Zenyatta

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I think what might get lost here is how horrid this field was in relation to past editions of this race.

Whoever was riding First Dude caused a huge pace collapse .. it basically was supposed to be a stone cold Blame 1st and Fly Down 2nd type of race at that point. Credit John Shireffs - he has an amazing record when he points for an objective. Zenyatta ran much better than I thought she would.

The final time was a joke. Uncle Mo is going to get a Beyer figure only 3 full points slower than Blame will for winning a wildly sub-par edition of the Classic.

I remember everyone make a huge deal about about how Arazi was the star of the 1991 Breeders Cup ... keep in mind he needed 1:46.40 in his blowout win over Bertrando.. Uncle Mo needed 1:42.60 today ... his final time was 3.80 full seconds (or 22 lengths) faster than Arazi's in his destruction Bertrando.

Blame's final time of 2:02.28 - was just 0.52 seconds faster than Black Tie Affair's 2:02.80 Breeders Cup Classic win at Churchill also in 1991.

It's a pretty sad statement to the older males when you have a horse like Blame - who's run Beyers in the 101-to-103 range in five of his last six career starts .. and even so I thought enough of him to make him my 2nd pick in this race in the paper today.

There was no slouch like Volponi or Mine That Bird out there today to deep six this field and make a mockery of them ... but this group was asking for it. Japan sent over the wrong horse. A speedy miler off of a bad prep .. had they sent over some late running dirt closer in halfway decent form - they probably win this.

I think the time of the race is very misleading because every day at Churchill the track slows down over the course of the day. I don't know if it was like that in past years but I've noticed that consistently this year.

[CSC]

A very exciting race, Blame looked like he walks to victory but Zenyatta makes a race out of it when she looked like she was totally out of it, she will get more respect out of finishing second than winning the race.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by CSC

A very exciting race, Blame looked like he walks to victory but Zenyatta makes a race out of it when she looked like she was totally out of it, she will get more respect out of finishing second than winning the race.

Ummm....huh?

[CSC]

Originally Posted by miraja2

Ummm....huh?

You don't think she ran a great race? From where she came from and the trip of the winner, I think even the critics can admit she did.

[trackrat59]

If we continue on like this the Z threads will never die.

Let's do this. Let's decide who she should be bred to. First of all, who is tall enough to, you know, mount her?

For no other reason than he's my favorite sire, I vote for Tiznow. The horsey in my pic is Tizzy boy.

Ok, someone guess next who Mr. Z will be.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by CSC

A very exciting race, Blame looked like he walks to victory but Zenyatta makes a race out of it when she looked like she was totally out of it, she will get more respect out of finishing second than winning the race.

the funny thing is, her ardent and airheaded fans who know nothing about racing will be incredibly disappointed, while anyone who knows anything about racing will say that was her best effort ever. yes, she lost. but she showed more today against the best field she's ever faced than against those soon forgotten cupcakes in cali.

it also shows glaringly just how much her chickenhearted connections have cost her. she should have been racing like today all year, instead of racing in paid glorified workouts.

[CSC]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the funny thing is, her ardent and airheaded fans who know nothing about racing will be incredibly disappointed, while anyone who knows anything about racing will say that was her best effort ever. yes, she lost. but she showed more today against the best field she's ever faced than against those soon forgotten cupcakes in cali.

it also shows glaringly just how much her chickenhearted connections have cost her. she should have been racing like today all year, instead of racing in paid glorified workouts.

I'm hardly dissapointed, I thought she ran great, answered if she could run well on dirt, with less than an ideal trip. No excuses she lost, but she ran great and hats off to her. Case closed.

[Theatrical]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the funny thing is, her ardent and airheaded fans who know nothing about racing will be incredibly disappointed, while anyone who knows anything about racing will say that was her best effort ever. yes, she lost. but she showed more today against the best field she's ever faced than against those soon forgotten cupcakes in cali.

it also shows glaringly just how much her chickenhearted connections have cost her. she should have been racing like today all year, instead of racing in paid glorified workouts.

It is so enlightening to be put in a blanket assessment of Z's fans as airheaded. Am I ardent? You bet your ass I am. She may have lost by a head, but look who finished behind her.

Am I disappointed? Sure am, but Blame was very game. My girl made up a huge amount of distance to just miss. I could not be more proud of her.

She is a champion, despite the garbage that has been written. On another forum, where she has been sliced and diced unmercifully, those guys have shown a level of respect for her performance today. And, they didn't refer to Z's fans as some sort of circus show. Some of them got what made her fans so passionate about her.

She will probably be retired and I am glad. Posts like yours, after a race of this magnitude, just reinforce this mare could never do enough to suit.

It's time for another horse to take over the mantle of not being able to satisfy the armchair trainers.

[Smooth Operator]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the funny thing is, her ardent and airheaded fans who know nothing about racing will be incredibly disappointed, while anyone who knows anything about racing will say that was her best effort ever. yes, she lost. but she showed more today against the best field she's ever faced than against those soon forgotten cupcakes in cali.

it also shows glaringly just how much her chickenhearted connections have cost her. she should have been racing like today all year, instead of racing in paid glorified workouts.

Aren't you the 'airhead' (along with Indian Charlie) who kept posting that she wouldn't even make this race?

[Patrick333]

Originally Posted by CSC

A very exciting race, Blame looked like he walks to victory but Zenyatta makes a race out of it when she looked like she was totally out of it, she will get more respect out of finishing second than winning the race.

Not from a lot of people on this forum. And that's a shame. Like Smarty Jones's run for the TC in 2004, her streak and her style did a lot for the sport.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by Patrick333

Not from a lot of people on this forum. And that's a shame. Like Smarty Jones's run for the TC in 2004, her streak and her style did a lot for the sport.

Gimme a break. Everyone has been praising her since the race ended. No one is even talking about the winner. That's the real shame IMO.

The thing that people don't want to acknowledge is that anyone who was considered a hater, wasn't hating. They just disagreed with some of superlatives being thrown her way. She's not the greatest horse ever. She's not the best filly ever either. She's a really, really good horse. Nothing wrong with that.

[shanej974]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

bullshit! I'll NEVER forget it,and I'll be rubbing it in every Zenyatta fan's face that I can,for as long as I live!

Wow. What a filthy miserable loser you are. Enjoy your evening.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

bullshit! I'll NEVER forget it,and I'll be rubbing it in every Zenyatta fan's face that I can,for as long as I live!

What will you rub in? That she only won one BC Classic and missed a 2nd by less than a head? Wow, that smarts. You'll be showing them she's no better than Cigar and Alysheba.

I thought she ran a fantastic race and showed that she belonged with the best horses of her generation. For the 2nd year in a row, I vastly underestimated how good she is.

Could she have had a vastly more interesting campaign this year? Of course she could have. But I'm glad as hell they didn't retire her last year, like 95% of owners would have, if just for this one race.

--Dunbar

[Handicappy]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

bullshit! I'll NEVER forget it,and I'll be rubbing it in every Zenyatta fan's face that I can,for as long as I live!

yet more proof of Zenyatta's greatness