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Fist, are you sure Desert Orchid isn’t more well known in Britain than you think ?
Along with Red Rum, Shergar and Lester, Dessie is the the one racing "celebrity" most non-racing folk would name.
Agreed, H.
Red Rum – he won the ‘Peoples Race’ three times.
Shergar – he was the victim in a high profile kidnapping
Dessie – he was grey
Lester – tax fraudI would add Frankie to that list, though.
Must be the Irish in her from her sire Street Cry(Ire)
Great vids.
Zenyatta knocking back the Guinness. Love it.
Gotta love the dance compliation. Never get tired of watching her. Also, Life Is Sweet – the name certainly fits.
Well, Mandarin had a bottle [or two]of Mackeson every day. Is Life is Sweet the black horse without the blaze lying down in the stable in one of the clips? She’s beautiful. I love these utube clips of the horses working and resting; wish we could have them of the English and Irish horses.
Yes, LIS is the bay without the blaze. This is a funny video of John trying to wake her up.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jonshfs05#p … dWtmffgNzU
I wish more trainers had their own YouTube channel, as far as I know John Shirreffs is the only one right now.
Undefeated champion Zenyatta could return to racing in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap (gr. I) on March 13 at Santa Anita….Depending on weights
Sounds like John Shirreffs is angling for a lower weight assignment for Zenyatta – Last time Z ran in a handicap race (The 2009 Vanity) she was assigned 129 lbs. and gave 13-18 lbs. to her competitors.
my god , ive been reading through this sts zarkarva zenyatta debate carefully and it appears that fist really does have no real clue what he is on about , quote " sea the stars has no x factor , sea the stars is not a great horse " wtf are you on about pal, his win in the arc was every bit as impressive as zarkarva’s and some 4 seconds quicker or something so how exactly do you rate anything you’ve ever seen better than him ? you obviously just one of those slightly odd looking people who because they are a bit odd have to try and oppose what is blatantly obvious.i bet when thierry henry was clearly the best in the prem you still thought van nistlerooy was better. sea the stars only came off the bridle for a few strides in every race last year and was no way flat to the boards in the arc for more than 5 seconds . you cant compare horses that only run on dead flat perfect condition aw or sand either as thydont have to deal with the undulations and different turns . every race sts ran in there was a plot to unhinge him in some way or block or something and it never worked .zarkarva raced once against the colts at the end of the season and won , an outstanding achievement but she didnt have to race against them every month for the previous 6 did she so your argument is really a bottomless one isnt it . everyone has their own ideas and favourites but surely you know you are talking utter crap . it also seems that evry other horse racing pundit or expert thinks you are too . …. has been really amusing reading it tho
….it was on, then it was off, now it’s on again – Rachel Alexandra vs the big Z for 5 million USD. my favorite line,
"I’ve never had so much trouble giving $5 million away".
http://www.drf.com/news/article/110719.html
Apple Blossom showdown back on
By Jay PrivmanThe Great Race between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta is back on, Charles Cella, the owner of Oaklawn Park, said Thursday. According to Cella, the race will now be pushed back six days from its original date, and the connections of both horses have agreed to meet.
"The Apple Blossom Invitational has been renegotiated. Both principals are on line and have pledged to me they will enter their horses and race," Cella said. "The date will be Friday, the 9th of April. All other conditions remain the same."
The Grade 1 Apple Blossom will be at 1 1/8 miles. If both horses run, the purse is $5 million. Otherwise, it reverts to its original $500,000.
On Wednesday, Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, said in a statement that Rachel Alexandra would not be ready for the original date of the Apple Blossom, April 3, and that his request to have Apple Blossom moved back one week had been denied by Oaklawn Park.
Cella on Thursday said he had been in touch with the owners of both horses over the previous 24 hours. The two horses have never met.
"I’ve never had so much trouble giving $5 million away," Cella said. "We’ve got a solid commitment, assuming, of course, their health continues."
Jerry Moss, the co-owner of Zenyatta, on Thursday said he told Cella that he’d be willing to have the Apple Blossom moved back to April 9 "if that’s what’s needed."
"We had a conversation about that today. We’re still hoping the race happens," said Moss, who owns Zenyatta with his wife, Ann.
Jackson, in his statement on Wednesday, also said he had been in contact with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association over a proposed series of races with Zenyatta.
"The whole thing was a big surprise to us," Moss said. "We knew nothing about it. We absolutely were not a party to any of it. We’d like to see in writing what’s intended. We had returned from New York (Wednesday). I went with my wife to the dentist. We got back in the office in the afternoon and saw what was being written. That was the first we knew about it.
"There were some reports that we had no comment. No one even tried to get a comment from us. I know we’re out on the West Coast, and it’s a big distance, but it’s not as if we’re on the moon.
"As far as we’re concerned, our focus is on Oaklawn, and we’re still hoping that happens."
Zenyatta is scheduled to make her first start of this year in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap on March 13 at Santa Anita. She worked six furlongs at Hollywood Park on Thurday morning in 1:13.80, breezing, for trainer John Shirreffs.
"We still planning on the Santa Margarita," Moss said. "It’s a month away. Zenyatta worked today and worked very well. We’re feeling good about where things are now."
Moss said plans beyond the Apple Blossom had yet to be finalized.
"We always go race to race," he said. "We’ll look at our horse after each race and then make a judgment. We’ve got these two races picked out. Beyond that, it would be premature to comment. But our plan, like last year, is to point for the Breeders’ Cup at the end of the year. That’s not a change in our philosophy. Since the Breeders’ Cup this year is at Churchill Downs, we will be traveling."
Zenyatta has not raced since capturing the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita.
Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, is based at Fair Grounds with trainer Steve Asmussen. She has not raced since winning the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga five months ago.
The idea has been mooted that Zenyatta’s owners could be persuaded to run their star at Royal Ascot.
Firstly, it just won’t happen, unless they are offered crazy money; and secondly, if she were to run on a right handed turf course, I am willing to bet she’d struggle to win.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Zenyatta training for her first 2010 start. Shirreffs reveals secret potion, Guiness and Aloe Vera cocktail.
Zenyatta training for her first 2010 start. Shirreffs reveals secret potion, Guiness and Aloe Vera cocktail.
It’s great that we get these videos, wish UK trainers would do it.
Love her pawing at the ground while she’s waiting to be served!
And Life Is Sweet is gorgeous too, I love the video clips of her sleeping.
"Zenyatta breezed six furlongs in 1:13.20 on Friday at Hollywood Park" (Feb. 26th)
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/racing … -Park.aspx
Now if the opening of this Feb. 26 training video shows Zenyatta’s same "workout", she is well out from the rail and looks to be going very easily, doesn’t really look like a 1:13.20 pace but this is Zenyatta. The scenes immediately after Zenyatta are from Santa Anita but Zenyatta is stabled and trains across town at Hollywood Park. Then it seems the video goes back to the Hollywood Park barn area. You can hear the jets flying into LAX (Los Angeles Int’l. Airport) which is near Hollywood Park.
Zenyatta blazes 6f in 1:11.80 in last work before 2010 debut. Likely to run in G1 Santa Margarita on Mar. 13. By contrast, Zenyatta’s last work before the Breeders Cup Classic was 1:12.40. Could Zenyatta actually have gotten faster as a 6yo?
Zenyatta gets 127 lbs. for the G1 Santa Margarita. Zenyatta was assigned 127 lbs. for her first start of 2010, giving 8 lbs. to multiple graded stakes winner Tuscan Evening (Ire) and 11 lbs. to Mushka, the BC Ladies Classic runner up to Life is Sweet.
Shirreffs says Zenyatta sharp for Santa Margarita.
Zenyatta worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Jan. 17, and has had six subsequent workouts to prepare for the start of the 2010 campaign.
None of those left Shirreffs as impressed as her six-furlong workout in 1:11.80 at Hollywood Park on March 5. Zenyatta has had faster six-furlong works in her career, but none that left Shirreffs as enthused about her condition.
Each time Zenyatta works fast over six furlongs, she runs one of her better races, notably her work in 1:11.20 two weeks before the BC Classic last fall, and in 1:10.20 last April, six weeks before her 2009 debut in the Grade 2 Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park.
"I like the correlation," Shirreffs said, grinning.
"The variables to the schedule are dictated by Zenyatta," he said. "It’s what the horse allows you to do," Shirreffs said. "You’ve got to listen. She can get a little on her toes."
Asked to grade Zenyatta’s workouts in recent weeks, Shirreffs described them as "very good."
"She’s done everything we’ve asked of her willingly," he said.
Excercise rider Steve Willard says;
"She feels better than she did, more straightforward," he said. "She’s as good if not a little better. She settled into her routine and was very professional."
Better? – or is that Bet Her?
Will Weight Stop Zenyatta? Very unlikely IMO.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ … p-zenyatta
Morning Line for Santa Margarita
1 Dance to My Tune 111 50-1
2 Pretty Katherine 111 50-1
3 Made for Magic 111 50-1
4 Pretty Unusual 113 12-1
5 Striking Dancer 115 8-1
6 Powerofvoodoo 108 50-1
7 Gripsholm Castle 112 12-1
8 Zenyatta 127 1/9
9 Floating Heart 111 12-1http://www.santaanita.com/sites/default … -03-13.pdf
Not much of a betting race, unless you expect a miracle or think Zenyatta will be troubled by the weight spread. Depending on the payouts, I might put Zenyatta on top of All in an Exacta, maybe double up on the 2nd and 3rd favs so I won’t actually lose money and hope a longshot finishes second. Of course, Zenyatta provides a free spot in the Pick 3, Pick 4 and the Pick-6 so it is really a Pick-5, and should be a large jackpot with the big Saturday crowd to see Zenyatta. So I might try one or two of those as well but practically every ticket will have Zenyatta on it so that’s not much if any edge. Probably best just to watch Queen Z run and enjoy the show.
Put the following in the Apple Blossom thread and should probably put it here as well if you want to watch the race online.
11 Mar 2010, 23:35
Postby JHorse on 11 Mar 2010, 23:35
Watch this Saturday, Mar. 13, live for free, RA and Z’s prep races for Apple Blossom.Don’t know if this requires registration at NTRA site but that’s free too, at least for their free newsletter.
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