Roger Stein on Beyer on Zenyatta

[Cannon Shell]

I dont understand why Rupert and others are claiming that some thing was wrong with her. Was whatever was wrong with her get cured by the time she hit the backstretch? She looked like a 6 year old mare who didnt warm up properly for a race on a cold night against much faster horses than she is used to running against.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I dont understand why Rupert and others are claiming that some thing was wrong with her. Was whatever was wrong with her get cured by the time she hit the backstretch? She looked like a 6 year old mare who didnt warm up properly for a race on a cold night against much faster horses than she is used to running against.

I agree with you. As you said, "She looked like a 6 year old mare who didnt warm up properly for a race on a cold night against much faster horses than she's used to running against." I agree with you 100%.

There are plenty of horses that take a while to get warmed up. They're a little stiff when they first come on the track but after they warm up for a while, they look ok. As you said, she didn't warm up. That is probably why she looked so stiff and sluggish in the early stages of the race. This, along with the dirt in her face, is why she was 20 lengths back after 3 furlongs instead of 14 lengths back.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

There are plenty of horses that take a while to get warmed up. They're a little stiff when they first come on the track but after they warm up for a while, they look ok. As you said, she didn't warm up. That is probably why she looked so stiff and sluggish in the early stages of the race. This, along with the dirt in her face, is why she was 20 lengths back after 3 furlongs instead of 14 lengths back.

So why was the stalker Etched, who had never been more than 2 lengths off the pace in any previous start, 8 lengths from the lead in the early stages despite this being his first start beyond 9f?

Zenyatta was about 12-15 lengths behind him early.

Seems more likely that the "out of the ordinary" was going on up front, not at the rear.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

So why was the stalker Etched, who had never been more than 2 lengths off the pace in any previous start, 8 lengths from the lead in the early stages despite this being his first start beyond 9f?

Zenyatta was about 12-15 lengths behind him early.

Seems more likely that the "out of the ordinary" was going on up front, not at the rear.

Etched was only 4 lengths back after a quarter mile. He was about 5 lengths back after 3 furlongs. It looked like he was in a good spot. I think Alan Garcia saw that you had 4 horses going at a pretty good clip up front, so he figured he would stay in the clear in 5th.

Just to be clear about my position with regards to Zenyatta, I don't think she was that much further back after a half-mile than she should have been or than I would have expected. She was maybe 2-3 lengths further back than I would have expected, but that's about it. That wasn't what really hurt her. What really hurt her was being 20 lengths back after 3 furlongs. That hurt her because Mike Smith had to use her to get her back in the race. That really hurt her because she ended up having to sprint the final 7 furlongs of the race. To say that's hard to do is an understatement.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

That hurt her because Mike Smith had to use her to get her back in the race. That really hurt her because she ended up having to sprint the final 7 furlongs of the race. To say that's hard to do is an understatement.

It seemed to me that two races were taking place at once. Maybe in the initial stages Zenyatta got left for dead (she broke a bit flat anyways), but once the other jocks realized the ridiculous duel going on up front, they all seemed to backed off. If they did purposefully back off (and you said yourself that Etched settled further back after 3 furlongs), then the second flight simply came back to Zenyatta, as opposed to her sprinting the final 7f in some herculean effort.

Essentially, the first 4 were on their own and ultimately immaterial, as they were swallowed up immediately without resistance. Etched was the first to hit the front and make a serious move, and Zenyatta was never more than 14 lengths behind him early and easily within striking distance of him throughout the backstretch.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

It seemed to me that two races were taking place at once. Maybe in the initial stages Zenyatta got left for dead (she broke a bit flat anyways), but once the other jocks realized the ridiculous duel going on up front, they all seemed to backed off. If they did purposefully back off (and you said yourself that Etched settled further back after 3 furlongs), then the second flight simply came back to Zenyatta, as opposed to her sprinting the final 7f in some herculean effort.

Essentially, the first 4 were on their own and ultimately immaterial, as they were swallowed up immediately without resistance. Etched was the first to hit the front and make a serious move, and Zenyatta was never more than 14 lengths behind him early and easily within striking distance of him throughout the backstretch.

Zenyatta did break flat-footed but that's not unusual for her. She pretty much always breaks like that.

With regard to whether she was sprinting home or the others were coming back to her, it was clearly a combination of both. The front runners totally collapsed. There's no doubt about that. But Zenyatta did sprint home. If you do the math, she ran her final 7 furlongs in about 1:23 1/5. That is spectacular.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I assume you guys know that Mike Smith admitted that he contemplated pulling Zenyatta up early in the race. I think he knows the horse pretty well. If she felt like her normal self and was travelling fine, do you think he would have been thinking about pulling her up?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

If you do the math, she ran her final 7 furlongs in about 1:23 1/5.

Math obviously isn't your strong suit.