Rachel to Monmouth on July 24...

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Wayne Bertrand

This is the third straight year that "Mr. Sportsman" had one-half of a match-up that racing fans wanted to see but was never delivered. In 2008, it was Curlin-Big Brown, and now we've had two years of no Rachel-Zenyatta. He is the common denominator, and his act is beyond tedious.

He's an uber douche, no argument there, but in the case of Curlin-Big Brown that wasn't really ever feasible. Big Brown only ran once in a race that Curlin was even eligible for (the Monmouth Stakes on turf), and I think it's understandable that Curlin went in the JCGC instead given his already proven average ability on turf.

As for the Rachel-Zenyatta matchup, we all know it should have happened at Oaklawn. That it didn't was frustrating on a lot of levels.

This year's campaign was protective to this point... which I get (somewhat)... but the Lady's Secret choice is a joke. She obviously is back to where she should be.