Rubiano & Julie Krone in the 92 Vosburgh (Jason Moran)

2008 was my second full year of being a fan & player. Obviously I’ve missed a lot. The good news is that I’ll never get bored watching replays from days gone by or learning about all the great horses that I didn’t have the pleasure to witness first hand.

Many of you have had that pleasure, and I’d like to know what you think. Starting with the the 90s, what was your favorite racing year? Was it Cigar and Holy Bull in 94? Undefeated Canadian Triple Crown winning filly Dance Smartly in 91? It would be great if you left a comment too, tell me what and/or who was so great about the year because I’m gonna wanna read about/watch all the excitement from the entire year, not just one race. Personal antidotes a plus! I’ll cover other decades in upcoming polls.

In the most recent poll about rabbits, the 24 of you were ok with using rabbits but thought that they should at least be appropriate for the race, 17 of you give rabbits the big thumbs up, it is after all strategy, and 6 of you thought that it might be time to revisit and revise the whole concept. As always, thanks for participating.

To get you in the mood, here’s a clip of the 1992 Vosburgh. Jason has been adding photos from the 90s over at flickr recently and the photo of Rubiano (above) linked to the replay. Both Rubiano & Julie Krone are incredibly impressive in this race, and I love how “hell yeah” Krone is on the gallop out.

Posted by dana on Nov 23 2008    
Filed Under: Jason Moran, 90s, Racing History, Poll, Vosburgh, Belmont, Race Replay, Racing

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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!

Posted by dana on Sep 29 2008    
Filed Under: Auction, Wrap Up, 2008, Zenyatta, Stardom Bound, Impressive, Shamdinan, Vosburgh, Curlin, Belmont, Hystericalady, Race Replay, Fabulous Strike, YouTube, Racing

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Fabulous Strike running away with the Vosburgh (Charles Pravata).

As it turns out, my fav west coast race photog was in town last weekend… just when I was starting to wonder where there all the fab shots of Oak Tree were!

Posted by dana on Oct 04 2007    
Filed Under: Charles Pravata, Vosburgh, Fabulous Strike, 2007, Racing

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Fabulous Strike and Ramon Dominguez bring it in the Vosburgh (Sarah K. Andrew).

No real post here, just wanted to share this pic… I love how it looks like he’s flashing the old “I told ya so” smile.

He was actually my pick of the day (wish I would have posted that *before* the race, der), even though I stupidly didn’t wager anything on the race. I had him, on all my 7th race picks for the pick 4 & 6.

If you’re not in the habit of looking at Sarah’s photos, I highly recommend that you point your browser here immediately. She’s got the NYRA circuit covered and will always have amazing stuff after the weekend, and you know she’ll be the BC too!

Same for Charles Pravata on the west coast… I can’t wait to see his stuff from the opening of Santa Anita!

Posted by dana on Oct 01 2007    
Filed Under: Sprint, Vosburgh, Sarah K. Andrew, Fabulous Strike, Ramon Dominguez, Breeders' Cup, 2007, Racing

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