Zenyatta assigned 129 pounds for Vanity

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

The reasoning behind her linkage with the New Mexico "rat" is posts like a few in this thread that proclaim her greatness and historic achievement by using the streak as evidence. Obviously they are two different brands of horse but the fact is that if the streak is going to be held up as her standard of greatness, then the "rat" is going to be involved in the conversation. I think your post is telling in two places where you mention her running in grade 1's and her two ventures out of the state as being in search of actual competition. That is my entire point. She is an exceptional horse who hasn't really done anything exceptional except maintain an undefeated streak. While that IS an accomplishment in itself, let's not confuse that with them searching out the best competition. They have in virtually every case chosen the path of least resistance. They are chosing to roll the dice by making the BC Classic at CD the entire season. It really becomes a make or break race for her and she really doesn't deserve that. The fact that RA and Zenyatta have never met or really probably never will meet is proof being a "sportsman" ain't what it used to be. John Nerud they aren't.

I agree with most of what you say here, and the absurd praise heaped on the horse by her legion of fans/worshipers grates on my nerves as well. Basically I'm saying that I think her level of competition IS pretty darn low, and so I'm not sure it really needs to be exaggerated in any way by her detractors. I just think that her streak is so infinitely more impressive than freakin' Pepper's Pride's that the comparison is a bit foolish. While the races Zenyatta has been running in have certainly lacked top-quality competition, they haven't been restricted to only crappy competition the way Pepper's Pride were.
I'm not trying to argue that the connections deserve a lot of praise for running the horse in the Apple Blossom twice, I am merely saying that I do think they deserve some amount of credit for it. In what was supposed to be the biggest race of the year this year, they showed up while the other guys didn't. Does that make them great "sportsmen?" No. But it seems like some on here argue as if those two trips to Oaklawn never happened in a rush to denigrate her level of competition. Again, I don't see why that is necessary. Most of the time the connections certainly have played it safe, but they did go to Oaklawn twice to take on Ginger Punch and Rachel Alexandra, and at least in those two instances, they weren't playing it safe. I certainly understand the urge to tear the mare down given how annoying most of Zenyatta's fans are around here, but I guess I am still trying to enjoy her career despite her fans' idiocy and the softness of her competition.