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I don’t know what it’s like over there but the American version had me changing the channel quickly. I used to watch American Idol but stopped once Simon left. It’s not the same.
I would not rank Quality Road that high either. Certainly Blame was our best male horse this year and after that I would put Lookin At Lucky behind him. I also would not put Eskendereya and LOL even. LOL was above him IMO even without a win at 10f.
Some horses simply can not overcome a slow pace if they close.
Hi AF.
I’d broadly agree with that, which is very much what happened with Sanctuaire today, but, pace apart, I’d suggest class and distance are also factors.
I know little about US racing, though I’d suspect – with the gentler pace of our races and the preponderance of handicaps – a higher percentage of ours are purposely trained to run in such manner.The pace in our races is much faster than yours. I think this has to do a lot with the differences in training and the fact that for the most part you tend to want to have something left at the end. Our horses don’t go out in sets but rather alone or with one other horse. So they tend to get in the mindset of going out at fast intervals. Personally, I think that horses last longer if trained in a relaxed environment and tend to be calmer during the races.
FLAT
Zenyatta
: What can you say about the most charismatic individual to ever grace the racetrack? She had the size, looks and ability to match. Through no fault of her own she couldn’t leave us unbeaten, but Zenyatta touched more hearts around the globe than any other horse in history. Beautiful to look at and exciting to watch, she will leave a massive void that can never be filled. There will be other Dancing Brave’s, Sea The Stars and Goldikova’s, but we will never see another Zenyatta. Truly unique.
While I do agree with you on everything you said here with the exception of seeing another Goldikova. I doubt we will ever see a mare win 3 Breeder’s Cup races in succession over males. She may not have the record of 20-19-1-0, but what she has done is IMO is at the very least as impressive as Zenyatta. If only that stretch had been 10 feet longer. Certainly there will not be a horse that carries the charisma or unique showing she puts on. If I had been a person never knowing who she was and saw all that dancing about by any other horse I would never wager a dime on them. She is a beautiful odd duck so to speak. The fact she is the best horse IMO to have run in the USA and will probably never win an Eclipse. This is a travesty. She will however have no problem getting into the Hall Of Fame on the first try. Anyone who denies her that is a moron.
We have been very blessed these past 3 years to have witnessed Zenyatta, Goldikova and Rachel Alexandra taking on males. Hopefully connections of top fillies and mares will continue this trend of this type of competition. Sometimes the best is a girl.
Here in the US a stayer is a horse that can run more than 7 furlongs. Having said that pace is pretty much everything. Most of our horses are bred to be fast out of the gate and to the wire. A fast pace insures that a closer has a snowballs chance in hell of getting to the wire in the money. Since the only grade one races we have are limited to a mile and half at the most it is unusual we would see a horse that could lead and carry speed to the wire going that far. It’s nowhere near what one would consider a stayer. However, if the pace is slow enough a horse can carry their speed over any distance and win. Presious Passion almost won the Breeder’s Cup Turf last year while going out and setting very legitimate fractions. The turf was very firm though which does also play a part in him almost getting the nod. I think that with the right combination of pace and surface the argument of pace making the race could be compromised. Some horses simply can not overcome a slow pace if they close. This was the case several times with Better Talk Now who came from well out of it to win a lot of his races. They say a great horse can overcome anything but I am not a believer in that.
Currently running I have to say Bubble Economy is my favorite. He’s a timber horse here in the Mid-Atlantic region. He’s not as well known as some others but he’s a two time timber horse champion.
Three-time, he got the title this year too
. I made a profile for him. https://theracingforum.co.uk/horses/bubble-economyAwesome!! I have some photos of him if you want. He’s a lovely looking horse.
The Usual Suspects is one of my all time favorite films. It’s so very well acted (even with Stephen Baldwin in the cast…). Spacey gives the performance of a lifetime here and it’s one that I watch over and over. It never gets boring even when I know how it ends. It’s brilliant.
I’ve heard mixed things about No Country For Old Men. Some like it some not so much. So I can’t comment on it.
One film I would add is Schindler’s List. It’s not a cakewalk and it’s in your face harsh but something that has never been seen on the screen. Brilliantly acted, scripted and filmed it’s a landmark film. It took a lot of guts to get this film done and I think everyone who has ever viewed it has been changed. That is what a great film does.
The 13th Warrior is great!
Aside from racing films like Phar Lap and Seabiscuit my favorite ones are:
The Usual Suspects
The Color Purple
My Fair Lady
Madagascar (Don’t laugh at me)
The Man From Snowy River
The Lord Of The Rings
Star WarsGuilty pleasures??? Harry Potter, Twilight and Star Trek. LOLOLOL ;D
Wow it’s been a while since I posted here but my favorite flat horses are:
Alysheba and Prairie Bayou (both horses may not be the best ever, but they are very special to me)
Currently, my favorite flat horse is Goldikova. No disrespect to our Zenyatta but she is the best in the world at the moment and did not get the respect on Breeder’s Cup day that I expected she would. I saw her in her first win at the BC in 2008 but missed the last 2. I will be there next year. They don’t come around like this every year. Thank God for her connections!!!
As for jumpers, I may have a different view being from the US as we normally don’t follow jump racing like they do in the UK. However, being from Maryland we do get a LOT of attention on the sport here and I’ve been to meets quite frequently.
My all time favorites are:
McDynamo
Istabraq
Bubble Economy
Desert Orchid
FlattererCurrently running I have to say Bubble Economy is my favorite. He’s a timber horse here in the Mid-Atlantic region. He’s not as well known as some others but he’s a two time timber horse champion.
Quality Road (the horse who would not load) apparently would not get on the plane. So he’s being vanned back to New York. That is a LOOOOOONG ride. He has stitches, he nearly knocked a tooth out, he’s got a laceration and a big bruise over one eye, and a pretty significant hematoma on his left leg from freaking out in the gate. He never had these kinds of problems when he was with former trainer Jimmy Jerkens.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/53390/traumatized-quality-road-will-van-home
If that wasn’t a hunch play I don’t know what was. Too funny!! The one I remember most was a horse here in Maryland that won at Laurel. I put a few bucks on him. Well, I didn’t but my Sister did for me because I was under age at the time. It was pouring rain, he was 17-1, the track was a swamp and his name was Muddy Rudder. Gotta love those.
Wow some of those fans actually scare me. Going to the races a lot you can meet some real special people… Don’t get me started on the Fans Of Barbaro. Granted some are normal and have it together but this one lady at a benefit did an interpretive dance about his life. Yes, you heard me correctly. Another claimed Barbaro sent her emails. Needless to say as charismatic as they are, there are some that are a few slices short of a full loaf running around out there. That was a fun video.
Alysheba, I’m glad you mentioned Presious Passion because apart from Z, this one got me roaring like an elephant. All the Ryder Cup style jingoism went out the window. How could this one quicken at the end of that gallop? Talk about heart. I’d love to see Presious race again and I’ll be keeping an eye on the entries next season.
As for the whip, in the main forum, you’ll see a lot of the guys beating up Tom Queally for his ride on Twice Over. I must confess to missing it live in my excitement but for some of the faces up there to complain publicly, it must have been bad. I was sickened by Borel’s ride on Rachel and I really do hope she comes back because there’s no place for the stick when used with such Jesuit enthusiasm, in my opinion. I’d love to see the whip banned the world over, Alysheba, a move which could be a key to helping racing grow once again.
You weren’t the only one roaring for Presious Passion! LOLOL I believe he will be back again. He’s a 6yo gelding. You know I can’t believe I was not spelling his name right. It’s actually misspelled which is why. LOLOL So I was correct but wrong.
I was looking at the whips used in the Woodward and Saratoga has jockeys using new padded whips that are supposedly less evasive than regular ones. Apparently they don’t sting anywhere near as badly as normal whips used elsewhere. Not that I’m advocating bashing a horse but at least they are less severe. From the photos of Borel in that race he was using this kind of whip.
Pity it can’t be a dead heat really.
Well, there have been co-horses of the year. But I think this one will go one way or the other.
It’s not everyday you come across a horse that stands over 17 hh, is drop dead gorgous and boasts a perfect record after fourteen races, all of which were gained by coming from last to first.
Probably didnt help herself by not racing against the male species more. Ill miss her though
No it didn’t but what did help her is she managed to win on the day when EVERYONE is watching and a lot of them attended. They felt the electricity in that grandstand. Hell, I felt it from Maryland. I think Rachel should be HOTY but I would not be sad to see Zenyatta win it. Let the voters vote. Let the chips fall where they may. I’ve witnessed greatess in person during my last 2 years of life here and I will be telling all those who didn’t about these two, no three (Goldikova should be put in here for what she has done. Even if it’s in the shadow of Zenyatta but right there with Miesque IMO) remarkable fillies in my lifetime.
My only regret about the race is having that bet on Richards Kid, because part of me [the selfish bit] wanted him to beat Zenyatta…I remember just before the race started wishing I hadn’t done so…having said that I just think it was one of the most exciting races I’d ever seen, partly because I had been looking at Zenyatta on utube for several weeks [again, thanks for all the links], so there was something personal about it all; it was like in the Dessie days when you felt that he was somehow your horse. In future I’m not going to have a bet in that sort of race but will just sit back and enjoy it.
You know one of the guys on TVG (I think it’s Ken) says that he has never bet on any of Zenyatta’s races. The reason he gave is pretty much what you said. It’s just something you want to sit back and enjoy. To be a fan not to make a killing on someone possibly beating her but to watch history unfold. The only wager is your heart and hope that she does it again and again. Sure we lose in those kinds of races. Most of us lose water weight from crying out of sheer joy. It’s interesting when you see races such as hers and watch grown men who are normally reserved and strong not be able to talk with tears in their eyes. Funny how an animal doing what they love to do and us humans watching these animals that we love so very much on a daily basis bring us to tears. I think we get horses like her and Dessie who capture the imagination of the racing crowd and the general public just to remind us curmudgeon racing folk that we are involved in this for a reason. To see brilliance once in a while and to share in it even if it is for only for a fleeting moment.
