Striking the Right Note

re: Striking the Right Note

needler in Virginia — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:21:18 GMT

Noah Webster...just WHO are you addressing when you ask "is it a requirement that you all must misspell"? The term "bloggers" doesn't cut it; be specific when asking a question like that, if you please. REMEMBER, you did NOT enquire about grammar; your question is about spelling.

Cheers and safe trips.

re: Striking the Right Note

Noah Webster — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:47:22 GMT

bloggers: is it a requirement that you all must misspell? Welcome to the new America...

re: Striking the Right Note

Kirsten — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:35:14 GMT

Not once did I mention Zenyatta or Rachel in my comment. That is not what my comment was about. I love Zenyatta and Rachel and watching them run. I was just commenting on how owners these days run their horses in non-competitive races just to watch them rack up wins. Rachel and Zenyatta's owners have both done it at some point. It's nice to finally see some owners pit their good horses against each other instead of running away. Why does everything nowadays have to do with the east coast/ west coast rivalry? And just so you know I'm from Minnesota, the midwest, not the east coast.

re: Striking the Right Note

Catbird — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:01:17 GMT

Thank you, Mr. Zast. I realize the Zenyatta fans are a little touchy about her not leaving home to face more competition, but let's skip to what you're really saying.

That is (I think) how much fun it is when we see the Big Names, whoever they are, go head-to-head. It is, simply, the best fun in the racing world.

Saturday afternoon at Saratoga was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I'm a Blind Luck fan myself, but I do not think less of Devil May Care when she was not more into the action. One race does not tell the whole story, as any horse can have an off day. Or maybe DMC ran her race and simply was defeated; time will tell, when we see them race again---and what fun the anticipation is, knowing that barring injury, we probably will see these mares run against each other again. In that, the fans are the real winners.

Perhaps Santa Anita's going back to dirt will increase the traffic between the coasts. I hope so. But in the meantime, hats off to Jerry Hollendorfer and the Blind Luck crew.

re: Striking the Right Note

Rachel — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:21:52 GMT

Great article, I love Blind Luck...what a great filly...7 races already this year! 3 Grade 1, 2 Gr2 and a second and a third...Santa Anita, Churchill, Saratoga, Delaware, Oak Lawn...what a girl! What a race horse!

...I miss the old days when racing all over the country in the big races was expected and normal...

re: Striking the Right Note

Bill Daly — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:10:48 GMT

You know, no matter which blog I select these days all I read is the vitriole surrounding "east coast bias". This is really getting old. Can't we find something else to obsess about?

re: Striking the Right Note

needler in Virginia — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:06:31 GMT

OH, COME ON GUYS!!! GET OVER YOURSELVES!!! Talk about a "tribal" mentality! Honestly, I don't give a big rat's patoot WHERE a horse is stabled, trained or runs...except that sometimes, I cannot get all the way west to see the Queen, nor to Woodbine to see Secretariat run his last race. OTHER THAN THAT, I LOVE that Tiznow won back to back BC Classics, and I DO NOT care where he came from. I LOVE that Lost in the Fog not only had a great name, but was one killer racehorse. I LOVE that I got to talk AT John Henry several times, although he didn't think me worthy of an answer! I LOVE that I saw The Bid in his walkover. I LOVE that I live in the same state where Personal Ensign hung her retirement hat, and where Secretariat was born and raised. I LOVE that I saw Fourstardave OWN Saratoga, I LOVE that I know Monarchos and get to see him frequently. I LOVE that I to got meet and touch Seattle Slew and his monster son, Slew O' Gold. I LOVE that I got to see Cigar race and then got to meet him. I LOVE that Funny Cide and his connections were part of my racing landscape for years, and that I got to meet Funny, too. As you can tell, I really don't care where a horse lives; as long as there are heroes like these, I'm a happy camper. East coast/West coast bias? Fine, you go for it if that makes you happy. Frankly, I think there are better ways to spend my time than arguing with a Californian or New Yorker about anything -- except, of course, that the Red Sox are FAR superior to the Evil Empire!!

Meanwhile, the thorn festers......Zenyatta or Rachel? Unless the two meet, we may never have an answer, and WHO CARES?? They BOTH are healthy, racing, and getting the butts in the seats. And then along come the new stars.... Blind Luck (LOVE her name and her heritage), Devil May Care, Blame, Lisa's Booby Trap (and she IS a star), Paddy, etc, etc. Who knows? We may be seeing the next supernova and not even know it. The Rachel-Zenyatta answer may never be found, but then my best friend and I argue over which of the two Big Reds was better..........and we will never know!! Nor do we really care because we love the sport and the horses, and every one of them makes it damned interesting.

So you go ahead with your fussing and pissing and moaning and West/East thing; I, meanwhile, am going to enjoy the skill of the jockeys, the insight (sometimes) of the trainers, the class (sometimes) of the owners, the athleticism and raw power of the horses. You gotta sort out your priorities.............

Cheers and safe trips.

re: Striking the Right Note

Fran Loszynski — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:42:45 GMT

Saratoga will never be the same after this week's Travers-

Especially after the Afleet brothers bring it home-Afleet Express and Admiral Alex!

Give us another Pegasus with a one -two punch. Make your Dad proud.

re: Striking the Right Note

racingheart — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:10:26 GMT

I'm a little confused as to how this blog about Saratoga racing became a Zenyatta blog because of a short reference to her in the post....?!

I loved Blind Luck's run, as usual. I am concerned about Devil's LACK of run, naturally. I found Quality Road's race to be sub-par & I wish I knew why he didn't run his usual blistering fractions to make it the duel I was anticipating. But Blame definitely shone! & if I may stray from the Saratoga theme but stick to the big filly theme - Harmonious ran a HUGE race behind Evening Jewel, did she not?

New York racing IS all that it is cracked up to be. The big horses run there, the best 2yo's tend to debut there, the classic fall races are run there & I love New York racing! But I dream to see Santa Anita & hopefully, after they have installed a decent dirt surface again (Zen would have FLOURISHED ON) I will make the trip to do just that. I believe that more East coast stars would make the trip to challenge the West coast stars then. At least I hope so. History may not fully support that, but I would love to see it!

East coast, West coast, it's all the same to me! Horse racing! Canada, Europe, Dubai - I love to watch all of the stars everywhere & marvel at their guts & glory!

re: Striking the Right Note

DawnStorm — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:09:18 GMT

Blind Luck, I love ya sweetheart, but you do have a way of putting my heart in my throat with your narrow wins! The term 'by daylight' just isn't in your dictionary is it?

re: Striking the Right Note

Freecharm — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:37:42 GMT

Hey, to Jim C!

If we could exclude Mr Zast from your post, that's the most right-on post I've read on these pages. I even grew up in NY and had that same parochial attitude NYers have about everything (viz that infamous New Yorker cover from '76; perspective? sure.

But 'Cabernet Jess'...lol!!! (actually, somebody ought to call that guy on his nonsense - shouldn't any horse be a 100 percent before she runs?)

Great read!

re: Striking the Right Note

CV — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:10:30 GMT

"So if she (Zenyatta) had started racing at 2 or even at the beginning of her 3rd year. Would she be around today?

I dunno. You tell me...."

Meydan Rocks 22 Aug 2010 6:57 PM

OK, how about if I let John Shirreffs tell you? He said in a Daily Racing Form article that Zenyatta wasn't sound enough to run at 2, she was still growing.

So running her then likely would have resulted in a breakdown, which could have ended her career...or her life.

I don't see that as a "viable” path," as you mentioned.

re: Striking the Right Note

Christopherlally — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:00:57 GMT

Dear Zenyatta,

I love reading Zast. He is such a stylish writer. He is not whiny and parochial like other race writers. Say, how much you payin' him to keep writing about you. I know there are tons of cool things to write about but he finds time to write about you and you were so last year. It is time for you to find a boyfriend honey and leave the Z-man alone. He got a lot of other girlfriends that need his attention. OK? We cool??

re: Striking the Right Note

pas — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:37:09 GMT

I began reading this article thinking it would be addressing the Alabama, because it was indeed a wonderful race that I was lucky enough to see. What a disappointment that this has become another bash of the two "older females in the USA" debate!

Mary in Vermont: I don't know why you continually express the same nasty sentiment over and over about Zenyatta in almost every blog of the past month that I have read. It's impossible to disguise your horrid attitude toward her.

Oh, I know. You claim that it's her schedule or her connections. But it really seems to be towards Z herself and the possibility that anyone considers her great. As if your opinion is the one everyone should follow.

I can't begin to argue against most of your ignorance; I'll cry. But I will say this - I can't WAIT for the BCC! Why? Because it may be the easiest set-up for Zenyatta's talents this year.

I don't proclaim that she'll necessarily win, but I think the competition will guarantee a fast pace that will set up the race quite nicely for her running style. Because so far this year, I believe the races that she has been running in are more of a threat to that record of hers than anyone realizes. Including you.

Aside from the visual aspect of the race itself, what exactly happened during any of the races that would lead you to believe that any other horse could have done what she did? Even if the other horses were nags? Honestly, some of the races had her weighted down by incredible differences and the other horses did their best to slow the race's pace down to pedestrian fractions. And still she wins coming from far out of it. Do you realize how incredible and impossible that is?

Look back at other horses who have employed that style - sometimes they didn't win or fire when the race set up for them, let alone when it didn't. But Zenyatta has done it every single time and the only thing you do is complain about how overmatched the other horses are that she barely beats. That she does it AT ALL is amazing and something you nor I will ever see again.

So I can't wait for Z to run in the BCC. She won't be handicapped by the weight she carries, the distance she makes up so late in the race when other horses know she's coming, or the time it takes for them to run the race. It will be a more than fair pace.

One question. What would anyone say if she wins, I don't know, in record time for the race? Or under 2 minutes? Would that at least solidify to any nay Sayers that she can actually run a decent time on dirt? She already won last year's BCC in 2 and change. And you know how she wins - going away, pricked ears, ready to run again, no obvious signs of being tired.

So I'm just curious, to anyone that has a problem with her, what would she have to do in that race for you to believe that she is one of the greats? Just for the record. Because some people (wasn't a blog writer included?) can't seem to come to terms with declaring that she would never be a factor in last year's race and they still bash her abilities despite the fact she proved them wrong.

re: Striking the Right Note

Tex — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:20:20 GMT

Oh, btw, the westies do have some bragging rights right now: Sidney's Candy, Lookin at Lucky, Blind Luck, and we'll see what's coming from Twirling Candy. But, Westies, don't disparage VERY good horses Quality Road & Devil May Care. They may just humble you if you're not careful. You might want to send your horses WAY ahead of Blame into the stretch too lest you be over hyped and overrated!

re: Striking the Right Note

Tex — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:09:12 GMT

Being in Texas I don't have a bias for either coast, just a love for the horses and the effort they put out to compete.

I love Zenyatta but I love Rachel also. I have to say, Rachel has been tested in every way at a young age and has answered the call. I was not happy about the way they gave her so much time off and didn't keep her in better shape coming into the 2010 season.

Zen has other dimensional ability but hasn't been thrown to the wolves so to speak and it's disappointing because I'd like to see her travel a bit and play with the boys and maybe even go to Dubai and make Americans proud. But, face it, she's been sheltered. She should go to the Arc and show the Euros what a super mare looks like and let them tell us how Zenyatta stacks up with Zarkava & Sea the Stars. Let's move on past these comfortable SOCAL races with the girls! We can't hold this against Zen she can only run where they take her. But, boy, what a disappointment the Moss's can't do better than this! They've got a high tech super battleship but won't leave the harbor! Come on! Take her out and let her dance before she begins firing those massive guns! Otherwise, I haven't seen anything she's done that tells me she could hit the wire before Ruffian would have. Frankly, after such a great career with so many wins, Zenyatta deserves to be remembered having battled for perfection not cruised for it.

Vic, Churchill Downs seems the perfect place to have Rachel & Zenyatta meet. Let's just hope we have a field that could be so good these two horses do well just to place!

re: Striking the Right Note

markinsac — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:54:22 GMT

To Mary in Vermont, I feel your sympathy! But you also must include Personal Ensign and Ruffian. They rarely left the state of New York. And Personal Ensign usually faced 4 or 5-horse fields. It's a shame that you compare Zenyatta, Personal Ensign and Ruffian to Peppers Pride. But the truth is the truth!

re: Striking the Right Note

Freecharm — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:34:23 GMT

I'm with you 'Exterminator' and although I'd like to reminisce with Mr Zast about the good old days at Saratoga (pre-90's before all the yuppies invaded so that they could say 'this song is about' them) I would like to ask all of you - What about Evening Jewel and Havre de Grace? I happen to think that Blind Luck is the cat's meow, but what I think isn't important. Blind Luck has now beaten Devil May Care twice, handily, yet the next big match-up is supposed to be with Devil May Care? Why? Both Evening Jewel and Havre de Grace have each lost twice to Blind Luck, all four by less than a head, and only one of the four was in California.

This couldn't be another case of least coast bias again, could it? :)

re: Striking the Right Note

skyfire — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:32:18 GMT

Mr. Zast, well said Mr. Hollendorfer and Mr. Pletcher let their horses show up and let their horses perform -- that is what racing is all about. Actions speak louder than (empty blogger) words.

re: Striking the Right Note

Jim C. — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:33:17 GMT

"How long have people wanted Zenyatta to prove her superiority, and vice versa for Rachel Alexandra?"

Sorry, Vic, but you still have not found any cure for your amnesia. Zenyatta was shipped to Oaklawn in April for the Apple Blossom, a race to which the "Horse of the Year" had committed. And then Cabernet Jess backed out.

You may not realize, it, but the rest of the country could not care less about New York. New York racing is overrated and uninteresting. Whether it be the "Horse of the Year," Quality Road, Trappe Shot, Devil May Care, or whomever is the latest East Coast NYRA hype horse.

re: Striking the Right Note

Meydan Rocks — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:57:54 GMT

Sundry musings...

In this life and the next,... CAN WE HAVE IT ALL AT ONCE?

Let’s leave the nice Mr Zast alone to write what he feels like writing about on his blog.

At it’s essence blogging isn’t journalism. It’s a forum for personal commentary and opinion and so we shouldn’t be hard on Mr Zast (who’s work I enjoy reading) when he takes what we deem as “swipes” at Zenyatta in his blog posts.

I have lived on both coasts for quite a while. So I have an in between complex when it comes to supporting great horses. I love em all!

What I also look forward to about being a senior citizen is that it seems the older people around me get, the less inhibitions they feel about being “politically correct” and/or holding back their true sentiments. And the crankier they often become. :-)

Heck, by the time they become septuagenarians and octogenarians, they don’t give a flying thunk what people think of their thoughts and/or actions!!!

In today’s climate, the myriad of pressures that buffet thoroughbred horse racing are so numerous and complex, it’s hard to place a finger on what exactly motivates the different owners and how that affects them sending their horses to “face the best” so to speak.

In the grand scheme of things,...

Does HOY really matter?

Or is it the stud fees and/or sales rings fees for the offspring of the highly accomplished?

I am told that today’s owners look at horse racing as a business.

I always thought the tag “Sport of Kings” was a tongue in cheek reference to “money is no object” (so to speak) when it came to the sport.

Or was that that the previous and outmoded “business model” of horse racing?

Business or sport? Sport or business?

There is never going to be an easy answer. We might be better off placing all these variables on a spread sheet and coming up with a solution the way social scientists and statisticians come up with answers.

Answers which aren’t guaranteed of being in the ball park of being remotely correct.

I know trainers have to be experts at placing their horses in races where they can win and have done that for decades. At the same time they were doing that, there were enough quality horses to fill the universally acknowledged “top races” around the country.

When Mineshaft won HOY, I did not disagree. But for me, something was a tad missing when he skipped the BCC. That’s just me.

I don’t know if Mr Zast has owned race horses before but fortunately or unfortunately for us racing fans who are lucky enough to have these owners sink millions of $$$ into the game for our viewing pleasure, we are spared from dealing with the problems that beset owners.

What gives?

I dunno.

I am young enough to have followed the east coast west coast rap wars back in the nineties.

I thought that blatant show of tribalism was nuts.

Now I realize that adults are not immune from squabbling and frankly looking a tad___ You fill in the blanks. Whether it’s the Hatfields and the McCoys or the tribes of the middle east duking it out or the USA East coast West coast thoroughbred racing factions, somethings don’t change for us who put these animals through the wringer to race for our viewing pleasure.

I guess for the Mosses to do what Mr Zast, Jason Shandler, myself and tons of people on both the East and West coast would have liked to see of Zenyatta’s schedule might be akin to worshipping two Gods.

Yes. The Mosses said they would campaign her more aggressively but I think when the rubber hit the road and the results showed up in the petri dish, Zenyatta showed that what we humans want from her and what she wanted (or needed for herself and health) were different in actuality.

I read that she didn’t come out as quickly from her last trip to Oaklawn Park. I also read that she trained like a bear on the Churchill surface. A little known trainer called Bob Baffert has said on record that the big Z is... get this... IS 10 LENGTHS BETTER ON DIRT!

How about that for a mind slush???!!!

Really???

You’ve gotta be TISHING ME!!!

So why not just risk it all during the season and whisk her around the country like the talented Mr Hollendorfer has done so admirably with his little horse Blind Luck who apparently doesn’t mind the travel one bit?

For starters, I’m told Zenyatta’s larger body made it “necessary” for her trainer to start racing her at the end of her 3rd year. But I am absolutely sure that there are top trainers today who would have risked it and raced that same horse Zenyatta at 2 years of age.

I am dead certain of that.

So I guess there are no two ways of training a horse. Right?

Do all trainers listen to what their horses are telling them?

Or are they even capable of horse whispering 101?

So if she had started racing at 2 or even at the beginning of her 3rd year. Would she be around today?

I dunno. You tell me.

But something tells me that those two paths were both “viable” paths.

Race her early and possibly see a great but short-er career, OR race her at the end of her 3rd year, don’t travel that much in the hope that horses capable of beating her would come west and take her on and then save the biggest bullet for the BIG RACE at the end of the year.

It’s possibilities and choices like these that make people go stir crazy.

And even if the big Z won the BCC. What do we lament then? What could have been??

The notion of “what could have been” is only fantasy in the light of injuries that can beset these animals as a result from a hard campaign... or not.

MAYBE we have to just settle for the possibility that she becomes the first race mare to take down two consecutive BCC and a BC distaff or Ladies Classic (depending on your age and preference).

AND THAT WOULD BE ON DIRT AND PLASTIC!

And no one better tell me that isn’t a distinct possibility of that happening.

MAYBE it boils down to the same old story my parents used to piss me off with.

Kiddo, you can’t have it all at once!

MAYBE in the case of Zenyatta, Ouija Board, Blind Luck, Rachel Alexandra and on and on - ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL!

MAYBE we just can’t have it all at once.

And that reality a fact of life.

Or is it?

I know the so called “Masters of the Universe” would certainly disagree that you can’t have it all at once! :-)

Can we have it all at once?

Oh well.

I dunno. You tell me.

re: Striking the Right Note

Mary in Vermont — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:49:31 GMT

Mr. Vast had the shoulders to call it right, so let him be.

I think it is a crime that Zenyatta will soon be compared to two time European HOY Ouija Board on the basis of earnings. That would be the same Ouija Board that ventured forth to win two runnings of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. I), two time female Turf Eclipse Award winner, won a total of seven group/grade I races and amassed a fortune of $6,312,552 in earnings. She made her case on multiple continents having raced in Hong Kong threee times, Japan, Nad el Sheba, Europe and the US. Talk about taking your case on the road. Wow. She won grade/group 1's in three countries in 2004 alone. In 2006, only one of her races was strictly against her own sex. She had a try at four consecutive 1 1/4-mile races, with only 2 weeks in between races at one point. Even her losses were impressive and made a case for her: she finished third in the Arc as a three year old after rating in 14th and lacking running room 2f out. Overall she went 5 for 8 as a 3 yr. old, though she was on the board in all 8. By the way, she was only 1 for 3 as a 2 yr. old, and history doesn't hold it against her.

Clearly Ouija Board's ownership was not afraid to test their filly by running her at 2, running her against top older males in Europe's premier race at 3, shipping her hither and yon, running her at various distances against all comers just about everywhere racing is a major sport, occasionally without much of a breather in between. Ouija Board retired with 10 wins, three seconds, and five thirds from 22 starts.

Yes, Ouija Board had some losses, but for my money OB proved so much more about what she could do than Zenyatta has proven about her ability in her unboken perfect record primarily against overmatched fillies in southern California. In fact, the amazing record of Ouija Board in the same decade that Zenyatta raced shines a garishly bright spot light on Zenyatta's "perfect" record, so far with all but two races in her own backyard, one race against males, and one race at 1 1/4.

However, I do *think* Zenyatta could do all that Ouija Board did. Maybe even better. Let me be the first to admit that she certainly has done everything she was asked to do perfectly. My disappointment lies entirely with her campaign. Her "perfect" record is extremely overadvertised and overrated because it comes at the expense of so little in the way of actually testing the horse, ie., layer upon layer of paid workouts against females in California. Personally, I feel such a sense of loss over that. How good was she? In my opinion, never knowing the answer to that question is too high a price to pay for "perfect" because "perfect" doesn't start to mean as much to me as "tested" and "proven."

The moral of the story is that if you think you have one of the "great" ones, going for "perfect" in your own backyard is a cheap substitute for "proving it" hither and yon. That is the precedent that has been set, and that is the precedent that horses like Blind Luck are living up to.

re: Striking the Right Note

Exterminator — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:55:09 GMT

Kirsten,

That's right! Now bring your east coast horseflesh to the west coast and prove it!

Try to beat Zenyatta. We dare you.

re: Striking the Right Note

Big Lips — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:52:48 GMT

Both Devil May Care and Quality Road came into the Alabama and Whitney, respectively, in top form and all indicators pointing toward huge runs. What's the scuttlebutt on what happened with these horses?

re: Striking the Right Note

PT — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:14:47 GMT

I get so nervous when the top horses face each other but it's so exciting! I just feel so bad when horses expected to do so well come up short, i.e. Devil May Care, Quality Road. Probably, unfairly, I find myself getting mad at the jockeys for not having a better feel for the routes they're taking. Devil May Care & Quality Road both should have ignored the slow pace and kicked up some dirt and brought some heat to the competition. That's why I love Rachel Alexandra so much, she will cause the competition to disintegrate before they get a chance to tackle her down the lane while she still has speed & stamina for whoever has anything left to go get her. She hasn't shown that so much this year but I hope she gets there before the 29th. Lots of great horses and races to watch this year! It's a fabulous racing season! Hopefully, the BC Classic will bring a better field this year. It seems there are several nice horses to make it a great one this year: Zenyatta, Quality Road, Blame, Rail Trip, Rachel, would've been great to have had Harbinger, RV Winkle may be better this year, Lookin at Lucky, etc. I'm getting chills! Zenyatta wins again and I give her #2 rank just under Secretariat!