Shirreffs' Second Stringer Buries LC Field

[bks]

Which is odd, since they were afraid that Zenyatta would lose to the horse who finished last, Careless Jewel.

Right? ;)

Look, it's one thing to have a bad opinion on the way a horse will run. We all have those. It's another to be so foolish as to believe the trainer of the top mare in North America, who had a big home-field advantage, was nevertheless afraid to run against a 3-y-o filly who had never faced stakes-quality mares in her life. That was the opinion of several people here, and I heard it at the track as well.

Frankly, it was offensively stupid. Hope those here see that now.

And win or lose today, Zenyatta is in the Classic because they understand that she stone-cold fits with the rest of them.

[lamboguy]

the one thing about horseracing is that people have their own opinion's about who is going to win. lots of times these opinion's are very emotional and other times they are quite thoughtless. so we have this board to post on and let our feelings be known. the people reading the post can judge whether the post has any substance to it, or its just a rant.

i totally agree with what you say about ZENYATTA today. from the races i have watched on the surface of santa anita, i alway's see that the trainer instructions are always to take back off the pace and make one big run. yet 90% of the time some horse is unable to be restrained and always creates a pace, the horses in back of the pace setter start chasing and get tired chasing that leader around the track. Z-lady sits back and coasts down the backside, she starts her run on the far turn and hits the stretch like grant took richmond.

the trainer and rider claim she is training as good as she has ever done. so why would anyone expect her to be different today?

[Steve R]

Day one only confirmed the disaster of having the BC on the AWS. It had little to do with which horses are actually the best. In the Marathon, the top four were turf or AWS specialists. In the Juvenile fillies, two of the top three were superior AWS horses. The first three in the F&M Sprint were also had superior form on the AWS including a 35-1 shot while the solid dirt fillies ran up the track. And in the Ladies Classic, the first two were 8 for 8 on AWS going in while the far superior dirt horses didn't handle the surface. Of course, if you're going to claim that Life Is Sweet is better than either Music Note or Careless Jewel then we have no basis for a reasonable discussion.

Thank goodness this Santa Anita nightmare will soon be over. I'm seriously considering spending the afternoon with the family at the movies or at the park.

[depalma113]

Which is odd, since they were afraid that Zenyatta would lose to the horse who finished last, Careless Jewel.

Right? ;)

Look, it's one thing to have a bad opinion on the way a horse will run. We all have those. It's another to be so foolish as to believe the trainer of the top mare in North America, who had a big home-field advantage, was nevertheless afraid to run against a 3-y-o filly who had never faced stakes-quality mares in her life. That was the opinion of several people here, and I heard it at the track as well.

Frankly, it was offensively stupid. Hope those here see that now.

And win or lose today, Zenyatta is in the Classic because they understand that she stone-cold fits with the rest of them.

That horse never even saw any of her competition yesterday. So her defeat had absolutely nothing to do with any horse in the field.

Yesterday's races made it very obvious that frontrunning speed has no chance going two turns on that surface. None. Jess Jackson deserves a medal for not putting his Champion filly on that garbage.

Zenyatta belongs in the Classic simply because it is not a mile and a quarter race. Route Racing at Santa Anita is nothing more than a lope around the track in pedestrian time and than uncork a three furlong sprint to the wire.

[NJ Stinks]

And win or lose today, Zenyatta is in the Classic because they understand that she stone-cold fits with the rest of them.

Zenyatta is in the classic because it's on AWS. Period.

Good for Zenyatta. Bad for Summer Bird, Quality Road, Girolamo, and Regal Ransom.

We get it.

[bks]

Zenyatta is in the classic because it's on AWS. Period.

Good for Zenyatta. Bad for Summer Bird, Quality Road, Girolamo, and Regal Ransom.

We get it.

Not sure you do. Zenyatta's only race on dirt was one of her best.

Running on synthetic says little about your dirt form. You would have thought I Want Revenge would have made people understand that.