It's Showtime

re: It's Showtime

Linda in Texas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:46:04 GMT

Hello Steve, i am looking forward to your article about the Breeders Cup Races from your perspective and wonderful stories as always.

As i said in an earlier post, some of us will eat our words and lots have. If Zenyatta won on ice skates, it would not matter to me. She is pure thoroughbred racehorse for sure. I enjoy watching her with her groom and handler. She just seems to read minds and is so

well behaved and knows where the front of the pack is. My admiration for Zenyatta is the same i had for Ruffian when i watched her run. It has been a long time, but i do remember the feeling.

re: It's Showtime

Ragsy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:20:11 GMT

Good Morning Steve,

I must say, after Zenyatta's wonderful victory, I raced to see what all were saying about her win on Bloodhorse Blogs...

I for one was thrilled ....

re: It's Showtime

Ragsy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:46:14 GMT

It was too bad for Quaility Road...was not Zenyatta wonderful, what a race...love both those horses: Queen Zenyatta and Princess Rachel,who could ever pick the best of the two?? What a Great Breeders Cup this last 2 days...

re: It's Showtime

Wiseguy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:43:14 GMT

Quality Road might be the fastest horse in the the race...for up to a mile maybe. He's a money burner in the classic. He's got a better chance of winning next years BC Sprint than this years classic.

re: It's Showtime

RachelAlexandraDad — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:48:01 GMT

God created Horses. God created dirt. Man invented plastic dirt. Who do you trust? The best horse this year is not competing in the Classic Race for the World Championship. This makes me less interested in watching any other horses compete when they are not competing against the BEST. From the Martha Washington to the Haskell, thank you Rachel Alexandra

re: It's Showtime

Draynay — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:16:37 GMT

No one will argue Quality Road is the fastest horse in the race. He will control the race from start to finish and I don't see him giving up the lead in stretch. Quality Road for the win in the Classic.

re: It's Showtime

nyfalcon — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:28:31 GMT

ahhhh BC my fav!!! I will take it as it is !! yes it can be better, but I am excited and chalanged at the same time.

what a handicapin nightmare!! bribg it on!! yeeeee haaa. good luck freddi head!!! the mile turf and the classic are not to be missed!! what fun!!! is it time yet!!!

re: It's Showtime

Diane J — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:50:21 GMT

Pasturelands - are you a horse racing fan? Really? Why would you even joke about Zenyatta needing an ambulance after the race? The best results of BC day would be all the horses returning to the barn safely. Please don't joke about things like that.

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:28:36 GMT

pNewmarket- I know she's been a big disappointment this year. I didn't know there was a temperment issue. Thanks for that info. She's run two decent races though so maybe he has her in form and on good behavior. As far as the synthetic maintenance, I don;t know if they have schools for that. Somebody else might know. But it seemed to me that the racecourses got some instruction and then were left on their own. I know that the tracks change from morning to afternoon. It would be wise if each company did what the British Racing School does. I would think that those companies could run seminars, etc.

re: It's Showtime

LAZMANNICK — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:31:20 GMT

Footlick

I thought that Pasturelands had put himself out to pasture.....I guess we're going to have to educate him all over again......He's right about Zen running in the Classic.....We'll all be watching her brilliant finish when she runs from MIDWAY IN THE FINAL TURN, home. LOL

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:44:24 GMT

Pasturelands- sounds alot like what they said about Zarkava last year- who has she beaten other than Goldikova, hasn't faces males, etc. All she did was win the Arc in the same manner she won all the other races. It can happen. You don't have to be insulting. Stranger things have happened than Zenyatta staying undefeated.

re: It's Showtime

pNewmarket — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:26:50 GMT

Footlick, Rainbow View has been more than a little disappointing this season. At the start of the year she was being touted as the second coming and disappointed greatly in the 2,000 Guineas.

She is not a straightforward lady - John Gosden was quoted earlier in the year as saying if she was human she'd be the kind of girl to start a fight outside a bar!

Saying all that, she has a good US pedigree and at one point last year they were considering sending her over for the Juvenile/Juvenile Fillies so they obviously have no qualms about her running on the synthetic track.

One of the public training gallops in Newmarket is Polytrack anyway, so I am certain she will have worked on that.

I don't want to get into a big synthetics debate here, but in my opinion, the problems in the US with the syntetic tracks are more likely to be down to bad management than the surfaces themselves.

We've had synthetic tracks of one sort or another here in the UK for 20 years - today is the 20th anniversary of the first meeting held on an all-weather track - and we've never had the types of problems that have been quoted in the US.

Perhaps it is because our track management people (we call them Clerk of the Course) are used to having to manage grass which is far more labour intensive than dirt so managing a synthetic surface seems like a piece of cake to them!

Do you have training courses in the US for track management? Over here the British Racing School regularly runs courses to bring Clerks up to date with the latest methods and initiatives.

re: It's Showtime

Pasturelands — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:22:08 GMT

From NTRA to Bloodhorse, man, I LOVE horses, i tell ya.

Can't help but chuckle at Laz.. Zen is kaput. She's gonna be broodmare material next year, so give it a rest.

So, Zen is gonna run in the Classic-- that's SUICIDE if you ask me. Better if you just run the lady in the distaff.. RA is already the HOTY for 2009.

Zen HAS to run like Sea the Stars (fat chance!) if she expects to beat the "mediocre" field (I don't think so) of horses led by Rip Van winkle, SummerBird, Colonel John, Gio Ponti, Einstein, QUALITY ROAD, Richard's Kid, et al.

The odds are stacked against her. Why? Zen NEVER ran against males nor attempted to do that BEFORE. And SummerBird ALONE will be a handful...much less QR, RVW, etc.

Get the ambulance ready, Laz.. Zen will need it. LOL. Your wallet too (if you bet on Zen that is) LOL

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:42:00 GMT

bert- I know that there were horses who became world beaters at Del Mar before theswitch. It's always been a weird track. Maybe because it's so close to the ocean? Tides and the moon- who knows. I know there can't be uniformity in dirt and turf tracks, but it seems to me that we should have it in the synthetics. I believe it would cut down on the injury rate if we did. It's been mentioned by some trainers that the majority of the injuries have happened early in the meets, suggesting that it is the adjustment to different synthetic tracks that is causing alot of the catastrophic injuries. I feel it could only help if they are here to stay.

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:39:15 GMT

pNewmarket- what about Rainbow View in the Ladies Classic? Should be a good fit for her, nice distance. Got her stamina run in at Woodbine.

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:37:50 GMT

Thanks pNewmarket- I think Magical Fantasy and Pure Clan will be tough in the F/M Turf. Is that where Midday is running? I might be leaning toward Spanish Moon. the crowd and hoopla give me a concern since he acts up, though. I haven't really studied the fields yet. Goldikova looks imposing, as does Mastercraftsman if he's really going in the dirt mile. Diamondrella had a great running style for the turf sprint and is in great form. We'll see as we get closer!

re: It's Showtime

Draynay — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:01:33 GMT

You're right Nancy, Zenyatta is the best sand, poly fiber, recycled rubber running horse ever.

re: It's Showtime

TerriV — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:50:38 GMT

I've missed things for awhile but just watched Vineyard Haven win at Laurel here on the replays. That was a really gutsy run on an awful track. He looked great. I've lost track, is he another one missing the Breeders Cup?

re: It's Showtime

Tim G — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:52:33 GMT

Uh, I could care less about the Yankees or the Phillies.

Anyone who had something they were pointing to a BC when they bought them or as they started to develop can't run them at Yankee stadium. It was a debacle from the outset and the favor is blowing up in their faces, taking a lot of innocent folks out in the process.

re: It's Showtime

The Phantom — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:44:39 GMT

Zenyatta will not run against the boys, she's had 2 years to challenge them on her fav surface and the owner and trainer ducked away from facing really good comp so would they put her unbeaten record on the line against a stellar field that the real classic will have and that mile a quarter-No way, they are afraid as was RA's owner to go against a such a srong field and that extra distance.Both are ducked the best comp that to me is phony as would either of them being voted HOY without facing the best comp at the Classic distance.

re: It's Showtime

Pam S. — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:11:51 GMT

It is unusually cold today where I live (it'll warm up again though), and it made me think how glad I am that it won't be cold or rainy or both for the BC. I'm attending both days and really looking forward to it, especially now that Zenyatta is apparently headed to the Classic. Pretty interesting.

Agree that Sea the Stars was always a longshot to come, plenty of other Euros, don't think he'll be missed that much. As for Rachel? Well, as Matthew W. said on the other blog, she was mismanaged, and with pretty much any other owner she'd be competing. For now, though, it's out of sight, out of mind. Not the death blow to the event that some would make it out to be.

Those who continue to suffer such angst over the Breeders' Cup, instead of "crying," can't you just watch the World Series? It starts tonight.

re: It's Showtime

Nancy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:28:36 GMT

Zenyatta's record should not be discounted against Rachel Alexandra's just because she runs on synthtetics - if it is as bad and as difficult to run on as everyone attests, then she should be applauded with even louder cheers and accolades!

re: It's Showtime

pNewmarket — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:41:21 GMT

Footlick, I'm not sure that the Lloyd-Webbers were disappointed with the mares run per se, rather that they thought she could have finished closer given a better ride.

She's definitely tough and the owners think the world of her.

Personally I'll be having a bet known over here as a Lucky 30 where 4 horses are backed to win, show or place in various combinations. My 4 are Goldikova, Dar Re Mi, Informed Decision and Forever Together.

re: It's Showtime

berttheclock — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:35:32 GMT

Many comments about wanting uniformity in surfaces. However, why, when there were only dirt tracks did we have the term "Horse for the course"? Why did Eddie Gregson's Super Diamond love Del Mar and not the two LA area tracks? On turf, why did Frankel's Wickerr wake up at Del Mar, as did, many others on either surface? Why did some run better at SA than over at HP and vice versa?

re: It's Showtime

Footlick — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:46:14 GMT

Thanks pNewmarket- I rewatched the Arc and I don't know what they wanted more of her? Did they want her further off the pace? Stacelita took the real pace heat, ran a bang-up 10 furlongs which everybody thought she would, but 12 furlongs was just too long. It doesn't

make Dar Re Mi look any stronger off her Vermeille score. All year people thought Stacelita was suspect at 12. But Dar Re Mi did run strong against Sarkisa at 12. I don't see Dar Re Mi outfinishing Cavalryman nor Conduit nor Youzmain. But, 12 furlongs at Santa Anita isn't a European 12 furlongs. I'm not bothered by the distance as I am about Spanish Moon and a healthy Conduit. I usually love Euro fillies, but to me she's third best in this group. Am I missing something? I try to read as many Euro blogs and such as I can, but it's not like being there.