Quote:
Originally Posted by the_fat_man
How can I address your question when I don't own the horse? Tell you this much, if I agreed to go to OP on the condition that RA would be there, and she punked out after my 2nd stringer beat her, I certainly wouldn't be open to ACCOMMODATING her with a rematch -- especially one that entailed shipping cross country for. As for the taking on the males thing: what exactly does she gain by beating that sad bunch out there? Would they give her HOTY if she won a G1 for males?
If you don't think she can win the Classic, then bet against her, make a score, and have something to write about.
I don't get the obsession with this horse.
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I'm not sure how much is about accommodating Rachel vs what Shirreffs said recently about not wanting to leave his barn for weeks at a time like he might feel he'd have to in order to do his best training job for Zenyatta. He was more interested in the Beldame last year, even though the BC was at Santa Anita while NY had detention barns, and I'm guessing it was because he could come right back to his home base. That was still a form of accommodation. The Apple Blossom was less so because she'd gone there before with no plan to face Rachel and won.
I'd argue Jackson was the one accommodating Oaklawn with the rushed return to the races for Rachel. He didn't duck Zenyatta as much as he decided (in a rare moment of logic) that he screwed up once, and why do it again? Didn't stop them from trying the figure 8 bit again, but as mistakes go, it's far better to make that one than throwing an ill-prepared RA to the wolves when Zenyatta wasn't hanging in a barn for 5 months doing nothing. She was in training that whole time. It's how we got tipped off she might not be retiring.
I just heard about RA's latest work. Sounds like she might be getting in better gear. I think she's still been kept in some state of mothball storage even up to the Lady's Secret. If it results in a Classic win, more power to'em, but then you gotta say the same to Shirreffs and the Mosses right? If we're being fair. Still, bloody frustrating.