I should correct my earlier post. They actually have 3 goals right now. First, they want to win HOY. Second, they want to win the BC Classic again. Third, they want to reamin undefeated. Every move they make is designed to accomplish these 3 goals. If they win the BC Classic, they kill two birds with one stone. They win the race and they win HOY.

When you consider that those are their 3 goals right now, it wouldn't make much sense for them to look for a tough race right now. They don't need to. They will win HOY if they win the BC Classic. If they don't win the BC Classic, they won't win HOY. Running in a tough race right now doesn't accomplish anything for them and it could hurt one of their goals. If she loses, it kills their goal of staying undefeated.

They will definitely run in the BC Classic because they desperately want to win HOY.

It's about just trying to stay undefeated and having her cranked up to run one whole big race this year.

Coming to Saratoga and trying to beat Rachel Alexandra on dirt - the surface which most American horses are bred best for - at the Classic distance of 10fs - that would have been awesome.

They know she is more likely to finish ahead of RA in the Classic because horses like Quality Road and Rail Trip won't let her loaf ... so, it's basically a full of year of yawners leading into a half court heave at a dirt BC Classic in which she will have her best possible chance at placing in front of RA as some moral victory if she doesn't win the race outright.

Perfectly stated Doug.

This is further proof that you can be literally brain dead and still be a photographer.

94 Beyer.

Who writes your material?

they say they are going to the bc. but they also said they were going to travel with her this year, let her fans see her, and try new things. if they haven't done any of that, how can you be sure they will really point to the bc? you can't. they talk a big talk, but what has she done differently this year? then you see the comments from them about cali, about not shipping, about the win streak. i don't think i'm going out on a limb by suggesting they really don't intend to go to the bc. i think they want peppers prides record, and the money won record. i think the bc is further down on the list, especially with her having won one.
it remains to be seen; i hope she goes, don't get me wrong. but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she doesn't go.

Seems quite clear that they were very afraid of losing something else that they very much thought they deserved no matter what, and that's exactly WHY they ran her in the Classic at the last second.

Surface makes her look more ordinary, take the Apple Blossom for example she just draws off in that race, on synthetics the cynics would say she is only life and death to win, but margins on synth are always invariably less than dirt. She may be sitting on her best race career wise for the BC, she looks better this year and she will drive the naysayers crazy if she wins the Classic with authority this year. That is if she wins.

QR shipped to Santa Anita and found that he didn't like the starting gate helicopter and that was that. He s h i t alover himself trying to fly back home too. It's not the travel, he just hates airports.

Zenyatta is arguably the greatest race horse we will see in our life time, but the day is coming when she no longer wants to race and as a 6 yo mare the day is coming soon.

I'd reverse the 3 goals. Remaining undefeated and winning the BCC again will be remembered before who won HOY in 2010.

After yesterday's races, personally I'm looking forward to the BCC and Blame v. Zenyatta. If both horses win their next races, we'll have the undefeated mare from the west going against the undefeated colt (in 2010) from the east. The media would hopefully eat this up and really promote the race. RA, at this point, is an afterthought.

Her career isn't over and I haven't decided where she is to be placed amongst the all time great horses, to be fair you wait until her career is over and even then maybe years, it is human nature to look back with more objectivity.

I think you are confused a bit. People like myself aren't haters. Personally...I have always been a huge fan of the big closers over speed type horses. Closers , in my humble opinion, have to do far more work to win races. I think much more can go wrong (see Ice Box in Kentucky Derby) with that type of style. So when you get a horse that keeps winning like she does, it is impressive. I was a fan of hers up until last spring/summer when the connections started to duck everyone and do the same thing yet again. Because of The BC being at SA one could argue it was the right call to stay out there. Ok..then how about running in The Hol Gold Cup or Pac Classic ? It was borderline gutless to run in those filly races. Then she runs an excellent race in The BC Classic. I was very impressed. If she had either won a real race like the two I mentioned above in Cali, then she probably wins HOY.

Then The Moss's bring her back, which is great. They say 2010 is gonna be different. Even better. Fans like me figured they learned their lesson and are gonna run vs some real fields and stay on the dirt (surface of BC.......no excuse not to run on it in 2010). But after one race at OP , they go back to their conservative/gutless campaign vs horrible fields again. What are they proving vs the same bad horses again this year ? Absolutely nothing. Her fans can continue to blab about her amazing run.....but in reality she isn't doin much more than that horse from New Mexico did. Beating the same fields over and over again. Yesterdays race was an embarassment. The race coming up at SA will probably be the same if not worse. How many times can they line up 5 cripples to run against her? I think the truth is she isn't as good as she was last year and the connections know it. This cr#p about her only winning by a head or so because she knows thats all she has to do is hilarious.

Even more funny are the people mentioning her and Cigar in the same sentence. She wouldn't have gotten within 10 lengths of him every time they faced each other.

Personally, I don't hate her. She is a cool horse. I think this year's campaign is pathetic and her connections are an embarassment for what they are doing. But I dont hate them...I just think The Moss's and Sheriffs are gutless.

Not within 10 lengths? Now I loved Cigar but you must be joking here

How exactly is RA an afterthought?

Because she lost her first two off of a 9 month layoff for a guy who is a statistical deadbeat as a layoff trainer?

If St. Trinians simply broke cleanly in the Vanity - there's no possible way Zenyatta would still be undefeated.

I agree. It may be more like 12.

The variant for that figure was split - and that number was inflated significantly to get to 94 because of the slow pace.

Further, after watching the Whitney yesterday, how exactly could Quality Road win any race in which Rachel was entered? If anything he is the afterthought.