Farewell to My Heroes

by Scott Dick  (special guest piece) It's a few days removed from one of the most exciting finishes in Breeders Cup history and only one thought has entered my mind. What happens now? Initially, in the moment, in the excitement and the thrill of seeing Blame, the horse I picked and a lot of us picked cross the finish line a desperate nose in front of the mighty Zenyatta, I was happy I picked the winner in one of the toughest races to handicap and maybe in my ignorance a little to "proud" of myself for this feat. Now that all the excitement has worn off and we're a few days removed from one of the most exciting Breeders Cup weekends in the history of the event, I find myself with a little remorse and a twinge in my heart. It hit me hard as soon as I watched Mike Smith's press conference. This man has given his life to this sport and he's done it with dignity and class. And when Smith uttered the words " it hurts more than I can explain just cause it was my fault she should of won it ain't hers" I literally broke down and wept and even now writing this piece tears are rolling down my face. I have not been one of the strongest voices in Zenyatta's corner. I've had my doubts about her class and the horses she's beaten. She proved me wrong and in her only defeat she stole my heart. It's really not supposed to end like this. She's supposed to get her nose down in time. I've been an admirer of Rachel Alexandra since the beginning of her career and I'm taking nothing away from Rachel, who will always be number #1 in my eyes. I feel guilty, maybe, I missed it? Maybe some of us missed it? Yes, I've more than enjoyed Zenyatta over the past three years and her dancing and pawing and just sure brilliance. But in the back of my mind, in my selfishness, I didn't want to accept what I was seeing. I was blessed to see Zenyatta five feet away from me with a dear horse racing friend of mine, Tim Reynolds. Friday morning we rushed to Longfield Avenue to see if the great Zenyatta would be out grazing and in a sure act of fate, she was. I was over whelmed with what I saw, she was the most amazing creature I've ever seen in person. But now after the Classic, I'm hit with the realization I'll never see these two incredible mares run again. This is an incredibly hard fact to face. Anyone that knows me knows I'm an intense person. I take things hard and I experience this game with my heart and in quoting Mike Smith and using a little bit of my own verbiage, "It hurts more than you know, just cause it ain't her fault it's mine she deserved everyone to love her for who she is and now that it's over. I do love more now than ever and can say without a doubt the greatest race mare I've ever seen." So back to my question, what do we do now? This sport can be a cruel and heartless mistress and just at the height of our love for a horse, they're taken away from us, never to be seen again in the same spot light they were. 2010 has been so hard for me. Financially speaking, one of the best years I've had in the game, but emotionally speaking it's been "too hard". I'm tired of goodbyes. It hurt me more than anything when Jess Jackson took Rachel away from us in the darkness of the night, with no explanation, no goodbye, no last chance to see her again. And now we have to do it again. I can't bear to say goodbye to Zenyatta, not after my new found love for her. It's just too hard! Not only that, we also have to say goodbye to Blame who was a deserving victor in the biggest race in the world and probably won't get the credit as a horse he deserves. I do not want to say goodbye. Where does this sport go from here? What do we do if and when Gio Ponti is retired and then what if Goldikova doesn't come back to run in 2011? I'm really having a hard time with this, but maybe just maybe the future is bright. Maybe the light will be shown on this sport in the future because of a bay colt named Mo. Or maybe just maybe we'll see an Oaks win by a horse who runs light as a feather, An Awesome Feather at that. Maybe the future of our sport is being born today on a cold Monday morning some where around Lexington. Saying goodbye is always hard, but this year has been un-bearable. So I'll leave Zenyatta, the Mosses, Mike Smith, Steve Willard, Mario with a simple apology. I'm sorry for not seeing "it" until now. But I will smile and look to the future knowing that soon, we'll have another one of these amazing creatures grab our hearts and tug and never let go.