Lava Man and Big Booster, omnisurface stars (Charles Pravata)

What do Monterey Jazz and Panty Raid have in common with Lava Man and Einstein? They’ve also won graded races on all three surfaces! I was a little surprised that the media missed Monterey Jazz joining this elite group when he won the American Handicap, not to mention that Pantry Raid was also on the list. Kevin of Colin’s Ghost noticed Monterey Jazz and o_crunk contributed Panty Raid.

Omnisurface Stars grew out of a twitter conversation in the spring between Kevin, Jessica of Railbird/Raceday 360 and myself when we were trying to think of other horses that have performed well on all three surfaces after Einstein won the Santa Anita Handicap. As it turns out there are quite a few that span the range of class.

While Parading could join the ranks of the the all graded winners ranks with a graded win on dirt, local stakes and allowance heroes Bold Chieftain, Proceed Bee, Fort Prado, Absoulute Heaven, Storm Treasure and Taletobetold all have won on all three surfaces. Other graded stakes winners who have won on all 3 but not in graded company include Big Booster, Christmas Kid, Court Vision, Dearest Trickski, Delightful Kiss, Parading and Zappa.

We’re also tracking those who have won on 2 of the 3 surfaces and have been in the money (ITM) on the 3rd surface. Forever Together, Molengao and Stream Cat belong to the all graded stakes club in the category. Awesome Gem, Booyah, Giant Oak, Nownownow, Santa Teresita, Sealy Hill, Slew’s Tizzy and Student Council all fall into this group but not at the all graded level.

These horses are not alone in their achievement and over time we hope to record them all. If you know of any or come across any horses not on the list while looking over a past performance (which is how we complied the data), please let us know! We have a contact form at the site that you can use.

As time goes on we’ll upgrade the site, perhaps adding separate docs to list dam, sire and damsire, although for now every horse name links to their Pedigree Query page.

In the meantime, we hope the project will shed light on this emerging achievement. And hey, as Swifty pointed out to me, it could even be a useful marketing angle to tennis fans!

Posted by dana on Jul 13 2009    
Filed Under: Impressive, 2009, Giant Oak, Omnisurface Stars, Einstein, Internet, Lava Man, Inspirational, Charles Pravata, Racing

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Zenyatta and Mike Smith after winning the Milady (Charles Pravata)

Twitter was a buzz this afternoon once the news broke at DRF that Zenyatta’s owners actually want to face Rachel Alexandra after all. Glad to see that Eddie D was right, they were playing coy!

And to add to the drama it was before either race went off.

Rachel in the Mother Goose? Check.

(partymanners)

Moss specifically said that it would depend on how Zenyatta did and how she came out of the Vanity.

Zenyatta in the Vanity? Check.

(partymanners)

And apparently after the race on TVG Moss confirmed that he’s interested in making this match up happen…

Moss just said he is going to do everything possible to meet up with RA

Fingers crossed that Zenyatta and Rachel come out of their races in good order and that we’ll be looking at match-up. I know several folks who’d love to see them in the Del Cap but is that too soon? Where do you think they should meet?

Posted by dana on Jun 27 2009    
Filed Under: Zenyatta, Rivalry, 2009, Twitter, Rachel Alexandra, :), Charles Pravata, Belmont, Race Replay, Hollywood Park, YouTube, Racing

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Zenyatta, all alone out there in California (Charles Pravata)

I’d hardly call Zenyatta’s plans “defending her title”, more like maintaining her undefeated record… although I’m sure those among you who also agree that there’s no reason to challenge her will be pleased as punch with the news of her “conservative plans“.

Zenyatta is likely to have a conventional campaign of major stakes in California through the summer and fall in defense of her title as the nation’s outstanding older female.

Some immediate feedback from twitter resonated with my reaction:

I don’t really understand bringing a mare like that back another year to win THE SAME EXACT RACES.

To me this is the equivalent of driving your Ferrari around the cul-de-sac, and what happens if Rachel Alexandra goes to the Classic? Will they stay in the Distaff division or respond to at least one challenge?

I LOVE Zenyatta… LOVE. But I seriously hope they take her out of the cul-de-sac at least once. There’s always hope that maybe they’re just playing coy… fingers crossed on that one! That or it’s going to be a long boring year of Zenyatta beating Life is Sweet over and over again until the fall.

Posted by dana on May 25 2009    
Filed Under: 2009, Zenyatta, Charles Pravata, John Shirreffs, Racing

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Filly & Mare Turf 2007, colored saddle clothes would help here, no? (Charles Pravata)

Not only is it a gorgeous spring morning here in GbG land, my day started with an interesting note from the Breeders’ Cup in my Facebook inbox asking me (and every other member of the Breeders’ Cup official fan page) to take part in a little survey.

As you would imagine, we’re in planning mode for the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. As part of the process, we would like you to participate in a quick survey on your website. So, please click the link below to participate!

Imagine my delight when I noticed this question:

Do you think the Breeders’ Cup should adopt colored saddle towels for this year’s running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships?

Regardless of how you answer this question, the sheer fact that the question is being posed to fans by the Breeders’ Cup gives this optimist a reason to be cheerful! The note goes on to state that there will more polls moving forward.

If there’s one thing I can tell you about the Breeders’ Cup, it’s that they need numbers to justify any change. That was the overarching message of our meeting with them after the Breeders’ Cup last year.

So what are you waiting for, get over there and tell them what you think!

Posted by dana on Mar 18 2009    
Filed Under: Self Appointed Fan Committee, 2009, Industry, Charles Pravata, Breeders' Cup, You Can Help, Racing

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Stardom Bound and Mike Smith in the parade prior to the SA Oaks (Charles Pravata)

During the conversation last week regarding Stardom Bound, I asked “I wonder if Patena turns out to be a stinker if they’ll get reinvested in SB in the Derby?”…. Val wonders the same thing.

Moments after the LA Derby I asked the tweet-o-sphere:

Who thinks IEAH will start making noise about SB on the Derby trail now that Patena doesn’t look like a contender? I do.

The results were mixed…

I thought they should have kept up the SB noise in the first place. That last race impressed, rather than disappointed, me.

either that or they’ll buy their way in with some other horse.

I don’t

Regardless of whether you think Stardom Bound should be on the Kentucky Derby trail or not (I do), what do you think IEAH will do? Will they lay low and then announce that Stardom Bound is back on the Derby Trail if she performs well in the Ashland? Will they give Patena another shot given the slop or will they just buy another Derby hopeful (Win Willy?? Musket Man?)?

Apologies to the 8 of you who voted in my Bravo poll, it wasn’t the most well crafted poll… if the person who thinks there’s not a single good about the Oaks being on Bravo concedes that any coverage is better than no coverage then I suppose there really isn’t much use in asking!

Posted by dana on Mar 15 2009    
Filed Under: Stardom Bound, Richard Dutrow, Iavarone, Twitter, 2009, Kentucky Oaks, Derby Trail, Bobby Frankel, Kentucky Derby, Charles Pravata, Racing

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