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Sunday, December 06, 2009

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1. Brian Zipse says:
   06 Dec 2009  at  10:07 pm | #
   
   Thank you Marion, I enjoyed this piece very much. I am pleased that an excellent writer like yourself came forward with your opinion. There is little left to do now, but sit back and watch as the decision is made. Good luck to Zenyatta and her connections, but I wish just a little more luck to the Rachel Alexandra side.
   
   
2. Pasturelands says:
   07 Dec 2009  at  03:41 am | #
   
   I agree with you, 100%. If anybody should give away the HIGHEST AWARD in the land, then give it to the horse who WON MORE THAN ONE race-- RACHEL ALEXANDRA. Zenyatta had a great 2008 campaign (which people unwittingly ADD to her 2009 races) but her 2009 performance was PATHETIC, saved only by her ONE WIN at the BC. It would be the height of stupidity to award a horse the HOY just for ONE RACE, isn't it?
   
   Also, somebody should CORRECT the records, and MAKE IT OFFICIAL that Zenyatta IS NOT 14-14 in 2009! This ABSURDITY is behind the fans' incorrect assumption that Zen is BETTER than Rachel, when in fact, if you look at their ages, Rachel is doing DOUBLE what Zen had done since she is just 3, and Zen is already 5 years old!!
   
   Rachel should have this HOY award under her belt already by now, but I figured Moss won't let Rachel have it WITHOUT a fight (even though Zen doesn't deserve HOY). I wouldn't be surprised if Moss was PAYING half the bloggers in BLOODHORSE to blog all day about Zenyatta. He already did that with the "Lady's Secret Stakes fiasco" at Sta. Anita. What a SHAMELESS old crone!! Now he came up with a DVD of Zenyatta, as if HE IS SURE that his mare will be HOY!!
   
   At a time when EVEN the ACTUAL HOY winners don't even have races named after them (e.g. Twilight Tear, Busher, Holy Bull, Curlin, etc.), Moss's actions come across as outright ARROGANT and PRESUMPTIOUS. Imagine, replacing Lady's Secret stakes with THE ZENYATTA, when Zenyatta is NOT EVEN assured of getting the HOY 2009. The eclipse voting won't be held until January next year. UNBELIEVABLE! I wonder what Moss would DO IF Zenyatta DID NOT WIN the HOY 2009..hmm?? FIRE all his paid bloggers? haha.
   
   
3. charles says:
   08 Dec 2009  at  02:19 pm | #
   
   "beat Macho Again—a great horse, possibly the fastest in the country"
   
   LOL. Surely you jest? Macho Again a great horse?
   
   I guess that is true to those who really believes Rachel is a great horse. What's more validating than a great horse beating another great horse like Macho Again. lol
   
   
4. charles says:
   08 Dec 2009  at  04:34 pm | #
   
   Wow Pastureland. Is Jess paying you? LMFAO!
   Hey Rachel ducked the mare, get over it besides, mythical race or not, Rachel's odds of beating the BIG MARE is zero.
   
   
5. Pasturelands says:
   09 Dec 2009  at  01:01 am | #
   
   Dear Charles, I WISH JJ was paying me, coz I needed the money..LOL. Fact is, this filly, Rachel Alexandra, is REALLY THAT GOOD. And unlike the Zen-zombies, I don't have to BASH good horses like SummerBIrd or Macho Again, just to prove a point-- that Zen is BETTER (NOT!).
   
   Looking at Rachel run at FG, I don't think she will let ANY horse pass her, even if it is the great Secretariat himself. Besides, the BC was just a CALCULATED RISK-- Moss was counting on the Pro-ride to give Zen the advantage OVER the dirt horses who were unfortunate enough to have NO experience on Pro-ride. So there you have it-- Zen won the BC. Try running other PRO-RIDE HORSES on the BC with Zen, and maybe you will get the SHOCK OF YOUR LIFE when Zen loses. Perhaps Zen is blessed that STS and RACHEL were NOT in the BC, coz she WON'T SHINE with those two superstars in there.
   
   Rachel is HORSE OF THE YEAR 2009. 2009 is the Year of the Super Filly!!
   
   
6. charles says:
   09 Dec 2009  at  11:08 am | #
   
   Pastureland. She is good as a 3 year old accomplishing things as a 3 year old but she is NO ZENYATTA. When she wins one Breeders cup race, just ONE and not even the Classic, then she can brag about something. But the Woodward as good as it was a good accomplishment for a 3 YEAR OLD FILLY and make no mistake about it, it was great, her competition are marginal grade 2 horses at best. Calling Macho Again a 'GREAT HORSE' is nothing more than hyping Rachel. I don't think even you would call Macho a great horse!? lol well maybe you would.
   LOL
   
   
7. charles says:
   09 Dec 2009  at  11:12 am | #
   
   Pastureland. A few horse people are already telling people that pro-ride is more like dirt than synthetic. Besides, nobody wants to point this out but synthetic horses in general does well when they race on dirt but the dirt horses sucks on sythetic. The 2006 Breeders already showed that. This 2010 Breeders would be no different. Synthetic/turf and horses who mostly train on synthetic develop strength and stamina and again will dominate the 2010 Breeders. I don't even see Rachel in it. She is not that kind of a horse. She might enter the Distaff/Ladies but she has ZERO CHANCE in the Classic. She is not that strong.
   
   
8. Pasturelands says:
   10 Dec 2009  at  02:22 am | #
   
   Dear Charles,
   Don't worry coz the BC in 2010 got a bulls-eye on it, as far as Rachel is concerned.
   
   As for Zenyatta, WHEN she wins a BC on DIRT OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA, then I will say she is champion enough. Right now, she is a CHAMPION OF CALIFORNIA only, coz she won ALL her races, including the 2 BCs you are "so proud of" in the SAME Pro-ride of the SAME STATE, California in 2008 and 2009. How can anybody CROWN a so-called "champion" like Zenyatta when she HAS NOT even raced OUTSIDE OF ONE STATE, California, in 2009?
   
   If I haul in the FACT that Zen has NOT WON anything on DIRT in 2009 (a major factor), it would make her HOY chances even MORE DOUBTFUL. As it is, Zen's Beyers are DISMAL -- LESS than 100 BSF average, and the BC is her ONLY VICTORY against males, whereas Rachel did it THRICE already and Rachel is 2 years YOUNGER THAN ZEN. AMAZING super-filly, indeed!!
   
   What else you got left against Rachel? The old assumption that MACHO AGAIN and ALL THE DIRT HORSES are "poor competition"? The SAME "poor competition" ran against Zenyatta, but nobody complains. Believe it or not, but MACHO AGAIN and Zen have identical Beyers of around 100 BSF, and their running style is the same too. But Macho is a COLT. So if Zen were to run on DIRT with Macho, Zen will lose.
   
   As I said, the "magic words" here are Pro-ride, and this "thing" was the sole reason behind Zen's victories-- that's why she NEVER LEFT California in 2009!! That's why Zen AVOIDED DIRT as much as possible. Moss will do ANYTHING to keep "the legend of perfection" intact, even if it already looks RIDICULOUS-- Imagine a mare who NEVER won OUTSIDE OF ONE STATE in 2009, vying for HORSE OF THE YEAR for the entire North America 2009!!! North America!! When was the last time Zen ACTUALLY stepped outside California-- ONCE in May 2009, and she scratched because "it was raining"?? Is Moss afraid the rain will turn Zenyatta into a GREMLIN??
   
   Rachel ran in the 2009 Fair Grounds on muddy "rained-on" track, and the Haskell on the same muddy field, but she STILL WON. No excuses.
   
   Real champions DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO-- they run in the rain, run in the middle of heat waves, run in desert sands, run in 13-horse fields, run in 3-horse fields, run with colts, run with older STALLIONS, run from the front, run from behind, ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
   
   Horses of the Year (HOY) don't stay in just ONE PLACE all year, racing against THEIR NEIGHBORS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, in the same PLAYGROUND. They have to be TESTED against all kinds of competition, whether weak or strong. HOYs defeat ANY FIELD that shows up for a race. They don't "#####-foot" and choose "strong" fields or "all-female" fields ONLY. They take on ALL COMERS.
   
   Zen was NEVER tested until the BC-- why award her HOY because of ONE RACE? when there is a RACHEL ALEXANDRA who had 4 or 5 HISTORIC RACES all year to deserve it MORE?
   
   RACHEL IS HOY 2009. Zen CAN be Moment of the Year, if she is lucky.
   
   
9. The Alpha Mare says:
   10 Dec 2009  at  11:38 am | #
   
   Wow, a lot to which I could respond here, but I'll try to keep this brief.
   
   It's interesting, a couple of people on Facebook and Charles here have said that, in essence, Rachel Alexandra had a "good" three-year-old campaign, that that she can come back for HoY when she has two more years under her belt.
   
   I find this to be fabulously laughable! Looking at Pedigree Query's entry for Zenyatta--which her owners had to post--hmmm...and I just wanted to make sure that I knew what I knew, and PQ IS the authority...hmmmm...it makes no mention of Zenyatta's wins when she was three...'cause it didn't happen.
   
   I'm forced to step out of my strong desire to be objective to state that, ummmm...Rachel Alexandra accomplished more in this one year than any horse, period. Zenyatta or otherwise. And, dear, dear Z fans--LAST YEAR DOESN'T COUNT when considering Horse of the Year. (Why is it that Z fans can't wrap their heads around this??)
   
   Charles, your outright assault on Macho Again and any other horse is ungentlemanlike. (If you are a man, I'm not sure by your email address.) Macho is a wonderful horse, who's achieved much. Ibid, Summer Bird, whom I adore tons. Zenyatta is a great horse--we think. But this is the point at which Pasturelands' comments come into play. How the heck can a horse be named Horse of the Year for all of the United States when said horse never left home, and raced over and over again against the same field? Rachel Alexandra was like a rock star, taking her show on the road and claiming victory everywhere she went.
   
   There's no contest, Charles. Sorry. If the people who get to vote for the Eclipse Awards actually give the statue to Zenyatta--it would, indeed, be *giving* it to her, because surely she didn't earn it. And if they do *that*--then the Eclipse Awards will be revealed to be just as invalid as the Breeders' Cup, which is NOT important just because they say it is. ONE race doth not a "campaign" make, Charles.
   
   And Pasturelands--I love your writing style; and the way in which you think and the boldness with which you express yourself! If you're on Facebook, please "friend" me, and include a note that it's you. I'm thrilled to meet thinkers and writers like yourself--thank you so much for getting involved here at HorseRaceInsider.com. You rock. And Rachel Rolls.
   
   
   
10. charles says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  12:06 pm | #
    
    Pastureland: Not only is Rachel's 'Oro not a 10 furlong sire, Rachel is physical not that strong. After her Preakness, she was huffing and puffing.
    
    Also, you are just a new bandwagon rider in horse racing. There were HOTY that practically run in one state ie Azeri who ran basically the same races as Zenyatta. Other great horses like Easy Goer ran basically all his races in New York and he is #38 all time. What's hilarious is you listen to that bias east coast horse writers and they take advantage of rookies like you. LOL. They have known that there has been an east coast/west coast track bias even before the synth came about. West coast horses threw clunkers when they headed east and vise versa. Plenty of great east coast dirt horses like Groovy threw clunkers when they ran on west coast dirt. That is because even back then the west coast dirt tracks were too fast for the east coast dirt horses. So to say Zenyatta has an advantage in synth is true but that is regardless whether she train on west coast dirt or synth. Horses do generally well on the track they trained on whether the horse trains east or west tracks. As far as Zen was only tested on BC that is also true but what dufus trainer or owner would send their best mares to run against Zenyatta if they didn't have to (except for the Breeders series) even if the west coast track were still dirt. Jackson knew better than to feed Rachel to the mare and the 'plastic' was just an excuse. Zenyatta would have had the advantage whether her home track was dirt of synth. Jackson is pointing to the 2010 Breeders in CD because Rachel loves that track, not because it's dirt. There are dirt tracks that Rachel would probably suck on. Why do you think that after running out of restricted 3 year old races they lined up 5 races before picking the grade 2 Woodward? I don't see Rachel's campaign being any different. Playing musical chairs give her a big advantage to going to a race track that favors her style and scoping out her competition. You'd never see Rachel enter a race weeks in advance. That will open her up for some really tough competition.
    
    
11. charles says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  12:13 pm | #
    
    ALphamare: What assault on Macho are you talking about? Those are just facts and I am not the only one who thinks he is a marginal grade 1 horse. Why is it when facts are presented, it's an insult to the horse. Let's be honest here. If Macho was a great horse, then what does that say to the horses that beat him in the grade 2 Clark? He is a fine solid horse but he is NOT A GREAT HORSE! So please don't insult my intelligence. I'm done here.
    
    
12. The Alpha Mare says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  12:22 pm | #
    
    Charles...why are you angry? This is a forum for conversation and lively debate, open to anyone (except those who are abusive, who will be nuked immediately).
    
    Language tells so much, and phrases such as "I'm done here" speak of a puerile attitude. If you came here thinking that you could trash Rachel Alexandra and other wonderful horses, and NOT get argumentation from anyone else (logical or otherwise)--well, that was an unrealistic expectatioin.
    
    That's why everyone's allowed to leave a comment that's within the rules. Precisely so that, if you say something anti-, someone else can say something pro-.
    
    Taking your toys and going home is fine, no problem But to do it wish such flair, and obvious disgust, seems to indicate that you were only interested in blowing off steam. And that anyone who disagrees with you becomes the object of anger. And really, there's no need for such strong emotion here--it's just a website, not the Bible.
    
    And I didn't insult your intelligence--you may have read it thus, but that is not what I did. Very defensive, Charles.
    
    
13. charles says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  01:34 pm | #
    
    What was abusive on what I posted about Macho. I posted that with a certain humor attached to it.
    Please!
    
    
14. charles says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  01:37 pm | #
    
    Alphamare: If anybody is angry is you. Using the word ASSAULT? where exactly is the assault in this post?
    
    -----------
    "beat Macho Again—a great horse, possibly the fastest in the country"
    
    LOL. Surely you jest? Macho Again a great horse?
    
    I guess that is true to those who really believes Rachel is a great horse. What's more validating than a great horse beating another great horse like Macho Again. wink lol
    ------------
    
    Did I really assaulted Macho here?
    
    
15. The Alpha Mare says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  01:47 pm | #
    
    Oh, Charles, we could go back and forth all day, but I have better things to do, and am sure that you do, too.
    
    Let's just agree to disagree.
    
    At the bottom line of it, horse racing is a game, a sport, and should bring joy to people. If we're not enjoying this banter, let's not.
    
    It's like the bettors I see bet the mortgage on a horse, and then swear and scream at the horse--on the TV screen, where s/he can't HEAR the screaming bettor--and calling that horse names. Ridiculous. Emotionally immature. Puerile.
    
    If they can't afford to blow that cash, they shouldn't bet it. And surely they shouldn't scream obscenities at a TV screen, at a horse who's 1,000 miles away and can't hear them. And who wouldn't care, even if s/he COULD hear. That kind of bettor is NOT having fun, and should find another sport or game in which losing doesn't inspire such strong, negative emotions. It's a GAME. A SPORT. Betting is NOT the Meaning of Life, and shouldn't be treated as such.
    
    Same here. This debate will rage on, Charles, but I'm going to let others do the debating. On to the next topic.
    
    So let's just disagree, and find some joy here.
    
    
16. charles says:
    10 Dec 2009  at  02:38 pm | #
    
    Alphamare: I was having fun, nothing wrong with some ribbing between horse players. I don't take anything personal with what Pastureland have to say. I try to lighten up when I banter with him. Of course we want to enjoy these horses. I think you misunderstood me but it is still my opinion that Macho is a nice solid horse and I wish I OWN HIM but he is NOT close to being GREAT! So ok let's just agree to disagree.
    Have a great day and maybe we could still discuss more about these fine horses in the future!
    
    
17. Pasturelands says:
    12 Dec 2009  at  02:53 am | #
    
    Dear ole' Charles,
    Looks like your old man, Moss, is up to his old tricks again-- this time Zenyatta for Charity!! LOL.
    
    The HOY is an AFTERTHOUGHT gone obsessive for Moss. Look at this: the guy NEVER got his huge mare out until May 23 this year, at a time when Rachel already got 3 races under her belt. The the mare races against fillies 4 times in the same state, in the same races as 2008. Nothing EXCITING about that-- just go ask NTRA.
    
    Then, Moss bows down to pressure, and gets his mare to the BC in a CALCULATED MOVE. He wins, of course, and WHAM!! BAM!! bring out the HOY campaign "people" -- and you suddenly have "Zenyatta day", "Rachel Who" T-shirts, "Zenyatta stakes" (sorry Lady's Secret!), "Zenyatta DVD", and now the "Zenyatta charity." All this circus just because of ONE RACE.. ONE RACE IN NORTH AMERICA!!
    
    When will this MADNESS ever end? What's next? Zenyatta LOOK-ALIKE Contest?? LOL. ROFL. I'm afraid, Charles, I won't hang around to see that one.. LOL
    
    Fact is: Zenyatta is NOT a lock for HOY, but her owner SURE is acting like the HOY is in HIS bag already. SHAMELESS!! Furthermore, his mare ACTUALLY did NOT perform anything CLOSE to award-winning UNTIL the BC Classic came along. As I said, Moss's argument for HOY rests on ONE RACE. ONE RACE. Take away the BC-- and Zen got nothing.
    
    Its laughable what Zen and her connections are doing right now.
    
    As for East-West coast bias, its just IN YOUR HEAD. All anybody has to do is COUNT, and its obvious that RACHEL deserved MORE the HORSE OF THE YEAR award than any horse out there now. No need to call out any person as "biased."
    
    HOY is not for one-race wonders like Zen, who got just ONE RACE to brag about and nothing else. Rachel can brag about THREE races, plus 2 MORE OTHERS. If you don't believe me, just look up NYRA's "Moment of the Year" site. Rachel got 4 moments, Zen got ONE.
    
    No need for "bias" here. The facts can speak for themselves.. and they do so very well.
    
    
18. Pasturelands says:
    12 Dec 2009  at  02:55 am | #
    
    Dear ole' Charles,
    hello? anybody there?
    
    
19. ThePixiePoet says:
    14 Dec 2009  at  05:47 pm | #
    
    Woweee.
    Same old people debating in this forum too!!
    I agree with this article 100%.
    I believe Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are both GREAT horses and who knows who can beat who... but Rachel Alexandra had the BETTER CAMPAIGN. It totally highlighted all her good qualities.
    
    Here is a video to prove it:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZKfqvbgoag
    
    I wish they were both co-HOY. But since they can't be, well, then I think Rachel edges Zen out.
    
    
20. Nancy says:
    28 Dec 2009  at  06:54 pm | #
    
    I've never read your blog before, I like your style and way of thinking.
    
    Zenyatta not leaving California doesn't bother me as much as the selection of races in which she ran. Around June or so Moss said he wanted to run a different campaign than last year. That statement turned out to be hogwash. It's disappointing to see such a talented horse be raced the way she was, I feel cheated out of seeing what she could really do.
    
    Rachel is more deserving of HOY. Her achievements don't need to be repeated, but I will say it should be noted she ran against more males than she did fillies. I don't know the last time that's been done, it certainly deserves to be mentioned along with her other achievements.
    
    
21. ian says:
    28 Oct 2010  at  11:16 pm | #
    
    Nice job!, You certainly are giving your visitors a lot of precious info. This blog will be a hit!
    
    

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