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Originally Posted by CSC
Somehow this always comes back to Summer Bird and my motives, why can't you believe me when I say I truly 100% believe that up until Zenyatta crossed the finish line Sat, I would have agreed with all that RA was HOY.
It's this simple I believe Zenyatta was far more impressive in her defining race than RA was in the Woodward her defining race. That to me is enough to give her the nod for HOY, in my opinion. Maybe one should define what HOY means, to me somewhere in that equation there should be a disclaimer that states who the better horse is and from what I saw, one was all out to hold off a mediocre to good horse like Macho Again to another flicking off the best males in training with easy disdain there is no question to me who I think is a better horse and that to me supercedes most of what happened in 2009 up until this point.
P.S Just a clarification, this is less winning the Classic but in which the way she did it, losing a pace threat 1 min before the race, coming from dead last with a less then spectacular start, and closing into an average pace against the best males in training and winning with much left in reserve. She is a very worthy choice for HOY, infact she is the only choice.
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If you want to get into an argument of "defining" races and their respective race flows, I'll take Rachel's Woodward against Zenyatta's Classic. A race where you duel everyone into defeat through fast fractions, no matter who they are, is more impressive than enjoying a cozy inside trip off of an average pace and switching out late to rally.
Compared to a number of races Zenyatta ran in this year she had a perfect trip on Saturday. The pace was steady, she never got stuck in traffic and the early leaders melted down.
I'm really growing weary of the people who are throwing Macho Again and Mine That Bird into this as if their close finishes to Rachel Alexandra are somehow a black mark against hera as anyone who says that is completely ignoring the elements of those respective races.
NT