That’s right, welcome one and all to the official home of Zenyatta for Horse of the Year. We’ve been wondering why Zenyatta wasn’t mentioned in the same breath as Curlin and Big Brown for HOY, and even had a poll about it.
To ensure that the good word about Zenyatta has been known across the land we’ve had plenty of public service announcements and even a bootleg episode MTV Cribs.
But let’s just let her final breath taking performance of the year do the talking:
For those of you who had doubts that Starship Zenyatta should be in the running for HOY, I welcome you with open arms!
Wanderin’ Boy is a GbG fav and the equivalent of a big foot sighting in racing as a 7yo HORSE. I always wondered about that and now feel enlightened thanks to an excellent post by Steve Haskin over at his Bloodhorse blog.
It’s always refreshing to see big fancy deep pocket owners keep their horses in training, particularly when fate provided so many opportunities for retirement! Wanderin’ Boy really made big bad Curlin work for his win in the JCGC. Go on with your bad Wanderin’ self (and stay sound and healthy while you’re doin’ it)!
Also from the “right on” department, Crist has a fantastic column this week about the BC gender division tom foolery entitled “If you must fix what ain’t broken…”
Proponents of a Filly Friday and a Studly Saturday are difficult to locate outside the Breeders’ Cup offices, and most fans and pundits seem to hate the idea. The most frequent criticisms are that it is inherently sexist (and renaming the Distaff the Ladies’ Classic sure didn’t help) and that it marginalizes half of the racehorse population by relegating it to second-class status and a much smaller television audience. Shouldn’t racing be showcasing the likes of Lady’s Secret, Personal Ensign, and Azeri on its biggest day rather than on a Friday afternoon?
He goes on to propose some viable, and less alienating ways to divvy up the races over two days. Hear, hear.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Curlin… I schlepped my exhausted self out to Belmont specifically to see him on Saturday and he did not disappoint. One of the many things I love about him is that he always shows up, a real pro.
I thought all of the stakes races at Belmont were great. I really liked Cocoa Beach but had her with Lemon Drop Mom instead of the gamely Ginger Punch. I discounted Dynaforce in favor of Communique over Mauralakana. Fab Strike was still impressive fighting back against Black Seventeen (E - I wish you were right!)… and I think Kodiak Kowboy (my choice with Fab Strike & First Defence) might have gotten there at 7F.
Last but not least was the performance that impressed me the most at Belmont, Grand Couturier in the Joe Hirsch… wow! And all this time I thought he was a yielding play against (which is why Shamdinan was my long shot in last year’s BC turf, and not Grand Couturier).
Curlin was the chestnut cherry on the excellent racing day cake. Swifty and I double high-fived as he crossed the line and let out a simultaneous and emphatic “YES!”… along with the rest of the smallish celebratory crowd.
But let’s not overlook the 50 ft woman, as Ernie likes to call her or Stardom Bound… her 2yo protege in the “Little Ladies”* Division who’s sometimes called Zenyatta Jr around the barn. These two put on one hell of a show and should not be overshadowed by Curlin’s transformation into racings 10 Million Dollar Man.
Zenyatta staying perfect while making the impressive Hysterical Lady look like an allowance level entrant trying to jump in class:
Stardom Bound, going 8 wide to show those other Little Ladies a thing or two:
Get your check books out, Stardom Bound will be part of a liquidation sale come November, but she’ll come with a reserve. I don’t suppose Fasig-Tipton accepts esnipe?
*Editor’s note: I’m going to call the Juvenile Fillies the Little Ladies as long the Ladies Classic name stands.
Additional editor’s note: while I know this post is not at all timely, I’m trying to get back in the habit of posting and this was a heck of a lot easier to start off with than trying to do the Marketing Summit and Task Force justice. Not to worry, I haven’t forgotten!
“It has taken us awhile to figure out exactly what this colt is most effective in doing, and he is a terrific one-turn runner at distances just past a sprint,” said Barry Irwin of Team Valor. “We look forward to following a traditional tried-and-true path toward a career as a stallion while shooting for the Jerome (Breeders’ Cup Handicap, gr. II) and (Hill ‘n’ Dale) Cigar Mile (gr. I).
AND…
“Next season, we look forward to racing him in the Carter (gr. I) and Metropolitan Mile (gr. I). This colt possesses the ability to be very explosive on the turn, and we feel he will get even better with age. He is a very exciting prospect and is lightly raced, having run only 10 times.”
Go Barry Irwin… how refreshing is that? I wish Notional’s connections had taken a page out of that play book and kept him at a mile. With early retirement season upon us, it’s nice to count Visionaire as one who will be returning. Thank you Barry Irwin!
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