Well, any doubters, myself included, have to be quiet for a while as Rachel smoked \'em today. Bring on Zenyatta! Hope it happens sometime soon! Rachel\'s her old self again, no doubt.
She looked good.
Funny how she gets a pass beating tomato cans, yet all you read around here is that Zenyatta beats up on tomato cans.
So just to get this straight, Rachel beating up on tomato cans is cause for eruption, judging by the title of this thread.
So IF Zenyatta wins tomorrow, beating a horse that Joe B says will leave her in the dust, I\'m curious what the reaction will be.
Nice to see that we hold horses to equal standards around here.
Number one there was no eruption (all he said was she was back), number two she beat them by ten or so. If Z beats those mares by ten tomorrow you will have every right to erupt. It would take about the same figure R just ran to do so, eyeballing it.
And #3 RA has taken on non-tomato cans more than once in her career, unlike Z, so she is allowed to use them to get back into shape if she wants.
IF she wins by 10 1/2, I\'ll buy you a virtual beer.
\"Rachel smoked \'em today\"
....they all look good beating up on overmatched rivals! Better than her last two commom performances, separating from the field in a fast last 1/8th.
Mike
TreadHead Wrote:
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> And #3 RA has taken on non-tomato cans more than
> once in her career, unlike Z, so she is allowed to
> use them to get back into shape if she wants.
Incorrect sir. Don\'t let the facts get in the way of a good quote.
I guess She\'s Baaaaaack! means the same as She\'s Back. Fine, not going to argue semantics.
As you all know, horses with Z\'s running style rarely win by 10.
At least Miff kept in perspective. And BTW, I didn\'t crack Rachel at all, and have made several posts complimenting her.
Lets face it, it doesn\'t matter what Zenyatta does or has done. Most of you guys will find a reason to dismiss her.
The point is this: If Zenyatta beat up on the same exact field Rachel just dismantled, you would say she just beat a bunch of bums. Rachel beats up on them, and its a Rachel lovefest.
Nothing wrong with admiring a great champion, Rachel is every bit of that. But there seems to be a bit of a double standard when comparing the 2.
Well, considering she ran 3/8 of a second faster than they did in the Foster, I think you should reconsider the evaluation of her performance. I really doubt if Z would have matched her with those fractions.
:23.93 :47.25 1:11.16 1:35.90 1:48.78
Leamas
Leamas57 Wrote:
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> Well, considering she ran 3/8 of a second faster
> than they did in the Foster, I think you should
> reconsider the evaluation of her performance. I
> really doubt if Z would have matched her with
> those fractions.
>
> :23.93 :47.25 1:11.16 1:35.90 1:48.78
>
> Leamas
Leamas,
I wasn\'t commenting on the quality of her performance. She looked great today.
I was commenting on the quality of the field she beat, and how that is never mentioned when discussing Rachel.
P-Dub Wrote:
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> Leamas57 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well, considering she ran 3/8 of a second
> faster
> > than they did in the Foster, I think you should
> > reconsider the evaluation of her performance. I
> > really doubt if Z would have matched her with
> > those fractions.
> >
> > :23.93 :47.25 1:11.16 1:35.90 1:48.78
> >
> > Leamas
>
>
> Leamas,
>
> I wasn\'t commenting on the quality of her
> performance. She looked great today.
>
> I was commenting on the quality of the field she
> beat, and how that is never mentioned when
> discussing Rachel.
The horse she beat, Jessica Is Back, isn\'t a tomato can. She ran a 111 last July, and though she hasn\'t run that lofty a Beyer since, she\'s run 3 at 100+ and a couple more in the high 90s. The horse she ran a good 2nd to last out just won today at Belmont, I hear, winning huge.
TGJB, any idea whether Blame\'s wide run is going to result in a better number for him than Rachel? I have a little bet going with someone who was being obnoxious about how badly Blame would\'ve beaten her.
I watched the replay and Borel never took the whip hand off the rein.
Leamas
Don\'t know what she beat, but it looked like a public workout.
She was good but she want perfecr. Broke the wrong lead. Seemed to get out a hair on the first turn. Looked right down the lane until Borel opened the reins. She did quicken and opened up but it was me it took a jump or two longer.
She won geared down and was a half second faster than Foster. So if that means she would have won the Foster it was a BIG Efoort.
Not a Neg 4 however.
Geez, what a negative bunch of posts! Everyone knows I\'m a Zenyatta fan, but can\'t I be happy to see Rachel return to form, which she did?! Now, if she ever meets Z, it will be the two mares on their best day which is all I can ever hope for. I\'ve stopped posting for a long time b/c everyone is so negative, but today was a rare post for me because I was so happy for Rachel. What\'s with all this tomato cans crap? By the way Zen has two decent runners to beat tomorrow. Zardana, of course, beat Rachel, and St. Trinian\'s is an awkward, but fast finishing filly. It\'s a legit race either way. Hollywood hasn\'t favored closers lately so we\'ll see what happens. Zenyatta could be a bit vulnerable. I\'ll keep my fingers crossed. Either way Zen\'s up there in the rare air of the all time greats, almost no one ever wins 17 in a row - something has to give sooner or later, hope it\'s not tomorrow.
P-Dub:
I agree. Zenyatta not facing a field of tomato cans on Sunday.
If Zenyatta wins, she will have beaten a horse that Rachel could not this year (Zardana) and ST while carrying 129 pounds on essentially a California \"dirt\" track which rewards a turn of foot more than a late explosion.
If \"Z\" wins today, we should ALL put the argument to bed until the day they finally meet.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
As PDub already said, don\'t let the facts get in the way of a good quote. You must be forgetting that Rachel has in fact defeated Zardana the second time they faced each other.
While that is fact, PDub certainly likes to take liberties with what is fact and what is his opinion. I see a circle with an F in the middle of it next to every one of her races except one, and that is also a fact. Not to mention the fact that she is repeating the same races for a 3rd year in a row in some cases, which is also a fact.
Is it just me or doesn\'t Rachel seem to be a little out of focus. I don\'t remember her looking around at the stands and playing around with lead changes last year. Sure she still runs fast, but maybe an equipment change is in order.
PDub-- yeah, the strength of the fields Rachel faced was never mentioned except in great detail and at length in my posts here late last year and in the letter to the TDN, which was posted here.
Nobody here gave Rachel credit for beating those horses. Some did because of how fast she ran, most just said she\'s back to herself.
mjellish Wrote:
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> Is it just me or doesn\'t Rachel seem to be a
> little out of focus. I don\'t remember her looking
> around at the stands and playing around with lead
> changes last year. Sure she still runs fast, but
> maybe an equipment change is in order.
You\'re not the only one who noticed this..Something just seems off..I know she won by 10 yesterday but it was not pretty to look at..
It would be great if the two of them can finish up the season in the BC ladies classic under the lights for the first time close to primetime TV hour. Might generate some new interest in horseracing.
TreadHead Wrote:
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(about Zen)
> I see a circle with an F in the middle
> of it next to every one of her races except one,
> and that is also a fact. Not to mention the fact
> that she is repeating the same races for a 3rd
> year in a row in some cases, which is also a fact.
Also a fact is that the \"except one\" race was the BC Classic.
There is one piece of folderol floating around on the board regarding Zen
running in the BC Ladies or whatever its called. It aint happening.
Todd Schrupp made the point during TVG\'s very excellent coverage of the Vanity
that TeamZen has felt like they deserved Horse of the Year for the last 2 years.
I would be more likely to agree with them with regards to 09 than 08.
Two primary reasons Zen was returned to training in 2010: Defend BC Classic
win and be awarded HOY. What made RA special was her domination of her 3YO
male counterparts and her victory over older males in the Woodward; RA deserves
the right to compete in the Classic.
A match race where RA would enjoy a distinct tactical advantage would not prove
very much. What Racing fans deserve is to see these two against QR, Blame, Rail
Trip, Lookin at Lucky etc in the BC Classic.