Horse of the Year?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

because of Zenyatta's Arc she wins Curlin lost his chance at Santa Anita. IMO

huh?

[The Bid]

They will confuse you on here. We need to read between the lines. Hes obviously saying Big Brown should be horse of the year

[dellinger63]

sorry got the Z's azz backwards should have said the Aga Khan's....

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

sorry got the Z's azz backwards should have said the Aga Khan's....

His Highness

[parsixfarms]

Connections notwithstanding, IMO, Curlin should win the HOY award based on the races in which he competed, and won (save for two on non-dirt surfaces).

That being said, I don't understand those who question the caliber of the competition that Zenyatta, an outstanding filly, beat. The number of legitimate Grade I fillies (Ginger Punch, Hystericalady, Music Note, Cocoa Beach) defeated by Zenyatta - in more races - during her campaign far outweighs the number of legitimate Grade I dirt horses who Curlin defeated (perhaps none) during his.

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

Connections notwithstanding, IMO, Curlin should win the HOY award based on the races in which he competed, and won (save for two on non-dirt surfaces).

That being said, I don't understand those who question the caliber of the competition that Zenyatta, an outstanding filly, beat. The number of legitimate Grade I fillies (Ginger Punch, Hystericalady, Music Note, Cocoa Beach) defeated by Zenyatta - in more races - during her campaign far outweighs the number of legitimate Grade I dirt horses who Curlin defeated (perhaps none) during his.

So you think all the fillies you reference would have consistantly beat, or maybe even one time, beat Curlin or those he ran against?

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by GBBob

So you think all the fillies you reference would have consistantly beat, or maybe even one time, beat Curlin or those he ran against?

I'm not saying that they would have Curlin. However, I don't think it's that much of stretch to imagine some of these fillies defeating the likes of Barcola, Past the Point or Wanderin Boy on dirt.

I think the real point that I was trying to make is that Zenyatta is the best of a pretty strong (relatively speaking) group of fillies and mares, while Curlin (not his fault) was the best of a pretty weak group of older males. In that context, I have a hard time knocking the competition that Zenyatta faced.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Cardus

You get Ginger Punch, because Zenyatta beat her on dirt. However, Zenyatta beat Hystericalady on synthetic (twice), a surface on which she never ran as well as she ran on dirt. She beat Music Note and Cocoa Beach on synthetic as well ( a surface over which neither had previously competed), so I wouldn't tout those horses in Zenyatta's "quality of the horses she has beaten compared to Curlin" column.

I'll accept the point that Hystericalady is not the same filly on synthetic, but Cocoa Beach and Music Note both ran their respective races in the BC, and Zenyatta ran over them. They are both seriously good fillies, and they certainly compare favorably in their divisions to the horses that Curlin beat in the Foster, Woodward, and JC Gold Cup.