I have to give Zenyatta her due. She's a Champ. Hats off to Blame

[cj]

[garyscpa]

Originally Posted by Pick6

...

Quality Road was a joke. He was dead last after a mile.

Guess who was a half length ahead of him.

[Grits]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

exactly what I thought for a minute. I saw her climbing just a little and thought something was wrong......but before the turn she started striding out. These guys were not going to be coming back to her as much as those in the past and I thought the first 200 yds gave her an unsurmountable challenge to overcome. She almost pulled it off though.

This kind of race is what she would have been running into had they chosen a more aggressive campaign. Just think, we have seen her do this two years in a row.......racing horses who have faced tougher campaigns for the entire year. That diminishes her connections in my eyes. Not the horse. The connections got away with it last year and won the big one. This time the gun was loaded with more really tough bullets and she is 1 for 2. I think she is a great horse. But I think her connections played hide and seek for a couple years and to me that counts against them.

Hell, I think if she had been raced more against better competition we might have seen something even more from her. Who knows how she would have developed. Somebody mentioned the excitement as they loaded in the gate. We have seen that level of excitement with this horse twice now. We could have seen it five or six times in the last two years. That would have been better for the game if you ask me. Win or lose, it would have made for some great racing. Think of a couple of great rivalries that could have developed etc. That is what we as fans missed out on. Instead of boring re-runs of her previous races we could have seen some races for the ages. Just like today...........

Btw, I agree that she got a good ride and B+ trip. Horses of her style rarely get a grade A trip. Had she taken the same path as her races in California (outside always to avoid being blocked) she would have finished 5L behind Blame today.

flame suit on........It's going to be a fun week talking and reading about this. I can't wait to see what Andy Beyer writes.

Best post in the entire 10 pages of the thread, Ralph. Agree with every word you've typed.

She's been a joy to see in the flesh, on tv, wherever. She's been an extraordinary gift to the sport.

Still, had the Moss's not treated her like a Golden Retriever lying at the foot of their bed every night, we may truly have been able to see how great a racemare she was--but no, that's not what Jerry and Ann were about--the streak was the deal.

I was sorry she didn't win today, but as easy and as laid back as she is, as intelligent as she is--tomorrow she'll probably wake up, eat her tub up, and ask, "what time's my flight, guys. Wanna go home."

[CincyHorseplayer]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

exactly what I thought for a minute. I saw her climbing just a little and thought something was wrong......but before the turn she started striding out. These guys were not going to be coming back to her as much as those in the past and I thought the first 200 yds gave her an unsurmountable challenge to overcome. She almost pulled it off though.

This kind of race is what she would have been running into had they chosen a more aggressive campaign. Just think, we have seen her do this two years in a row.......racing horses who have faced tougher campaigns for the entire year. That diminishes her connections in my eyes. Not the horse. The connections got away with it last year and won the big one. This time the gun was loaded with more really tough bullets and she is 1 for 2. I think she is a great horse. But I think her connections played hide and seek for a couple years and to me that counts against them.

Hell, I think if she had been raced more against better competition we might have seen something even more from her. Who knows how she would have developed. Somebody mentioned the excitement as they loaded in the gate. We have seen that level of excitement with this horse twice now. We could have seen it five or six times in the last two years. That would have been better for the game if you ask me. Win or lose, it would have made for some great racing. Think of a couple of great rivalries that could have developed etc. That is what we as fans missed out on. Instead of boring re-runs of her previous races we could have seen some races for the ages. Just like today...........

Btw, I agree that she got a good ride and B+ trip. Horses of her style rarely get a grade A trip. Had she taken the same path as her races in California (outside always to avoid being blocked) she would have finished 5L behind Blame today.

flame suit on........It's going to be a fun week talking and reading about this. I can't wait to see what Andy Beyer writes.

Well said Ralph,well said man.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Originally Posted by cj

HAHAHAHA!!!!Nice.After a good day of racing it's appropos.

[winningponies]

If I had to choose the one thing that did Zenyatta in today (besides Blame's excellent performance), it was her perfect record. The connections were obviously obsessed with keeping her record unblemished. Maybe she did need some prior experience at Churchill. Hmmm, wasn't she scratched from the Louisville Distaff in 2009 because of some rain? Maybe if they left her in, even if she lost, she wouldn't have been so lost today in the early going. Or maybe if she didn't get up to beat Anabaa's Creation at Del Mar in that tight finish at the wire (and I liked Anabaa that day), her connections would have been more aggressive since, as the "perfection" was already lost. Hell, if she lost her maiden first time out, she would have probably ended up being an even more impressive mare, as she would have had more opportunity to grow against better competition, instead of going for the perfect record. It's just silly that if the horse had to lose one race, wouldn't you rather have it be a tougher prep race, then the race you are aiming to win? They got away with it last year, and they thought they could do it again. The only difference was that this wasn't her home state/surface.

All this being said, I was extremely impressed with Zenyatta's performance on this "alien track" and also I don't think any credit should be taken away from Blame as well. I should also "blame" myself for not putting Fly Down in the Trifecta (although I did use him in my Superfecta).

I think what would be great for racing would be if Zenyatta came back one more year (now with an imperfect record), ran a strong 2011 campaign, and see how she ends up in the 2011 Classic.

[cpitt84]

Originally Posted by winningponies

I think what would be great for racing would be if Zenyatta came back one more year (now with an imperfect record), ran a strong 2011 campaign, and see how she ends up in the 2011 Classic.

I agree.

[Charli125]

Originally Posted by winningponies

I think what would be great for racing would be if Zenyatta came back one more year (now with an imperfect record), ran a strong 2011 campaign, and see how she ends up in the 2011 Classic.

I'm torn on that one. While I would love to see her mount a challenging campaign next year, I also want to see her babies. With her size, late kick, etc., and the right sire, I'd love to see what comes out.

Still, one more year would still leave plenty of time for babies right?

[nijinski]

Originally Posted by gm10

Mike Smith didn't have an easy task and I'm not sure he made that many mistakes. Zenyatta was the best horse in the race but Blame got the jump on her and then it becomes very difficult to run him down, epecially when you have to wait for the gaps to appear.

One thing I know for sure is that she will never be the same mare again. Mike Smith destroyed her with his whip a la Borel on RA last year. It's likely that this has soured her on racing for good.

I don't think the padded whip will sour her , but she's probably somewhat tapped out from her travels and her huge effort .

[Force of One]

Originally Posted by winningponies

If I had to choose the one thing that did Zenyatta in today (besides Blame's excellent performance), it was her perfect record. The connections were obviously obsessed with keeping her record unblemished. Maybe she did need some prior experience at Churchill. Hmmm, wasn't she scratched from the Louisville Distaff in 2009 because of some rain? Maybe if they left her in, even if she lost, she wouldn't have been so lost today in the early going. Or maybe if she didn't get up to beat Anabaa's Creation at Del Mar in that tight finish at the wire (and I liked Anabaa that day), her connections would have been more aggressive since, as the "perfection" was already lost. Hell, if she lost her maiden first time out, she would have probably ended up being an even more impressive mare, as she would have had more opportunity to grow against better competition, instead of going for the perfect record. It's just silly that if the horse had to lose one race, wouldn't you rather have it be a tougher prep race, then the race you are aiming to win? They got away with it last year, and they thought they could do it again. The only difference was that this wasn't her home state/surface.

All this being said, I was extremely impressed with Zenyatta's performance on this "alien track" and also I don't think any credit should be taken away from Blame as well. I should also "blame" myself for not putting Fly Down in the Trifecta (although I did use him in my Superfecta).

I think what would be great for racing would be if Zenyatta came back one more year (now with an imperfect record), ran a strong 2011 campaign, and see how she ends up in the 2011 Classic.

Overall, some great points here....

Not 100% sure about racing next year though. She would be getting a little long in the tooth at 7, especially for a female. She was already up against the age barrier in the BC Classic, as I believe no 6 year old+ has ever won, including Cigar. If she's healthy and still interested in racing, then sure. But even the great ones get old and lose a step.

[Grits]

I was extremely impressed with Zenyatta's performance on this "alien track"

Guess that's why they call it "class."

[cpitt84]

Originally Posted by Charli125

I'm torn on that one. While I would love to see her mount a challenging campaign next year, I also want to see her babies. With her size, late kick, etc., and the right sire, I'd love to see what comes out.

Still, one more year would still leave plenty of time for babies right?

see, i have no interest in her having foals. I just want to see her win and keep in the best of shape.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I want to see them Zenyatta babies,even if they come slowly!

I've thought about everything Winningponies said but if she had lost sooner she would have retired sooner.If the synthetics wouldn't have kept her record intact she might not have run today.It's a damned if you do,damned if you don't proposition for us looking at it.But I believe if they had been more aggressive this year and trained some tactical speed into I bet she doesn't lose today.

It might not have been fun for us horseplayers but she did draw some of the outside world to this game.I hope they stay and want to learn it's ins and outs and become players.

[ArlJim78]

I can't blame the connections of Zenyatta for anything. They kept her in form for three years, she never any physical issues, fired every time, nearly won every race she ever entered, made millions of dollars, entertained many along the way. In my book i score that as an unqualified success story. Yes they were very careful with her, but I think it is likely that they made the right moves with her by avoiding situations that didn't fit her style.

[Derbyman32]

Zenyatta was handled very carefully to be 19 for 19. The funny part is she gained MORE respect today by going out of her comfort zone.

I really doubted she was good enough but she proved to be very capable. I think even is she had lost a couple of races people would have been more impressed with her had she taken a few more chances to lose.

I am probably wrong but that happens a lot, lol, so no harm done