Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Horse Racing Fan — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:15:15 GMT

I agree on everything u say. Zenyatta is an amazing horse so is Blame im not taking anything away from him. But Zenyatta stunned made out hearts beat fast just wondering if she will get up in time. She thrilled us. I mean Blame did it some but not like how Zenyatta did. Blame amazing horse loved him but Zenyatta captivated my heart when i first saw her race. I love Cigar too. Zenyatta deserved it. She didnt win by the poor races she raced but how she captivated us with her running style her heart thrilling passion of running u can tell she loved running. I cant wait to see her foals and Blame's foals. Love Zenyatta and Blame and every racehorse the same way.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

PomDeTerre — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 03:37:48 GMT

Zenyatta in a landslide. Not only was her record better than Blame in 2010, but Mr. Stall's arrogance in BH's very recent article "Moss and Stall Weigh In on HOY" place's him very near Blame's upper tail.

What that mare has done to raise the level of the sport is on a level of Secretariat, Cigar and the other elite horses we have been priveleged to watch. She has earned this award this year.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Zen's Fan — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:42:46 GMT

Your analysis is amazing!Thoroughly enjoyed your article. Let's hope the voters will think clearly and vote for the best horse in more ways than one - Zenyatta!!

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Mrglassoniongirl — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:46:32 GMT

Zenyatta for HOY! I think it would be a major disapointment in the voters if they went with Blame, he great, but not as great as Zenyatta, to put it simply.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

BLAME for HOTY — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 12:50:14 GMT

Baloney Jack your are voting from the heart like many of her follower who most of them never seen a race horse before. It's about competition her connection pick and choose her races against so so field trying to pad her winning streak. Blame beat a very good G1 field, he's the HOY.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Stretchrun — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:25:31 GMT

Humans arguing over human awards for recognition by more humans to line human pockets.

Zenyatta herself is happily munching carrots and looking forward to the day when she is turned out full time, while we get our lingerie in a twist over who gets a funky statuette and the right to inflate their breeding prices--she's laughing at all of us!

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

emhart — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:26:21 GMT

Who even heard of Blame before the Breeders Cup? Give it to Zenyatta.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Virgil — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:26:50 GMT

Donna Barton Brothers checked with a voter for Eclipse Awards. The only stated criteria for a horse to be eligible for an Eclipse Award is that they win 1 Grade I race in North America that year.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Slew — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:17:24 GMT

Mathew W: In 1978 Affirmed won Horse of the Year, (not Slew) because Affirmed won the Triple Crown that year....although Slew did beat both Affirmed and Exceller in previous races in 1978.

In 1978 Slew won the Eclipse for best Older Horse...he had previously beaten Exceller by 4 lengths in the Woodward before the JCGC.

Slew won HOY in 1977, when he won the Triple Crown.

I can almost guarantee that any horse who wins the Triple Crown will be HOY...but that hasn't happened since 1978.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Jim C. — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:54:44 GMT

Jack,

Great column. Well done. Keep up the good work.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

nay nugget — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:26:42 GMT

I repeat my choice from another blog once again. You are right on!!

"HOY should go to the horse who does the most for the sport on AND off the track. Zenyatta wins hands down. No other horse in years has captured the attention of so many fans. HOY is no different than any MVP award in other sports which take into account on the field and off the field accomplishments. Many an MVP has been won by a player with lesser stats than another but who led in the locker room and off the field as well. Getting beat a swollen nose after overcoming trouble against a horse the quality of Blame doesn't lessen her accomplishments. If those two went 10 times and each had a clear run Zenyatta would win the next nine. There is clearly one horse who captured the world's attention all year and who put the face of the sport on a much bigger map. Zenyatta not only excelled on the track but did more for horseracing than any other by a mile."

nay nugget 23 Nov 2010 2:22 PM

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Matthew W — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 02:39:29 GMT

It all depends if the voters think Zenyatta was beaten--or Zenyatta was defeated---it is mine and many other's opinion that Zenyatta was beaten--but she was never defeated! I used Exceller's 1978 record as proof positive---he won, I think 8 of 10, at least seven Gr I's, was 1-1 vs Slew, who was 5 for 7, with a race at Suffolk and I think an alowance race--in both cases, Blame's and Exceller's, they won--but they were upstaged by an iconic horse, running an iconic race---Zenyatta will win HOY this year!

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Matthew W — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 02:30:21 GMT

It's likely there will never again be a female horse favored in The Breeders Cup Classic--Zenyatta was favored twice....

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Matthew W — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 02:26:50 GMT

I have a better one for ya: 1978, look up the records of Seattle Slew and Exceller, and you won't believe Slew got the Eclipse over Exceller (for older male)...They gave it to Slew because, in defeat, he appeared to be the better horse--Zenyatta lost at least a dozen lengths--just gave them away--most voters I know seem to think the better horse ran 2nd--on paper, Blame, like Exceller, looks pretty good--but like Seattle Slew, Zenyatta was the better horse.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Barbara W — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:39:25 GMT

Beautifully written column. If Zenyatta gets snubbed yet AGAIN this year for HOY, it will signal to me that horse racing has a death wish.

I mean no disrespect toward Blame; I'll look forward to meeting him at Claiborne. But Zenyatta ran the race that we'll remember when we're in the nursing home.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Michelle — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 05:19:38 GMT

Zenyatta beat everyone who lined up in the gate against her except Blame. She traveled to Oaklawn NOBODY showed up to face her. NOBODY flew to California to take her on - no Rachel, no Life at Ten, not even Blind Luck who is stabled there. What does that tell you? She beat somewhere around 100 horses in her 20 races -NOT the same old horses over and over again!!! Please know the facts before you start dismissing everything she has done. She raced in 6 Grade 1's this year, winning 5 and placing in 1. She didn't race in New York though so it doesn't count - give me a break.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Linda/Maryland — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 02:28:43 GMT

" ONE RACE " does NOT get you Horse of the Year, nor does ONE LOSS Cost you HORSE OF THE YEAR~!!!

It's ZENYATTA ALL THE WAY~!!!

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Racing — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 06:12:00 GMT

Blame barely won the Whitney receiving much weight from Quality Road. I discount that win. All Grade 1's should offer no allowance conditions or handicaps. Blame had a perfect trip in Classic and Zenyatta... She needs to be HOTY.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Slew — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:16:08 GMT

I really must take note...Before the BCC, most turf writers were beating the drums for the Beast from the East, Quality Road. They never even considered Blame because Blame had a 3 pound advantage in the Whitney. And then Blame lost to Haynesfield in the JCGC. After the BCC, those same turf writers suddenly jumped on Blame as HOY. And all Blame can say is..."get off my back! I won the race, but none of you gave me credit before I ran that race. What changed? Where were you on November 4th? I was brilliant, and so was the mare. Just how did your "Beast" do?"

Blame ran the best race of his life, and he won. Zenyatta ran the toughest race of her life, and she was the only other horse within inches of the finish line as Blame crossed it. Without the two of them, it would have been a boring race of horses going backwards.

I believe Zenyatta showed the steel resolve of a Champion unwilling to give up. For that, and 19 wins, I think she deserves HOY. Some folks feel Blame deserves HOY, and that's okay too. What I cannot fathom is the mind of folks who have the utter gall to send death threats to Blame. Come on! If you can't respect Blame, don't call yourself a fan of the sport. You are simply a purveyor of mayhem and chaos, and you have no concept of the definition of sportsmanship. You really need to back away from your computers and get a life! And to those who keep saying that in twenty years, Blame will just be an answer to trivia...how could you? How do you know whether or not he'll produce the sire power generated by the likes of Northern Dancer or Mr Prospector, or Seattle Slew, or AP Indy? You don't...so stop saying something so asinine.

I guess I'm just airing my pet peeves for this week. I hope the turf writers get it right this year. It's in their hands. Myself, I simply cannot imagine a horse going into HOF without a HOY Eclipse. It's long overdue.

Bet Twice...she's retired now, so Dubai may be out, but if memory serves me well...she retired last year too.

And I don't mean to discredit QR. (He and Espoir City, Haynesfield, and First Dude simply ran each other to the ground in the first mile of the BCC. I think they're all quite brilliant in their own right and their own distance.)

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Mike Relva — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:22:19 GMT

JACK

I echo what BET TWICE stated.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Bet Twice — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:37:19 GMT

Jack,

Where have you been for the last three years? We've been stuck with Jason and Tom, being chastised for having an opinion and for being passionate when we could have been having fun with you!

Make your blog a permanent fixture, its nice to have someone with a different point of view.

Saratoga AJ,

I thought the Native Dancer comparison was very flattering to Zenyatta.

Slew,

I'm secretly hoping she goes to Dubai too, but maybe that's asking too much. I wanted her to go this year (instead of waiting for a race with Rachel.) We all saw how well that worked out.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Saratoga AJ — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:02:16 GMT

stevebiscuit:

I believe the Dancer had a tougher trip, battered on both turns (he had a target on his back being such a bid favorite), and had to close into a SLOW pace at the end. Dark Star had the perfect trip pace wise. The fact ND almost got there is a testament to his greatness. (as was Zen's, of course).

Zenyatta's problem is she got off to her usual leisurely slow start. But getting off to a leisurely slow start against fast colts on dirt is tougher than slower fillies and mares on synthetic. That's why she fell back so far and was left with so much to do. At 10 furlongs, she still can get there in time with a FAST pace, as she almost did.

But at 8 1/2 or 9 furlongs, which were the distances she ran in all but two of her career races, she would have been up against it vs. horses this fast. If she gets off to her usual start, she may be left with too much to do in a shorter race. If Smith uses her more early, and forces her closer to the pace, it may take away some of what she has left for the stretch run. This is the problem every deep closer can encounter, even one as magnificent as Zenyatta.

We'll never know, but it makes for a good debate.

A good question to ponder is just what exactly that diminishing head cost Native Dancer in how he is ranked on the all time list.

Would it had made a difference in say, the BloodHorse Top 100 list? Currently he's ranked #7. But what if he got up in time, ended up 22 for 22, and would have become the only career undefeated Triple Crown Crown winner in history?

And let's not forget he is the most influential stallion of the second half of the 20th Century, though both his sons like Raise a Native,etc., and daughters, like Natalma,etc., mother of Northern Dancer. He is the father or grandfather of a bunch of Derby winners. You can trace almost every contemporary great horse back to ND somewhere in their pedigree.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Mike Relva — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:27:21 GMT

SOLIDER COURSE

Great point! Claiborne isn't the end all.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

Soldier Course — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:48:44 GMT

Whisperoak:

Then why are some of Blame's HOTY supporters, including at least one B-H blog writer, pointing to what Claiborne Farm has done for racing in its 100 years? That has a lot less to do with "race performance" than Zenyatta's three years on the track.

re: Hey, Zenyatta, Have a Cigar!

stevebiscuit — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:04:17 GMT

I don't know AJ, Zenyatta had a pretty rough trip. Besides, running down Dark Star isn't the same thing as running down Blame.