Andy Beyer: Zenyatta's fast, but doesn't belong in racing's pantheon

[andymays]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092903591.html

Excerpt:

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.

[andymays]

Isn't this just what the doctor ordered?

Let the pissing contest begin.

[Dahoss9698]

Another fantastic article by Beyer. Horse racing is lucky to have him.

[cj]

As usual, he is spot on...except the 2008 Apple Blossom wasn't much of a field.

[andymays]

Zenyatta faces five in her final prep for Classic | Daily Racing Form

http://drf.com/news/zenyatta-faces-f...l-prep-classic

Excerpt:

Satans Quick Chick was supplemented to the Lady's Secret for $4,500 on Wednesday by owner Jerry Jamgotchian, who also owns Rinterval. Eric Reed trains Satans Quick Chick and Rinterval.

[andymays]

How long before carlonr starts flipping out ?

[Pick6]

He gave himself an out. And the article ignores the fact that Moss did go east to challenge RA. Of course the likely outcome of Z defeating RA would not have changed his view anyways, so really no need to bring it up.

Also, he clearly contradicts himself when stating that Z could have ended the Z/RA debate by defeating a "below-her-prime" RA.

And there do exist horses who have performed well on both surfaces. Zenyatta is another, although everybody ignores her 2008 AB win as meaningless.

[Pick6]

Originally Posted by andymays

Zenyatta faces five in her final prep for Classic | Daily Racing Form

http://drf.com/news/zenyatta-faces-f...l-prep-classic

Excerpt:

Satans Quick Chick was supplemented to the Lady's Secret for $4,500 on Wednesday by owner Jerry Jamgotchian, who also owns Rinterval. Eric Reed trains Satans Quick Chick and Rinterval.

So who is the sacrificial rabbit?

[cj]

Originally Posted by Pick6

He gave himself an out. And the article ignores the fact that Moss did go east to challenge RA. Of course the likely outcome of Z defeating RA would not have changed his view anyways, so really no need to bring it up.

And there do exist horses who have performed well on both surfaces. Zenyatta is another, although everybody ignores her 2008 AB win as meaningless.

Since when is Arkansas east?

[andymays]

Originally Posted by Pick6

So who is the sacrificial rabbit?

I'm not familiar with Satans Quick Chick so I couldn't tell you. Rinterval runs on or near the lead.

[DeanT]

Beyer has his POV, or world view on, surfaces and he writes - and writes it very well. He is one of the best people to read in the sport.

But it is somewhat curious, because you can read last year's tome before the BC, and almost transpose it to this year's piece on Z. The weird part for me, is he says virtually the same thing he said last year about her and her opponents, when saying she had no shot to win against males. Now this year, when she accomplished what he said she could not do, he harkens back to the same argument (only replacing it with his surface world view).

It smacks of a little bit of "having your cake and eating it too" in my opinion.

Zenyatta is the biggest star in two days of racing at Santa Anita that include 14 stake races with more than $25 million in purse money. But there are substantial reasons to doubt that she can beat male rivals as Rachel Alexandra did in the spring and summer.

Trainer John Shirreffs has given Zenyatta an ultra-conservative campaign this season, racing her four times on the synthetic tracks she loves, always against small fields of overmatched fillies and mares. Zenyatta didn't blow away this competition, and her speed figures were unexceptional. Her modest winning margins were partly the result of her catch-'em-at-the-wire style, but nevertheless she has not looked as impressive as she was in her best efforts of 2008. It requires a giant leap of faith to conclude, from her 2009 form, that Zenyatta can beat the Classic field that includes the best U.S. males -- Summer Bird and Quality Road -- and a pair of high-class Europeans. It is preposterous that she is the 5-to-2 morning-line favorite.

[bisket]

like many on this board beyer's handicapping lives and dies with his speed figures. speed figs leave much to be desired in gauging the speed of a race when comparing races on dirt and poly track. so like many handicappers that rely heavily on speed figures. when it comes to this subject, they are consistantly wrong when it comes to this particular aspect of handicapping.

[andymays]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092903591.html

Excerpt:

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.

[Pick6]

Originally Posted by cj

Since when is Arkansas east?

it's not? Last time I looked at a map Arkansas is about 1,500 miles EAST of Hollywood Park. Or are you suggesting flying around the Earth in the other direction 23,000 miles to get there?

[Dahoss9698]

Originally Posted by andymays

Isn't this just what the doctor ordered?

Let the pissing contest begin.

Thanks for this thread Andy. I can't wait to check back later. i was going to go see a movie, but I'm sure this will be far more entertaining.