HOVDEY: Nice column for Nerud's 97th

[Kasept]

Knowing what the doctor orders
By Jay Hovdey

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...3&subs=0&arc=0

A male child born in the United States in 1913 - for the sake of argument let's say it was in a ranch house near the western Nebraska town of Minatare and his name was John Nerud - was not expected to live more than 50 years.

Among the watershed events of the year of Nerud's birth were the Kentucky Derby upset of Donerail, who paid $184.90 on a $2 bet, and the U.S. Open victory of teenage amateur Frances Ouimet, who beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an epic playoff at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. The income tax also began in 1913, but no one really celebrates that anymore.


On Zenyatta:

Admiring Zenyatta from afar, Nerud said that her turning 6 this year is not a disadvantage when competing with younger legs, like Rachel Alexandra's.

"It works for her," Nerud said. "A horse is still growing and maturing until 5 years old. And her trainer, John Shirreffs, is a true horse trainer. He handled that mare very well. So did Mike Smith. Mike only took out of her what he had to in order to win a race. When he got left at the gate in the Breeders' Cup, I watched the mare closely. She was sitting against the rear of the gate when they pulled it, and got off bad. Mike didn't panic. He got her to the rail, saved ground, and found room."


On Rachel Alexandra:

Nerud was on record in the immediate wake of Rachel Alexandra's victory in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga last summer, insisting he'd never seen a 3-year-old filly run such a race in his lifetime, or compile such a record. As frames of reference go, this takes the breath away, embracing not only Kentucky Derby winners Winning Colors and Genuine Risk, as well as the work of Ruffian, but also such fillies as Gamely, Silver Spoon, Next Move, Two Lea, Busher and Twilight Tear.

"After the Woodward, I told Jess Jackson I'd never seen a performance like that in my life," Nerud said. "Not only did she overcome all the horses, she overcome a jock who set her up to have to put two sprinters away, then another horse, then hold off another older horse who couldn't get by. And he was whipping her from the sixteenth pole to the wire. Good horses don't need a whip!"


On a race between them:

"I'm not sure they'll ever run against each other," Nerud said, ever the skeptic. "I'd love to see them match up at Saratoga. That's the place you establish your championships. And I'd want to see them in a field of other horses. That's the only way you'll get a true horse race."

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Freddy, what are your thoughts on Hovdey?