Rachel confirmed for Personal Ensign

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Yeah, that's the way it happened. RA's camp didn't narrow her next start down to the Personal Ensign or the Personal Ensign the day after the Lady's Secret. They were waiting for the stunning decision by Shirreffs not to ship Zenyatta.

Had Zenyatta come - RA's camp would have tried to hold out and push for a much larger purse, a distance change to 9.5 furlongs, and a Jess Jackson bobble head doll giveaway promotion the day of the race.

[the_fat_man]

RA had HER chance to show up, at OP. She didn't. Her connections had committed to it. They reneged. Z's connections haven't committed to anything at SAR. The RA crew can spin it any way they want but why should she get a 2nd chance? Especially when giving her ANOTHER opportunity would require shipping your horse cross country. The RA crew can whine all they want; that's about all that having your horse NOT SHOW UP gets you.

Funny how the **** gets spun around here.

[slotdirt]

I don't think anybody's spinning anything. The horse is pointing for a race that's four weeks away. Anybody else who wants to show up - flying further east than the Ohio River or not - is welcome to do so.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

RA had HER chance to show up, at OP. She didn't. Her connections had committed to it. They reneged. Z's connections haven't committed to anything at SAR. The RA crew can spin it any way they want but why should she get a 2nd chance? Especially when giving her ANOTHER opportunity would require shipping your horse cross country. The RA crew can whine all they want; that's about all that having your horse NOT SHOW UP gets you.

Funny how the **** gets spun around here.

jesustapdancingchrist.


i didn't know that cali horses could only ship as far as oaklawn. i did NOT know that. amazing. i didn't know that zenyatta was only good enough to face rachel off a layoff. who knew? what happened to all that talk at the beginning of the year from zenyattas crew? you know, travel, let fans see her, blah blah.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Danzig

jesustapdancingchrist.


i didn't know that cali horses could only ship as far as oaklawn. i did NOT know that. amazing. i didn't know that zenyatta was only good enough to face rachel off a layoff. who knew? what happened to all that talk at the beginning of the year from zenyattas crew? you know, travel, let fans see her, blah blah.

Clearly, people like TFF bought into what was obviously loads of BS.

[copying]

Rachel is running in another grade 1? Already? Why doesn't she wait a week and make it a full year between grade 1's?

[johnny pinwheel]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

RA had HER chance to show up, at OP. She didn't. Her connections had committed to it. They reneged. Z's connections haven't committed to anything at SAR. The RA crew can spin it any way they want but why should she get a 2nd chance? Especially when giving her ANOTHER opportunity would require shipping your horse cross country. The RA crew can whine all they want; that's about all that having your horse NOT SHOW UP gets you.

Funny how the **** gets spun around here.

wait until the evening of the 29th...after she loses...the crying towels will be out.....lol.

[slotdirt]

I doubt it. It's not like she's never lost before. Besides, she already has something Zenyatta never will attain: an Eclipse award for Horse of the Year.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I doubt it. It's not like she's never lost before. Besides, she already has something Zenyatta never will attain: an Eclipse award for Horse of the Year.

Many of them already think that Zenyawner is the one of the greatest horses ever, so I doubt facts will get in the way of their "reality."

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by DaTruth

Many of them already think that Zenyawner is the one of the greatest horses ever, so I doubt facts will get in the way of their "reality."

What if we're all actually wrong about Zenyatta and she's actually better than we think? That's what sucks about the way they're campaigning her.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that she was kept on the sidelines as a 2-year-old and for almost all of her 3-year-old season - while a filly her own age (Rags To Riches) won the Belmont over Curlin and Hard Spun and than got hurt before they could ever meet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her the morning of the race against favored Nashoba's Key because he felt she wasn't quite 100% from missing a few days of training weeks prior.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that Nashoba's Key died in a stall accident - which meant Zenyatta never took over her division in So. Cal - she merely inherited it from a dead horse who had obliterated everything she faced on synthetic and totally wiped out everything but the ducking Zenyatta within that division.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Breeders Cup was, for the first time in history, held two straight years at Santa Anita - on that terrible Pro-Ride junk - and that every Eastern dirt horse who went out there failed, most of them failed miserably.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her out of a stakes race at Churchill the morning of the race because the track was wet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her stablemate Life Is Sweet was offered up for the Hollywood Gold Cup and had to deal with Rail Trip when crushed on a speed-biased track - while she was safely at home in her stall.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her competition has mostly royally sucked.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Clement L. Hirsch and Ladies Secret are no longer Handicaps. Azeri had to give 19lbs away to an already Grade 1 stakes placed horse when she won the Hirsch. Azeri carried 12lbs more than multiple Grade 1 winner Elloluv and 10lbs more than Grade 1 winner and Breeders Cup Distaff 3rd Got Koko in the Ladies Secret when she finished a close 3rd to the two of them. Zenyatta was level weight in those former handicaps against an alw horse in Anabaa's Creations. She would have had to give Anabaa's Creation 25lbs in weight if those two races were still handicaps and she was treated as harshly by the racing secretary as Azeri was.


Shirreffs is on the easy path to the Breeders Cup and he will have this bitch cranked up to the moon for that race - and assuming he chooses the Classic over the Distaff (a no-brainer last year - doubtful this year) he's just going to hope she falls into a Breeders Cup win the same way his Giacomo fell into a Derby win against Afleet Alex and Bellamy Road. He's two more paid workouts away from a possible daring half court heave at history. I think God is on her side.

[smuthg]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

What if we're all actually wrong about Zenyatta and she's actually better than we think? That's what sucks about the way they're campaigning her.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that she was kept on the sidelines as a 2-year-old and for almost all of her 3-year-old season - while a filly her own age (Rags To Riches) won the Belmont over Curlin and Hard Spun and than got hurt before they could ever meet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her the morning of the race against favored Nashoba's Key because he felt she wasn't quite 100% from missing a few days of training weeks prior.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that Nashoba's Key died in a stall accident - which meant Zenyatta never took over her division in So. Cal - she merely inherited it from a dead horse who had obliterated everything she faced on synthetic and totally wiped out everything but the ducking Zenyatta within that division.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Breeders Cup was, for the first time in history, held two straight years at Santa Anita - on that terrible Pro-Ride junk - and that every Eastern dirt horse who went out there failed, most of them failed miserably.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her out of a stakes race at Churchill the morning of the race because the track was wet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her stablemate Life Is Sweet was offered up for the Hollywood Gold Cup and had to deal with Rail Trip when crushed on a speed-biased track - while she was safely at home in her stall.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her competition has mostly royally sucked.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Clement L. Hirsch and Ladies Secret are no longer Handicaps. Azeri had to give 19lbs away to an already Grade 1 stakes placed horse when she won the Hirsch. Azeri carried 12lbs more than multiple Grade 1 winner Elloluv and 10lbs more than Grade 1 winner and Breeders Cup Distaff 3rd Got Koko in the Ladies Secret when she finished a close 3rd to the two of them. Zenyatta was level weight in those former handicaps against an alw horse in Anabaa's Creations. She would have had to give Anabaa's Creation 25lbs in weight if those two races were still handicaps and she was treated as harshly by the racing secretary as Azeri was.


Shirreffs is on the easy path to the Breeders Cup and he will have this bitch cranked up to the moon for that race - and assuming he chooses the Classic over the Distaff (a no-brainer last year - doubtful this year) he's just going to hope she falls into a Breeders Cup win the same way his Giacomo fell into a Derby win against Afleet Alex and Bellamy Road. He's two more paid workouts away from a possible daring half court heave at history. I think God is on her side.

Great post DrugS... I had completely forgotten that Zenyatta is the same age as Rags; that's crazy.

It's also not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer sent his 3rd stringer to the Fair Grounds essentially shooting down any chance that RA would end up at Oaklawn.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

What if we're all actually wrong about Zenyatta and she's actually better than we think? That's what sucks about the way they're campaigning her.

Shirreffs is on the easy path to the Breeders Cup and he will have this bitch cranked up to the moon for that race - and assuming he chooses the Classic over the Distaff (a no-brainer last year - doubtful this year) he's just going to hope she falls into a Breeders Cup win the same way his Giacomo fell into a Derby win against Afleet Alex and Bellamy Road. He's two more paid workouts away from a possible daring half court heave at history. I think God is on her side.

Do you think that she would be campaigned more aggressively this year if her unbeaten record wasn't at stake? Stakes like the Beverly D and the Jockey Club Gold Cup should be on her dancecard. Instead she faces overmatched rivals in the same boring stakes.

If she is still unbeaten by the time the BC rolls around, she won't run unless the conditions are optimal. It is unlikely that her connections will risk losing on American racing's second biggest stage when they have campaigned her to remain perfect.

[copying]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

What if we're all actually wrong about Zenyatta and she's actually better than we think? That's what sucks about the way they're campaigning her.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that she was kept on the sidelines as a 2-year-old and for almost all of her 3-year-old season - while a filly her own age (Rags To Riches) won the Belmont over Curlin and Hard Spun and than got hurt before they could ever meet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her the morning of the race against favored Nashoba's Key because he felt she wasn't quite 100% from missing a few days of training weeks prior.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that Nashoba's Key died in a stall accident - which meant Zenyatta never took over her division in So. Cal - she merely inherited it from a dead horse who had obliterated everything she faced on synthetic and totally wiped out everything but the ducking Zenyatta within that division.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Breeders Cup was, for the first time in history, held two straight years at Santa Anita - on that terrible Pro-Ride junk - and that every Eastern dirt horse who went out there failed, most of them failed miserably.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her trainer scratched her out of a stakes race at Churchill the morning of the race because the track was wet.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her stablemate Life Is Sweet was offered up for the Hollywood Gold Cup and had to deal with Rail Trip when crushed on a speed-biased track - while she was safely at home in her stall.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that her competition has mostly royally sucked.

It's not Zenyatta's fault that the Clement L. Hirsch and Ladies Secret are no longer Handicaps. Azeri had to give 19lbs away to an already Grade 1 stakes placed horse when she won the Hirsch. Azeri carried 12lbs more than multiple Grade 1 winner Elloluv and 10lbs more than Grade 1 winner and Breeders Cup Distaff 3rd Got Koko in the Ladies Secret when she finished a close 3rd to the two of them. Zenyatta was level weight in those former handicaps against an alw horse in Anabaa's Creations. She would have had to give Anabaa's Creation 25lbs in weight if those two races were still handicaps and she was treated as harshly by the racing secretary as Azeri was.


Shirreffs is on the easy path to the Breeders Cup and he will have this bitch cranked up to the moon for that race - and assuming he chooses the Classic over the Distaff (a no-brainer last year - doubtful this year) he's just going to hope she falls into a Breeders Cup win the same way his Giacomo fell into a Derby win against Afleet Alex and Bellamy Road. He's two more paid workouts away from a possible daring half court heave at history. I think God is on her side.

I hope you don't think it was the surface that did those easterners in -- more likely the competition. And now you offer up Azeri to back up your argument. I remember all the NYers panned Get Koko as that years' Anabaa's Creation. It may take you a few years, but eventually you'll admit greatness when it's far gone.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I doubt it. It's not like she's never lost before. Besides, she already has something Zenyatta never will attain: an Eclipse award for Horse of the Year.

Isn't having your own theme song more impressive?

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

RA had HER chance to show up, at OP. She didn't. Her connections had committed to it. They reneged. Z's connections haven't committed to anything at SAR. The RA crew can spin it any way they want but why should she get a 2nd chance? Especially when giving her ANOTHER opportunity would require shipping your horse cross country. The RA crew can whine all they want; that's about all that having your horse NOT SHOW UP gets you.

Funny how the **** gets spun around here.

I don't care what anybody says. It's pretty darn impressive when someone learns to type while wearing a straight jacket.

RA spent 5 months as a barn potato, and Jackson let $5 mil lure him into doing something stupid. There's no point in marching your horse toward a major confrontation they're not fit for just because the mob in the colliseum wants to turn their thumbs up or down.

[Theatrical]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

I don't care what anybody says. It's pretty darn impressive when someone learns to type while wearing a straight jacket.

RA spent 5 months as a barn potato and Jackson let $5 mil lure him into doing something stupid. There's no point in marching your horse toward a major confrontation they're not fit for just because the mob in the colliseum wants to turn their thumbs up or down.

Her owner could have said "no" from the get go. He didn't.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Theatrical

Her owner could have said "no" from the get go. He didn't.

Jess Jackson could've said a lot of things, things that made logical, coherent sense, but he doesn't. He's not so good with the brain+filter situation. It's not news.

As if saying no in the beginning wouldn't have drawn a different criticism. You'd rather be calling him chicken instead of being strung along and getting your hopes up? Under what circumstances would people have been happy? The Apple Blossom was never a good idea. Better he figured that out before the race than after. Of all the crazy things he says and does, there are worse to focus on.

[Theatrical]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Jess Jackson could've said a lot of things, things that made logical, coherent sense, but he doesn't. He's not so good with the brain+filter situation. It's not news.

As if saying no in the beginning wouldn't have drawn a different criticism. You'd rather be calling him chicken instead of being strung along and getting your hopes up? Under what circumstances would people have been happy? The Apple Blossom was never a good idea. Better he figured that out before the race than after. Of all the crazy things he says and does, there are worse to focus on.

I'm sure Mr. Jackson will appreciate your apologizing for him in his choices.

Please do not tell me what I would have been calling the man, o.k.? The facts are the facts. It's out there how the entire Apple Blossom thing went down. All he had to say was the filly wouldn't be ready and stick by it. How hard is that?

[Danzig]

lol

so, because jess jackson wanted rachel to be ready, and she couldn't be, that reflects poorly on the horse?! you people are aware, aren't you, that you're talking about a horse? she had no say in the schedule he tried to make her fit. give me a break here, people! are you sure, those of you who keep going on and on about this one race, that you know anything about horses?
bash jess all you want, he's the one who deserves it.

[CSC]

Another Rachel thread turned into a Zenyatta thread, I wish I could say I am surprised but I am not a very convincing liar.