked it out and two retreated. She chased and ran down a horse that quits when challenged.

This is UNinteresting racing to me. So they go fast on a surface that favors the frontrunner; big ****in deal. If they went 1-2 on the lead while cutting a fast pace on a course that doesn't normally favor the leader, then it's impressive to me.

An new era is upon us: the multi-move race exhibition, favoring the athletic horse, at this year's BC is a portend of things to come. Racing will get interesting whether the present handicapping community likes it or not.

Zaftig ran a phenomenal race in the Acorn. Whether the field she beat was deep or not, she disposed of Indian Blessing amid fast fractions which they both contested and she kicked clear authoritatively.

I get the feeling you are completely unsatisfied with racing if you are only impressed by what you stated above. Those circumstances occur rather infrequently. Although, Midshipman had to have blown you away in the Juvenile.

NT

It's part of handicapping (speed) figure free and avoiding most dirt races. A lot of this impressive stuff happens quite a bit on the turf and (sometimes) synthetics and even dirt tracks with long stretches.

Midshipman would've impressed me a lot more if the top 3 finishers didn't go around the track together.

That part was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek.

As someone else pointed out, the owner is in the driver's seat with this horse and the sheer ridiculousness of suggesting that the Cigar Mile is an "alternative" to the Top Flight shows what this filly is in for in the long run.

The sad part is, if the field does come up light, the filly could conceivably hit the board making her owner look halfway smart for about ten seconds. It would be as tragic as when Island Fashion ran 2nd to Southern Image in the Big Cap a few years back.

injured and retired... that f'n sucks. I was really looking forward to seeing her in the Cigar Mile.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/99918.html

Horrible news. Wanted to see how she would have progressed as a 4yr old.