The Big Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Michael D.]

Z ran 5 lengths longer than the 2nd and 3rd place finishers (spotting both 4 lbs), and ran a :05.65 final 1/16 while averaging 40 mph. Zenyatta was brilliant when she needed to be. A strong performance imo.

[imallin]

Z\'s performance yesterday was her best lifetime effort imo. She was hopelessly beaten with 20 yards to go and just found some kind of gear to get up to win. For a horse that big to be able to accelerate at the end of her race in that fashion was breathtaking, she just refused to lose. Is she as good as Rachel? Of course not, no one who really knows this game is pretending she is, but she\'s a fantastic plastic running daughter of a gun and that\'s good enough for me.

[CHOWDERMAN]

rachel has beaten, gabby\'s golden gal and flashing by 30 lengths respectively, and they both came back to win grade wins....didn\'t she also beat take the points and he came back to win a grade 1 this weekend also....oops....zenyatta scratched out of churchill on the same card that rachel won the oaks....cmon be fair dana.....

[P-Dub]

Rick B. Wrote:
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> P-Dub Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > And for all you Smith bashers
>
> Interesting pre-emptive strike.
>
> I\'m neutral on Smith. Certainly seems to have a
> tendency to go wide, but he wins enough with that
> move that I believe it offsets the number of times
> he might have gone inside only to get jammed up
> waiting for room. Six of one kind, half-dozen of
> another, from where I sit.
>
> But he sure did make what should have been a
> rather boring affair pretty interesting yesterday,
> didn\'t he? Won by a short head, about a foot at
> ~35 mph -- what\'s that, about 2/100ths of a
> second? That no ordinary clock in Smith\'s head.

Rick,

Wasn\'t trying to answer before the Smith bashing. Just stating the difference between a jockey who has been there before, and one who is experiencing his first real taste of national attention/success.

I doubt Smith acted that way when he first became successful. Its no different than these clowns that stare at home runs, or celebrate every tackle/catch/ first down, TD in football.

Some have class, some don\'t.

[P-Dub]

TGJB Wrote:
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> Everybody calm down.
>
> First of all, saying Zenyatta doesn\'t compare to
> Rachel (and she doesn\'t) is like saying Pujols
> isn\'t Babe Ruth-- big deal, who is. Doesn\'t mean
> Pujols ain\'t great.
>
> Whether you go by ability (figures) or
> accomplishment, Rachel is in territory all her
> own, arguably ever. That\'s no reflection on
> Zenyatta.
>
> The MANAGEMENT of Zenyatta is another matter, and
> we can have a negative opinion of that without
> having one of the mare.

I thought I would wake up and see 10 posts calling ME the idiot. (I\'m sure some may still think so).

Many of you have made great statements about Zenyatta. I won\'t repeat them, but they ACCURATELY portray her as being better than some want to give heer credit for.

Jimbo, I have a lot of respect for you but your post just isn\'t very accurate. Addressing us as \"West Coast\" biased is completely offbase. There have been people from all over the country on this board talking about her accomplishments. And when you use \"West Coast bias\", you immediately come off as being \"Left Coast biased\". Leave that stuff out, and just give us our opinion. We\'ve disagreed before, we will again. Where we live has little to do with it.

Covel,
Your remarks are equally silly, the ones that were similar to Jimbo\'s. \"They know what they have and don\'t want to be embarassed.\" For 2 of the more interesting and intelligent people to post that is disappointing.

5-1 on Zenyatta in that race?? There will be many. Its better than 6/5 on MTB in the Belmont that I had the opportunity to book per Mr. MGM Suites.

Great comment from JB regarding the distinction between the horse and the management of her. They are 2 entirely different things. Its as if by supporting Zenyatta you are somehow dismissing Rachel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Can\'t we just enjoy the fact that the 2 most interesting and fascinating horses this year happen to be females? No wonder racing can\'t attract any new fans, the ones we have are constantly bashing horses that should be held up as an example of why people should be attracted to this game.

[Lost Cause]

P-Dub Wrote:
 
> Some have class, some don\'t.


I don\'t get it..Why does Calvin have to sit still in the saddle and not be happy that he is riding a superstar.  He hoots and hollers becuase this horse is exciting.  When he got to the finish line at Mth and pointed at the crowd a ton of people were pointing back including myself and they were loving it.  Why is that classless?

[Silver Charm]

>Great comment from JB regarding the distinction between the horse and the management of her. They are 2 entirely different things.

P-Dub go back and read my original post.

Tim Tebow and Florida vs Yale doesn\'t get my TV remote to stop clicking around, or to to be turned off along with the lights entirely. Give me a game I stay up at nights waiting for and thinking about.

Zenyatta has yet to play one this year as far as I am concerned. And if Tebow and Florida played Yale every week I wouldn\'t watch that either no matter if \"Tebow is one of the greatest of all time and we are lucky to be watching him.\"

Beat up on Yale...........

[P-Dub]

Lost Cause Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> P-Dub Wrote:
>  
> > Some have class, some don\'t.
>
>
> I don\'t get it..Why does Calvin have to sit still
> in the saddle and not be happy that he is riding a
> superstar.  He hoots and hollers becuase this
> horse is exciting.  When he got to the finish line
> at Mth and pointed at the crowd a ton of people
> were pointing back including myself and they were
> loving it.  Why is that classless?

I\'m not talking about the winner\'s circle.

I\'m talking about the actual running of the race, where at the 1/16 pole or shortly thereafter he\'s pointing and waving and slapping BEFORE the race is over.

But can the guy save all of that for the post race gallop back to the winner\'s circle, instead of doing it DURING the race? Thats it.

[P-Dub]

Rachel hasn\'t exactly beaten a who\'s who of racing greats. A 4 horse Mother Goose, a weak Haskell field. The 3YO colts she has beaten aren\'t that stellar. BUt her wins have been spectacular.

Having said that, she has done more than Zenyatta this year.

Lousy analogy.

Go back to sleep.

[Lost Cause]

P-Dub Wrote:
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>5-1 on Zenyatta in that race??
 > Can\'t we just enjoy the fact that the 2 most
> interesting and fascinating horses this year
> happen to be females? No wonder racing can\'t
> attract any new fans, the ones we have are
> constantly bashing horses that should be held up
> as an example of why people should be attracted to
> this game.


Couldn\'t agree with you more P-Dub.  Sit back and enjoy and hope they meet up somewhere.  Zenyatta is a great racehorse who I have no doubt would be equally great on dirt.  
I would empty the bankroll at 5/1 on that horse if there was another speed to keep Rachel company at 1 1/8 or longer.

[Silver Charm]

Hey I slept 11 hours last night.

At least Sherriffs can claim he may have a cure for insomnia with his handling....

[P-Dub]

Then I hope she races every day, if that will keep you asleep and stop the Zenyatta bashing.

[HP]

When Zenyatta is running Silver is asleep, but the rest of the time he\'s posting  like the Energizer Bunny.  How many ways can he say the same thing?  As the kids today say, OMG.  

I thought P-Dub put him down early in this thread with that hysterical post but he keeps coming back for more.  

Honestly, the people who own and train Zenyatta are doing what they think is in the best interests of them and their horse.  If they pushed and matched her up with the boys or travelled or whatever and she got hurt they\'d rake them over the coals for that too.  Talk to Larry Jones.  And please talk to him someplace else and give this subject a rest over here already for Christ\'s sake.  

Everything has already been said twice about this on this board.  They are doing the plastic thing.  It\'s not a scenario anyone should have had a problem envisioning when all the plastic tracks started in the first place.  Case closed.  

HP

[Lost Cause]

P-Dub Wrote:
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> Lost Cause Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> I\'m not talking about the winner\'s circle.
>
> I\'m talking about the actual running of the race,
> where at the 1/16 pole or shortly thereafter he\'s
> pointing and waving and slapping BEFORE the race
> is over.
>
> But can the guy save all of that for the post race
> gallop back to the winner\'s circle, instead of
> doing it DURING the race? Thats it.


I am also talking about during the race..He is not trying to demean the other horses in there.  He is just happy as hell..and believe me when I tell you there are a lot of people that love it when he is pointing and showing the #1 sign during that final hundred yards...

[HP]

Lost - if YOU were in the middle of a race against ME and I was winning by a block and before I got to the finish line I started celebrating and waving to the crowd you wouldn\'t find that insulting?  Doesn\'t make any difference if we\'re on horses, does it?  The fact that \"lots of people love it\" doesn\'t make it good.  

HP