THE STRIDE ON ZENYATTA

[lamboguy]

i just saw her on television and went back on the replay. to me it looks like her feet come off the ground alot higher in the begining of her races and down the stretch it seems like she stays lower to the ground. no doubt her back end extends further than most while she is in stride. she gets a tremendous amount of power off her rear. she gets one big burst of excelleration when she takes off, alot like FOREGO did.

she certainly gives you a breathtaking performance every time she runs. so doesn't RACHEL

[andymays]

i just saw her on television and went back on the replay. to me it looks like her feet come off the ground alot higher in the begining of her races and down the stretch it seems like she stays lower to the ground. no doubt her back end extends further than most while she is in stride. she gets a tremendous amount of power off her rear. she gets one big burst of excelleration when she takes off, alot like FOREGO did.

she certainly gives you a breathtaking performance every time she runs. so doesn't RACHEL


Didn't her hind end almost come out from under her as she turned into the stretch in her last race? If I remember right she slipped a little bit.

[46zilzal]

ANY animal capable of making up that much ground REPEATEDLY is one to deal with.

[DJofSD]

I would guess that once into the race, the ligaments, tendons and muscles of the haunches and back are fully warmed up and at their fullest ability to stretch. That's why she looks different.

What's more important how far underneath her body the rear quarters can reach while at speed. It is how much farther forward the rear legs can go that will increase the length of the stride. More power. More ground covered. And, when you have an exceptional animal like her, the greater ability to sustain all of that longer than any other horse she is running against. The lesser ability of the others makes them slow down while she can keep on crusing.

[Hanover1]

i just saw her on television and went back on the replay. to me it looks like her feet come off the ground alot higher in the begining of her races and down the stretch it seems like she stays lower to the ground. no doubt her back end extends further than most while she is in stride. she gets a tremendous amount of power off her rear. she gets one big burst of excelleration when she takes off, alot like FOREGO did.

she certainly gives you a breathtaking performance every time she runs. so doesn't RACHEL
We are watching a great combination of good gait and stamina. Looks different early because she is not in full stride, just loping along. The length of her average stride during pursuit has been measured, as have all the greats, and that figure is way up there, suggesting its an easy game for her to play, unlike a smaller, yet game horse, who must work harder to win. Only knock on the lanky ones is that they lame up easier if they take a bad step.

[JustRalph]

i just saw her on television and went back on the replay. to me it looks like her feet come off the ground alot higher in the begining of her races and down the stretch it seems like she stays lower to the ground. no doubt her back end extends further than most while she is in stride. she gets a tremendous amount of power off her rear. she gets one big burst of excelleration when she takes off, alot like FOREGO did.

she certainly gives you a breathtaking performance every time she runs. so doesn't RACHEL

what the hell was that last line supposed to mean? is that a typo or a sneaky dig at RAchel?

[Dick Powell]

Her hind legs are as wide apart as any good horse I have ever seen. It seems to enable her to overstride without kicking herself or cross-firing. Kind of like a frog leaping.

One reason she looks different in the beginning of her races is that she does not warm up at all. No canter, no gallop; just walks out in the post parade and acts like she wants to lay down. Her warm up is the first half mile. Her last four strides in the Clement Hirsch were incredible.