Rachel Retired !

[smalltimer]

Covel,
I was shocked last year when you used the term \"gutless\" to describe Zenyatta\'s connections.  

Last year, Rachel\'s people could have taken her to the BC and met the big mare on Z\'s surface. They said \"no thanks\" and left Rachel in the barn.

This year, Zenyatta\'s people made no secret they were willing to face her at Oaklawn on dirt.  Rachel\'s people again said, \"no thanks\" and left her in the barn again.

Fast forward to now.  Zenyatta\'s people fully intended to run in the BC Classic at Churchill Downs in hopes of facing Rachel at Rachel\'s track and Rachel\'s surface, once again Rachel\'s people said, \"no thanks\" and have her in the barn permanently.

At the end of the day, which camp defined \"gutless??\"

[TGJB]

This year, both. Last year, if any, not the ones who went all over the country, faced colts three times in G I\'s, and stopped for the year two months before a BC that was going to be run on a surface they had already taken a big position against, well before having RA.

Very unsatisfying ending to this part of the story, that we can all agree on.

[covelj70]

Smalltimer,

I don\'t remember posting that but sometimes my memory conveniently forgets things.  I apologize if I said that because I don\'t think that\'s right.

I tried to stay out of this whole crusade that went on on this board whenever one of them ran because I think it\'s pretty clear.

Rachael on her best was better but she didn\'t run her best nearly as often as Z runs her best (which is pretty much everytime).

One thing I will say is the timing of this retirement is a very lame move.  She was reportedly working well and there was nothing wrong with her last race other than that she doesn\'t want to go that far so why not at least run this weekend and make a decision from there.  Lame, Lame, Lame.

[smalltimer]

Jim,
Honestly, I recall that adjective from you, and I was shocked because in the previous years I had been in this forum, you had always taken the high road, been gracious and courteous to everyone and I couldn\'t remember you ever saying anything remotely negative about horses or people.
Anyway, water under the bridge, could be my way of getting my last word in on a topic (Rachel vs. Zenyatta) which brought out the best and worst in a lot of people, myself included.
I\'m disappointed in how the Rachel saga ended, I really wanted to get into a friendly back and forth with jimbo.  He and I had already agreed early in the year that our conversations would be civil back and forth.  So, a disappointment on a personal level because I do enjoy jimbo\'s gusto.
TGJB, I agree, we have all been shortchanged in what should have been and could have been a matchup that really meant something in the overall scheme of the sport.
For the multitude of true Rachel lovers.  Guys, I\'m sorry these two camps could not get together for what clearly would have been a hell of an event.  I wish Rachel well in her retirement, I can\'t wait to have a chance to play one of her offspring.  If her offspring are anything like their mama, they will be some running son of a guns!!! Every time over the last 2 years when I thought about Rachel and Zenyatta getting into the same starting game, my heart started to pound. But, when I stood 3 feet away from Zenyatta last year right after she won the BC Classic, I said to myself, \"nobody is gonna beat this horse.\"  First time I\'ve ever been in awe of an animal.

Peace out

[Rich Curtis]

As Woody Allen said, 80 percent of success is taking big positions against things.

[jimbo66]

Smalltimer,

I am pretty sure it was me who said that Shirreffs was \"gutless\".  (and yes, I guess I am not as gracious and polite as Covelj, that is certainly true!).

I still have Shirreffs, and doubt that will ever change.  I believe he was the key driver in ensuring that Zenyatta almost NEVER left the state of California.  

The connections of Rachel ran an entrepeneurial campaign last year, followed by a very weak campaign this year.  Not wanting to run on carpet is not an unreasonable position.  It seems likely that 20 years from now, horseplayers will look back and wonder WTF happened for the 3-4 year period we did run on the carpet.  (which should be over in a year or two from now).  

As for Zenyatta\'s connections, they chose to take the path of least resistance ALL YEAR LONG, but then step up big time and go for the Classic.

Oh well.

[jimbo66]

Richie B,

How could I possibly disagree with anybody \"bred on both sides for gambling\".  

I hear you on all fronts.  I still believe the BC Classic is a betting opportunity as I believe Zenyatta will be the favorite and will be a toss out of the top 2 slots at least.  But can\'t blame anybody that believes she will step up her game and run faster against the better competition (I personally don\'t believe she can, but can\'t fault those that do - I can only bet against them)

[FrankD.]

Now what are we going to argue about on here ?
How about Grape vs Lime Kool Aide !!!
Of course the argument must be limited to Kool Aide drinkers only.

Lost in the Rachel Hoopla and not mentioned here at all was the passing of Real Quiet on the same day. Not a bad investment for 17k, one who missed the Triple Crown by a nose to Victory Gallup.

[miff]

x

[miff]

Wait until the Cali\'s read this!!


Zenyatta\'s not queen of the universe just yet
By Andrew Beyer

LOS ANGELES - Californians have always loved their Thoroughbred stars, but no horse in many years has excited them as Zenyatta has. They will roar for her at Hollywood Park on Saturday, when she makes her final appearance in her home state and tries to win her 19th consecutive race.

Zenyatta inspires fierce passions. When she defeated males in the Breeders\' Cup Classic last fall, her fans hailed the performance as one of the best in the history of the event - and maybe in the history of the sport. When the mare subsequently lost the horse of the year title to Rachel Alexandra, her partisans reacted with white-hot anger. The blogosphere is regularly filled with sharp rebukes for anybody who demeans Zenyatta or even suggests that she is not one of the greatest racehorses of all time.

Compiling an 18-for-18 career record is an extraordinary feat. Horse races contain so many potential pitfalls that no high-class U. S. horse has put together such a streak since Hindoo in 1881. Nevertheless (at the risk of inflaming the blogosphere), I could not put Zenyatta on a list of all-time great racehorses.

My judgment is based partly on the fact that she has compiled her record by running mostly against moderate female competition - such as the field in Lady\'s Secret Stakes on Saturday. But the main reason for questioning Zenyatta\'s place in history is that fact that she is a synthetic-track specialist, albeit the best in the brief history of these surfaces. In my view, it is a dubious distinction to be the poster girl for the surfaces that have robbed the sport here of its unique character.

California once had the most exciting and vibrant racing in the nation, and East vs. West rivalries animated the sport for decades. While California never had the quality of bloodstock that populated the New York tracks, it had something else: speed. The dirt racing strips in the West were fast and speed-favoring, and trainers accordingly honed horses\' speed by training them hard and fast. Jockeys rode aggressive from the gate, and the early pace of races was quicker than in any other racing jurisdiction on the planet. The nature of the game was breathtaking, and fans loved it.

When horses toughened by this style of racing came East, they often ran away from their supposedly classier rivals. Fast horses such as Precisionist, Winning Colors, Sunday Silence, Bayakoa, Criminal Type, Silver Charm, and Congaree advertised the virtues of California racing.

When California\'s racing regulators mandated that traditional dirt tracks be replaced by synthetic surfaces as of 2008, they didn\'t anticipate the consequence of their decision, but they essentially legislated speed out of the game. On the new synthetic surfaces, raw speed was not an asset and sometimes was a significant liability.

Jockeys adjusted accordingly. Horses would typically travel at a moderate pace until their acceleration in the stretch decided the race. In the 16 Breeders\' Cups races run over Santa Anita\'s synthetic surface in 2008 and 2009, not a single front-runner wound up in the winner\'s circle, and most races were won by a horse rallying from far behind.

Zenyatta\'s ability to unleash an exceptional late burst of speed makes her so potent on synthetic tracks. In the stretch run of the Breeders\' Cup Classic, she flew past some rivals who had distinguished themselves as powerful finishers. But just twice has she ventured outside of California to run on dirt, beating a good field of fillies at Oaklawn Park in 2008 and a weak group there this year.

There is still no evidence that she is as potent on dirt as she is on synthetics. Probably she isn\'t; dirt and synthetics are so different that few horses are top-class on both. (The 0-for-43 record of horses making the transition from dirt to synthetics in the Santa Anita Breeders Cups laid to rest the cliché that \"a good horse can run on anything.\"

Most racing fans regret that owner Jerry Moss and trainer John Shirreffs have been so conservative in their management of Zenyatta that they didn\'t give her more opportunities to prove herself on dirt. (If the mare had gone East to confront a below-her-prime Rachel Alexandra this summer, she might have won the Zenyatta vs. Rachel debate once and for all.) After Zenyatta\'s final Hollywood appearance, however, Moss and Shirreffs plan to run her against the nation\'s best males over the dirt at Churchill Downs Nov. 6.

This Breeders\' Cup Classic will be the defining race of her life, and if she wins (or even loses a close one), she can silence all of the skeptics. I doubt that she will. If Zenyatta retires without beating top-class competition on dirt, how will history view her?

A few years from now, the distinction of excelling on synthetic tracks may not mean much. Amid growing disillusionment with synthetics, Santa Anita this fall is replacing its track with dirt. Hollywood Park will eventually be turned into a real-estate development. At that point there will be only two racetracks in the U.S., both with short meetings, that offer Grade 1 or Grade 2 stakes on synthetic surfaces: Del Mar and Keeneland.

When racing fans of the future look back at the record of a mare who excelled on long-forgotten substances called Pro-Ride and Cushion Track, they are apt to regard Zenyatta as a historical curiosity rather than an all-time great racehorse.

[smalltimer]

I think once Andy ends his journalism career, he too may be viewed as an historical curiosity rather than an all-time great handicapper.

He\'s shown the ability to eliminate 5% of the field for the Kentucky Derby simply by making his selection which can automatically be tossed.

[TGJB]

I guess you figure that was some kind of on-point, relevant response.

Put yourself out there, under your own name, for 20 years or so, then get back to me.

[smalltimer]

When you charge for your service or expertise, you\'re gonna be expected to pick an occassional winner.

[TGJB]

Andy charges for those Derby picks?

[sighthound]

Sometimes life is simple and obvious.  The horse - like most - obviously had a \"little something\" that was being managed (and I mean that in a good-for-the-horse way).  The work exacerbated it, leaving no choice but some weeks/months off to rest, or retirement.
 
You guys bet on horses like this daily, even on the triple-crown trail.  Ask Jerry, I\'m sure he\'s been in on the results of vetting for promising two-year-olds in the late fall.  All athletes have their little issues.  Many do NOT mean the horse shouldn\'t be racing.