Jerry Brown's letter to TDN on HOY discussion

[JerseyJ]

Hey Smooth Toolshederator, I would say 3YO colts such as Summer Bird, Quality Road, and others were certainly as good as if not better than the pumpkins that Zenyatta has been beating up on. What race of any signifigance did Zenyatta win other than the Breeders Cup Turf Classic?
You just never learn do you. You say that Zenyatta would whip Rachel Alexandra on dirt at Churchill...kinda like USC would whip everyone this year? The both of them share one thing, they are both paper tigers.

Originally Posted by Smooth Operator

Read this Brown piece again … and it still makes no sense.

Face it, Jerry … the 3-year-old colts were mediocre, at best, this year … and the sad fact is … some of them are probably better than the older mules she (barely) hung on to beat in the Woodward.

Wasn't exactly like she was getting the best of a Bernardini … or a Mineshaft … out there.


The REAL challenge for the filly was coming out to the coast and taking on the undefeated, Eclipse-award-winning Breeders' Cup champion mare … and she was a NO SHOW.

No one in their right mind could vote for her over Z, in my opinion … but that's the problem … too many of these voters are out of their minds.

Take 2004, for instance … a significant number of them actually cast their ballots for SJ as HotY.

This was pure insanity when you had a brilliant older horse which not only proved that he was the fastest sprinter in the country … but the fastest router, as well.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

We'll have the 1st legitimate female HOY of this century.

Azeri was legit. There wasn't an alternative that year. The 3yo's that had a shot really didn't show up on the biggest days and the older horses were pretty dreadful.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

In your opinion, was Azeri better than all of those dreadful older horses that year ?

As far as what, who had a better year? Thats the question right, not who was better per say, but who had a better year?

[philcski]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

In your opinion, was Azeri better than all of those dreadful older horses that year ?

Undoubtedly yes. Street Cry, Lido Palace, and Left Bank were all very good but get "incompletes". I was a big fan of Street Cry- he won the Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster that year, and had a chance to win HOY, but finished a mediocre 3rd in the Whitney. Left Bank beat him, and won Older Male, but he only ran 4 times with three wins (Bold Ruler, Tom Fool, and Whitney) and got buried in the Met Mile. I think that says a lot. Nobody really stepped forward and earned it. Milwaukee Brew didn't even make the ballot and I thought he deserved at least a chance, he won the SAH & Californian, and finished 3rd in the Pac Classic and BCC.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

So she was undoubtedly better.........but won HOY by default ?

OK.

Is this some kind of trick question???

She's the only female to win HOY while never facing the boys. She was definitely the best horse in America in 2002, regardless of sex, but could have easily lost the HOY vote if one of the males had done just a little more. If you haven't noticed... it's VERY hard for fillies/mares to win HOY. Not only do they have to be outstanding, but every male category has to be mediocre. This year is an exception because bar none, the two best horses in America are both female.