Jerry Moss just said....

[tector]

In some ways this is beginning to remind me of 1990, when EVERYBODY was salivating over EG and SS coming back (of course they had a tremendous 4 race real rivalry from the year before, not just a battle on paper like now).

It was an enormous dud. EG didn't show up until May and was done by the 4th of July. SS ran twice in June and was done. They never met in 1990.

If the same happened here it would not surprise me.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by tector

In some ways this is beginning to remind me of 1990, when EVERYBODY was salivating over EG and SS coming back (of course they had a tremendous 4 race real rivalry from the year before, not just a battle on paper like now).

It was an enormous dud. EG didn't show up until May and was done by the 4th of July. SS ran twice in June and was done. They never met in 1990.

If the same happened here it would not surprise me.

That's a very whispy recap of the '90 Easy Goer-Sunday Silence rivalry to say the least.

Outside of actually taking entries, the race was already setup. To be called the Arlington Challenge Cup, it was scheduled for August 4. The conditions stipulated that if both horses showed up, it would carry a $1 million purse. If one dropped out, it would fall to $600,000. If neither showed, $250,000.

Easy Goer retired July 18, no more than 2 weeks prior to the race. This also caused Criminal Type (who conquered both horses already on the year) to drop out, with Wayne Lukas calling an audible and sending him to the Whitney (he won) run on the same day as the Challenge Cup. Turf horse Steinlen was added to the probable field.

Despite EG's retirement, Sunday Silence still pointed to the race and was physically on the grounds at Arlington in early August. He was found to be injured and eventually retired the day of entries. Lukas dropped Steinlen out at this point, rerouting him to the Bernard Baruch.

Ultimately, warhorse Beau Genius won the race over CA-based Triteamtri, with Blue Grass winner Western Playboy 3rd. I think Clever Trevor was in the race as well.

[tector]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

That's a very whispy recap of the '90 Easy Goer-Sunday Silence rivalry to say the least.

Outside of actually taking entries, the race was already setup. To be called the Arlington Challenge Cup, it was scheduled for August 4. The conditions stipulated that if both horses showed up, it would carry a $1 million purse. If one dropped out, it would fall to $600,000. If neither showed, $250,000.

Easy Goer retired July 18, no more than 2 weeks prior to the race. This also caused Criminal Type (who conquered both horses already on the year) to drop out, with Wayne Lukas calling an audible and sending him to the Whitney (he won) run on the same day as the Challenge Cup. Turf horse Steinlen was added to the probable field.

Despite EG's retirement, Sunday Silence still pointed to the race and was physically on the grounds at Arlington in early August. He was found to be injured and eventually retired the day of entries. Lukas dropped Steinlen out at this point, rerouting him to the Bernard Baruch.

Ultimately, warhorse Beau Genius won the race over CA-based Triteamtri, with Blue Grass winner Western Playboy 3rd. I think Clever Trevor was in the race as well.

It was meant to be "whispy". They were each to have 2 or 3 races before meeting up. They had their 2 or 3 races and were done. All the anticipation and all the plans meant nothing, ultimately. And what I said is that it would not surprise me to see that happen here. Would it surprise you?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by tector

It was meant to be "whispy". They were each to have 2 or 3 races before meeting up. They had their 2 or 3 races and were done. All the anticipation and all the plans meant nothing, ultimately. And what I said is that it would not surprise me to see that happen here. Would it surprise you?

The only reason the Sunday Silence-Easy Goer match up didn't take place was because of unfortunate injuries. Both horses were in good form at the time and their owners were willing participants.

If Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra don't get together (and really they should multiple times) I don't think it will have gotten as far along as SS-EG. Given the megalomaniacs involved, the horses' physical status might not even come into play.