Argue what you want, but you can’t deflect the discussion that leading a horse over from the barn to the racetrack by a halter is safer and better for the horse’s well-being than boarding a plane, changing climates and allergies as well as medication rules, not to mention switching racing surfaces and saddling environments among other things.
Secondly, the California racing landscape has been the playground of Zenyatta’s owners Jerry and Ann Moss since they first started racing Thoroughbreds. Sure, Giacomo’s Kentucky Derby victory in Louisville made them national forces in 2005, but their loyalties should remain with the racetracks and fans that have given them their countless thrills and financial returns. In a struggling racing economy, California certainly among those circuits floundering, taking Zenyatta out of state to race would be a slap in the face of the very racetracks and fans who have supported the mare’s immaculate career. Meets like Hollywood, Del Mar and Oak Tree at Santa Anita need her star power, and the Mosses’ support of the SoCal scene should be applauded, not scoffed off as Zenyatta ducking any horse or challenge.
Finally, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships are in California this fall, and it makes absolutely no sense to jot her all over the racing map and take her out of her preparations for either the Ladies’ Classic or a date with the boys in the Classic. New York-based trainers don’t go searching for the Santa Anita Derby when they have a live prospect for the Triple Crown; they stay home and run in the Wood Memorial or head to Kentucky and get a head start by contesting the Blue Grass at Keeneland. Why should she ship? Zenyatta has nothing to prove to anyone. Those blow-hard horsemen and fans who talk in such terms are speaking of their own egos. When the hay rack is filled tonight, or the hot bran mash is stirred in the tub, you can be sure Zenyatta will not be wondering, “Geez, what’s Rach up to?”
And to that point, Zenyatta already has traveled out of state to compete on the dirt, doing so last year in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn. She simply drilled defending champion mare Ginger Punch in that contest, winning one of those intersectional showdowns for which racing people clamor. It’s not Zenyatta’s fault it happened in April when the vast focus of the public was on Triple Crown hopefuls.
The Zenyatta “tour” also made a stop in Louisville this past Kentucky Derby week. She was entered and looked absolutely magnificent in the days leading up to the Louisville Breeders’ Cup Handicap on Oaks Day. But torrential rains forced the Mosses and trainer John Shirreffs to err on the side of caution and scratch. Having already made one cross-country journey this year to run, only to have the track condition render the trip moot, can you blame them for wanting to stick to an all-weather surface? And Mr. Moss of A&M Records fame ought to know better than anyone that it’s as true in lyric as it is on the Weather Channel: “It never rains in Southern California.” Meanwhile, it rains at about 5:30 p.m. sharp every summer day in Saratoga Springs.
Visually, I can tell you this after seeing both horses in early May: Rachel Alexandra would want nothing to do with Zenyatta anytime soon. Maybe by fall or when she’s fully developed physically, but for the immediate future Zenyatta truly towers over Rachel Alexandra in stature. Looks don’t win horse races, for sure, but when you combine the impeccable resumes of both with the obvious physical edge Zenyatta possesses to anyone looking at the two objectively, it becomes a checkmark in both categories for Zenyatta. And that’s not to slight Rachel Alexandra; we’re talking about one of the most immaculate racehorses any of us has ever seen in Zenyatta.
At the end of last year, I would argue that Zenyatta was a superior racehorse to Curlin on dirt or synthetic, though Curlin had a more encompassing year-long resume and fully deserved Horse of the Year. But head-to-head, on any surface, I would have put my hard-earned on Zenyatta over Curlin last November. That’s just my opinion, of course, but you’re welcome to differ when post time arrives for the next race. That’s the beauty of this game we play. Given her impressive comeback win in the Milady Handicap last week at Hollywood Park, Zenyatta looks every bit as strong as she was last year.
The anti-California bias among horse racing fans and pundits outdates me, and long will live past my potential grandchildren. Any animosity toward Zenyatta’s camp and talk that they are ducking anyone probably comes from the same people who still curse Pat Day’s rides on Easy Goer, failing to even recognize that Sunday Silence was a pretty good racehorse from out west.
We’d all love to see Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta some day. But Zenyatta’s camp has earned the right to call their shots, no matter what dog-and-pony, attention-hounding show the Rachel Alexandra camp tries to strum up in the press this summer.
Zenyatta will be out west if anyone wants to look her up in the coming months. And, hey, I wouldn’t blame the Rachel Alexandra team for taking more money and facing straight 3-year-olds in races like the Alabama at Saratoga either.
Besides, aren’t we collectively better off to have both coasts enjoy these superstars until the championship showdown at the Breeders’ Cup, where there’s no excuse whatsoever for a healthy horse to be absent?
Jeremy Plonk has been an ESPN.com contributor since 2000 and is the managing partner of the handicapping website Horseplayerpro.com. You can e-mail Jeremy about this topic or anything racing-related at Jeremy@Horseplayerpro.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment