A look back at Birdstone's Belmont triumph, which ended the Triple Crown dream for Smarty Jones....
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As mentioned, to keep this blog active over the holiday season, I am reprinting a series of race recaps, mainly from the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup, that originally were published on Bloodhorse.com over the past decade. First up...Smarty Jones....
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A preview of what will appear in this space over the next couple of weeks....
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TVG has put together a thrill-packed time capsule of Zenyatta in all her magnificence that no doubt will be watched for years to come by anyone who is moved by the power, grace, and sheer determination of the Thoroughbred....
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This is the only sport where many one-time revered figures, even those voted into the Hall of Fame, are discarded and virtually forgotten, often while still in the prime of their careers....
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Zenyatta is one of the great fillies of all time and should have a race named after her, but not two and a half weeks after the Breeders' Cup and not at the expense of Lady's Secret....
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I address some of the comments from my last blog, many of which denigrate the "other" horse, and at least attempt to put them in some kind of perspective....
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These are the final words from here on the Horse of the Year debate between racing's two monarchs, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Unfortunately, only one likely will be crowned, but you can be sure both will rule in the hearts and minds of most racing fans....
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Final Thoughts on the Breeders' Cup including Quality Road's behavior, remembering Dr. Joe Rauch, co-owner of Capt. Candyman Can, honoring old warriors, and more. ...
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Let's face it; the 2009 Breeders' Cup will forever belong to Zenyatta. She picked it up off the ground and raised it over her head like Atlas holding up the world. No burden has proven too great for this magnificent mare, and you can bet people will be watching her swan song in the Breeders' Cup Classic for decades to come and will be getting goose bumps every time they do.
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OK, the curtain is about to go up for the revival of "My Cup Runneth Under."...
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What compounded the disappointment of Sea the Star's retirement were the comments made by trainer John Oxx and owner Christopher Tsui....
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If Sea the Stars does not make the trip to California, which seems more likely than not, and joins Rachel Alexandra on the absentee list, it will create a void never before seen in the Breeders' Cup. ...
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Europe fired off its first salvo at the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) when the heavy favorite Rip Van Winkle captured Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-I) at Ascot, which served as a launching pad for Raven's Pass' Classic victory last year....
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Joan of Arc defeated the English in the Hundred Years' War. The Amazon queen Penthesileia killed hundreds of Greeks in the Trojan War. Zenobia, the Syrian queen, crushed the Roman legion. All three of these powerful and feared female warriors eventually succumbed to male foes....
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Whether he's splishin' and a'splashin' or movin' and a'groovin' or rockin' and a'rollin,' the sight of Summer Bird and his distinctive blue blinkers charging down the stretch is leaving racing fans reelin' with the feelin.'...
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As soon as Jess Jackson announced his plans to run Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward Stakes, the historical significance of such an attempt was made known in various publications, as were comments that Jackson is taking the easy way out, running against inferior older horses instead of much more accomplished 3-year-olds in the Travers....
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Jess Jackson has made his first decision: No Alabama for Rachel Alexandra. So what, you might say. That wasn't the place to run her anyway. Well, I believe that's just where she should have run....
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It is midnight on Sunday. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Saratoga. I had no blog planned for this week, even if Zenyatta won the Clement Hirsch, due to time restrictions and last-minute packing. But Zenyatta's performance cannot go unmentioned....
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In 1986, we had a two-race rivalry that in many ways was unlike anything seen before, because of the vast differences in the combatants....
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The Remarkable Rachel will be discussed in our Countdown to the Cup column this week. But there was one horse who ran last weekend who will receive little attention, and understandably so, but should be recognized nonetheless....
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There was a time, long before the Breeders' Cup, when foreign horses came to the U.S. for one special event, like the Washington D.C. International, and then returned home. But, then, along came Dahlia, and international racing changed forever....
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You have total amnesia. All you are told is your name and that you loved Thoroughbred racing, but you don't know why and cannot recall actually following the sport. You don't even know if you live in the United States or Europe. ...
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Lawyer Ron loved to run. No greater praise can be bestowed upon a Thoroughbred. He was an impossible horse not to like, from his kind disposition to his consistency and unbridled enthusiasm in the mornings and afternoons....
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The following is a compilation of past writings on Damascus that may put this remarkable horse's career in a better historical perspective. Also included is a look at the volatile times in which he ran....
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