Jerry Brown's letter to TDN on HOY discussion

[Roc525]

Originally Posted by arizonadave

Even though it cant happen, but i feel Gio Ponti is as good as these two. He is a champ on the Turf and tried to be on the dirt, not his surface. Could there be another horse that we are overlooking or is it a slam dunk between these two. Has either one of these fillies ran on the Turf? Just a thought.

Gio is a great horse, but he didn't try to do anything on a dirt surface this year.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by Roc525

Gio is a great horse, but he didn't try to do anything on a dirt surface this year.

Neither did Zenyatta though.

The comment that made me chuckle the most on this thread is that Rachel will win Horse of the Year and Zenyatta will retire as the "people's horse." Really? Is that why the Breeders Cup Classic got approximately 1/7 the viewers as Rachel's Preakness? Is that why more people saw Rachel win the Kentucky Oaks than the total combined number of people who watched Zenyatta win her five starts?

If you go back to July or August, I guarantee you all the pretty pony people were just as fired up about Rachel Alexandra and girl power as they are about Zenyatta now.

[Revidere]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Neither did Zenyatta though.

The comment that made me chuckle the most on this thread is that Rachel will win Horse of the Year and Zenyatta will retire as the "people's horse." Really? Is that why the Breeders Cup Classic got approximately 1/7 the viewers as Rachel's Preakness? Is that why more people saw Rachel win the Kentucky Oaks than the total combined number of people who watched Zenyatta win her five starts?

If you go back to July or August, I guarantee you all the pretty pony people were just as fired up about Rachel Alexandra and girl power as they are about Zenyatta now.

You have to be realistic here. That audience was at least looking to see if Mine that Bird was for real. Not taking anything from Rachel, but the Derby winner (especially 50-1) is going to draw the viewers.

[slotdirt]

You shouldn't be in or around this game if a 19 length win is a snoozefest. I'd hate to see what Revidere would have thought about Secretariat's snoozefest in the 1973 Belmont or Spectacular Bid's Woodward walkover snoozefest in 1979.

Originally Posted by Roc525

Gio is a great horse, but he didn't try to do anything on a dirt surface this year.

i know i am thinking outside the box with this, but Gio Ponti ran 7 times this year and 6 were grade 1 races and won 4 of them. He ran at Belmont,Arlington and Santa Anita. He ran on soft,good,firm and yielding surfaces. true his main surface is turf,but does that make him any worse than both fillies who run on a different surface. havent seen either filly run on the turf, so does the surface really matter. i know i am in the minority, but i will always put my $$$ on this tallented 4year old. he just runs and gave Zenyatta, on a surface that isnt his best, a run for the money.

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by arizonadave

i know i am thinking outside the box with this, but Gio Ponti ran 7 times this year and 6 were grade 1 races and won 4 of them. He ran at Belmont,Arlington and Santa Anita. He ran on soft,good,firm and yielding surfaces. true his main surface is turf,but does that make him any worse than both fillies who run on a different surface. havent seen either filly run on the turf, so does the surface really matter. i know i am in the minority, but i will always put my $$$ on this tallented 4year old. he just runs and gave Zenyatta, on a surface that isnt his best, a run for the money.

I don't understand why Zenyatta supporters are not understanding this....but it's the same logic as saying Zenyatta should be HOY.

Gio Ponti accomplished a lot on his surface as Zenyatta accomplished a lot on her own surface. So if people are going to hype Zenyatta for HOY, Gio Ponti arguably had the harder campaign.

Personally, I believe HOTY in America has always had first preference for whoever the dirt champion is (if there is a clear cut one). RA was the clear cut dirt champion. She deserves it.