tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post8559497462076514970..comments2023-03-26T02:23:43.274-05:00Comments on Zipse at the Track: Of Zenyatta and Rants from the Peanut GalleryBrian Zipsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592017304873334271noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-20886751338449742082010-10-06T09:54:49.869-05:002010-10-06T09:54:49.869-05:00"I think you are confusing an end of the year..."I think you are confusing an end of the year award, with a selection for a single race."<br /><br />Does this surprise you? And why does this seem to happen so often? I'm not sure what people don't understand that HOY is an award for the top performing horse of that single year. It baffles me.Sarah Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05052334092664089641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-57739926859670168922010-10-02T20:39:54.859-05:002010-10-02T20:39:54.859-05:00Zero contradiction. I think you are confusing an ...Zero contradiction. I think you are confusing an end of the year award, with a selection for a single race. Zenyatta has already clinched the older female award in unanimous fashion, Rachel is not even in the discussion.Brian Zipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08592017304873334271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-297615785754236102010-10-02T09:43:29.333-05:002010-10-02T09:43:29.333-05:00Alright Brian, I'm going to let you have it. ...Alright Brian, I'm going to let you have it. First you say "Zenyatta does not deserve to be placed on top based on the campaign she's run this year." Yet, before Rachel retired, you placed her first in the BC Ladies Classic. So the campaign only counts with Zenyatta, not Rachel? Explain this glaring contridiction? I really don't care if she wins HOTY. Her connections raced her safely and with care. ON the other hand, J. Jackson and Steve Assmussen absolutely BURNED OUT RACHEL LAST YEAR. I'd much rather have Zen's connections than Rachel's, they actually care about their horse.markinsacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-79859993931353844402010-09-30T22:56:31.546-05:002010-09-30T22:56:31.546-05:00I agreed with you 100% until you said that Z deser...I agreed with you 100% until you said that Z deserves to win HOY if she wins the BCC. <br /><br />As last year proved, the BCC does not a HOY make! My vote goes to either Blame or Quality Road - though I'd have to have a serious rethink if Z beats both of them in this year's BCC, especially if she does so in her usual lah-dee-dah, ears-pricked fashion.<br /><br />But as you said, she's beaten nothing of quality this year except St Trinian and I'd be willing to bet that St Trinian would have gotten Z if she hadn't lost that shoe in the stretch. <br /><br />And St T was body sore and subsequently done for the year due to taking on Big Z? Hmm, I think maybe it might have had more to do with that horrible egg beater action she has. She looked like she was scrambling on a sheet of ice!Staceynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-62478746276107267452010-09-30T22:31:06.855-05:002010-09-30T22:31:06.855-05:00One of the comments found at
"The Art of Ze...One of the comments found at <br /><br />"The Art of Zen " <br />http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2010/04/17/the-art-of-zen.aspx<br /><br />I would like to give a little insight to the bloggers of Steve Haskin's article and what was going on with Zenyatta and Churchill Downs last year.<br /><br />Once this is posted, the cat will be out of the bag "so-to-speak".<br /><br />Sherriffs already knows what he has when it comes to Zenyatta and the Churchill Downs racing surface.<br /><br />Before the track was sealed (last year at Churchill Downs) Zenyatta was eating the track.<br /><br />I feel its important to inform the public (a public that has an open ear and does not want to go through the school of hard knocks) regarding Zenyatta and the Churchill Down racing surface.<br /><br />Her best surface to date "according to her connections" is Churchill Downs.<br /><br />John is "very" conservative and did not want to race Zenyatta on a sealed hard surface, due to his main goal of the Breeders Cup later in the year.<br /><br />I am telling you now (whether you choose to listen or not is up to you),this mare will absolutely destroy Quality Road and any filly/mare on the North American continent in regards to Churchill Downs racing surface.<br /><br />Most people (meaning the public) do not realize "just how good" Zenyatta took to Churchill's racing surface.<br /><br />They will soon find out.<br /><br />Best Regards,<br /><br />Dave Johnson<br /><br />Dave Johnson 19 Apr 2010 1:19 PMNJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-13702481680139977382010-09-30T17:15:43.742-05:002010-09-30T17:15:43.742-05:00Zen is special, no doubt. I agree that the added ...Zen is special, no doubt. I agree that the added distance is to her advantage and what she did in the classic was breathtaking.<br /><br />I just wish she didn't run on the plastic. Having seen it for the first time at Del Mar this summer, it was strange. Horses are not supposed to run on this stuff!<br /><br />I guess we will never know, but Zen's affection for the plastic track, leaves a bit of doubt.<br /><br />Let's see how she does on the dirt at CD. BTW - I will be rooting for her, we need superstars in this sport.fronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-63594333104229717422010-09-30T17:11:08.475-05:002010-09-30T17:11:08.475-05:00"Sorry. I did qualify that as female, seeing ..."Sorry. I did qualify that as female, seeing as I am a Chicagoan, and we had a guy a few years back named Michael." **chills**Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-26394030648464162692010-09-30T16:27:42.611-05:002010-09-30T16:27:42.611-05:00Another well written and fair essay, Brian. It'...Another well written and fair essay, Brian. It's nice hearing from the other side of the pond as well. I, for another, am eager to see Blame take on the rest.joanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302716323144007299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-56789612895443513112010-09-30T14:58:21.257-05:002010-09-30T14:58:21.257-05:00Wonderfully said! Thank you for posting about her....Wonderfully said! Thank you for posting about her. I'm soooo nervous for this sat. :)Saminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-7029257165283861692010-09-30T13:56:19.437-05:002010-09-30T13:56:19.437-05:00All I can say is that Jerry Hollendorfer opted to ...All I can say is that Jerry Hollendorfer opted to run Blind Luck back east instead of facing the good. The competition is poor because she's scaring all of the good ones away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-1078988809296286612010-09-30T13:23:33.822-05:002010-09-30T13:23:33.822-05:00great post brian...you can argue or discuss this t...great post brian...you can argue or discuss this till the end of history..lol...when zenyatta made her leap to greatness ginger spice was the queen of the mares. zenyatta made the trip to challenge and defeat her, now that the shoe is on th...e other foot why is it that she has to find the challengers...yeah i can hear all the answers, sport, show her off synthetic,whatever but she doesnt have to....blind luck can enter saturday, rachel could have before her retirement entered saturday and every horse in the world knows where she will be on nov 6...will blind luck be chastised if she chose to go in the bc female race?...naysayers knock the field of last years bc but they took a shot at her...i am not here to knock rachel, but maybe a little towards her owner...did they go to monmouth this year because of a financial incentive, did they go to the haskell last year cause of a financial incentive?...did they not take her to santa anita cause curlin couldnt win on it?...different paths are choosed for different reasonsWilliamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-34396243983830259662010-09-30T11:51:40.237-05:002010-09-30T11:51:40.237-05:00I agree completely. I respect Zenyatta, but as som...I agree completely. I respect Zenyatta, but as somebody else mentioned, based on what we have seen this year we can't tell if she's really lost a step, is the same, or better than she was last year.<br /><br />People harping on the AB, Please remember the facts. Zenyatta was being pointed to that race officially, since the nights of the Eclipse Awards. Rachel Alexandra was not. Rachel Alexandra was nowhere near ready to race at that point, and should've never been rerouted to point at the AB.<br /><br />Beating boys 3 times, and beating elders as a 3yr old filly would hold more importance with me. It hold even more weight because Zenyatta did it once, at a time when many were probably a little past their best, did it on her home track -a track only 3 horses had proven decent form over- and the rest were either unknows or had already proven their distaste.<br /><br />IMO, the real champions this year are the 3yr old leaders. Just look at how both LAL and BL have been campaigned. By the end of this year you can forget a light 5 race campaign, but see hardened travelers who will have raced a total of 7 and 9 times, the 9 starts going to Blind Luck. If anybody wants a model of what a good campaign should look like, look at what those two have done.NetworkEmpowermenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09053022764177401200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-37779279340500820842010-09-30T11:46:01.980-05:002010-09-30T11:46:01.980-05:00Brian ~ I agree with Sharon. You are a brave man ...Brian ~ I agree with Sharon. You are a brave man for posting this one! :) (I do agree with you in that we are focusing on her historical record right now. It would just be such a shame to let her slip through the cracks of history without being HOY.) I'm still hoping Big Z gets HOY.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07540288484323024089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-57205981269352628732010-09-30T11:09:51.454-05:002010-09-30T11:09:51.454-05:00Johnathan, to expand on the point you are making a...Johnathan, to expand on the point you are making about Rachel beating colts, To me, the mile and a quarter distance is more important. The thing that will always have Z at the top of my list with Ruffian is that she is a true mile and a quarter horse, and has beaten top class males at that distance. I think she really is at quite a disadvantage in her many mile and a sixteenth races. Her move from the middle of the turn home in last years Classic seperates her from Rachel and everyone else in my mind. You just dont run by that many Grade 1 winners as if they were standing still.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-44158883860917832112010-09-30T10:40:01.745-05:002010-09-30T10:40:01.745-05:00Love Z but from this side of the Pond she's fa...Love Z but from this side of the Pond she's faced Colts once. It was also the only time she faced a double figure field. She's wonderful and I've made a bunch from backing her 2 years ago and in commission last year but she will prove far more winning what at this stage looks a good Classic.<br /><br />Beating Twice Over 2.25L is good but his other run on synths he was mullared (Dubai not definitive given traffic issues) but recently Cape Blanco handed Twice his lunch say and so have most top class Euro Turfers and a few just shy.<br /><br />I love her and backed her all days to Sunday for the race with Rachel that did not come off. However Rachel beating of colts last year has more resonance for me even if I believe she might be better at her best and more consistent over a longer timeframe.bedfonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08734407435275515547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-8862386254395526262010-09-30T10:11:27.309-05:002010-09-30T10:11:27.309-05:00Brian, its not quite cricket to say Zenyatta has b...Brian, its not quite cricket to say Zenyatta has been sheltered by her owners when they brought her out of retirement specifically to face Rachel and settle things. Zenyatta showed up. The connections to call out own a winery in CA.<br /><br />Even in the Ladys Secret, isnt Blind Luck nominated? Did her connections choose to take on Zenyatta? Can Zenyatta. enter the race Blind Luck is in? Z has been right there for any of these top fillys and mares to enter against. They want no part of herLet It Ride Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-83029358460108191532010-09-30T08:40:42.774-05:002010-09-30T08:40:42.774-05:00Thanks for the kind words folks ... no bashing yet...Thanks for the kind words folks ... no bashing yet, but I am prepared!Brian Zipsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08592017304873334271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-40955457410784005122010-09-30T08:25:16.462-05:002010-09-30T08:25:16.462-05:00RA and Z how will we look forward to next year So ...RA and Z how will we look forward to next year So far no horse has shown the capability of capturing the public as these 2 I have a "pen pal" in England that lives and breathes these 2 and their jocks far and above any from here home country Such is their star quality There may be better out there Blame may be one but right now he lacks in excitement to draw the love and the crowds I miss Rach already and win or lose i will be missing the Big Z Love the post as always Briandarlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05006963346671800140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-30990658004991221552010-09-30T08:18:57.747-05:002010-09-30T08:18:57.747-05:00Brian, you are a brave man! ;-p I do agree with al...Brian, you are a brave man! ;-p I do agree with all your points in this article. I don't think we can even really be sure at this point just how good Zenyatta is this year based on her races up till now. It all comes down to the Classic and if she wins that, well there will be no doubt who the HOY should and will be.<br /><br />Also,congratulations to you for the 1st race on the card for "Super Saturday" being named in honor of your blog! It's well deserved!Sharon Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000505714543202206.post-9715594443540880472010-09-30T08:16:58.529-05:002010-09-30T08:16:58.529-05:00Great post and I agree. It all comes down to the B...Great post and I agree. It all comes down to the BCC to decide this years HOTY.<br /><br />Like you say, if Zenyatta repeats in the Classic, she more than deserves HOTY. <br /><br />I love Zenyatta, I stay up until the small hours of the morning when she runs (European admirer) but I also think she could have done more this year.<br /><br />I'm not saying she SHOULD have done more. I'm not part of her connections, nor do I know them or Zenyatta personally. For all we know Zenyatta doesn't travel well at all. Or there is another reason why she can't travel as much as other horses.<br />I also understand the connections want to support SoCal racing and I applaud them for it! And that they can't decide which horses run against their super star, of course this horse scares would-be opponents connections.<br /><br />Fact remains though, her campaign this year has been soft. I just hope she's prepared enough for the onslaught of her Classic's opponents. At least Mike Smith seems confident, that's gotta count for something!Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16212849146254880062noreply@blogger.com