What a couple of weeks! Because I'm a lazy blogger (have too much to do) I haven't been on lately and I apoligize.
Anyway, so much has gone on that I'll just start from the beginning and work my way down. Hang on, it might be a while.
Derby: Actually, I never got to discuss the Derby, so let's rewind back to that. As Green but Game, a statue should be erected in honor of whoever in the horse racing world put any money on the 'then-unknown-now-a-superstar' Mine that Bird. Kudos to Calvin Borel and Birdy's team. Honestly, so much has been said already about the Derby that I'm not going to drone on about it. Any questions about the Derby seem to have been answered in the Preakness, so we'll move on.
KY Oaks: Personally, I prefered it over the Derby. One, I picked the winner. And two, it was just a knockout race. Rachel Alexandra just floated around the track and demolished the field. It seems like the tides are changing. Last year, the Oaks was run in the slop and the Derby fast, with the girls seemingly tightly grouped and a knockout winner in Big Brown. This year, the exact opposite has happened. This was one of favorite races thus far. Keep 'ol Rachel in your back pocket, she's pretty useful to bet one.
Note: Kudos to Einstein! I had a bet on you too big boy, and I'm so happy you have through! Congrats Helen Pitts!
The Sale: We all knew, after the Oaks, that the buyers would line up. And seriously, Hal Wiggins didn't stand a chance. When you have a horse like that, the big buyers will line up for miles to add that particular jewel to their crown. And Rachel is more like a diamond. It's sickening though, every time it happens. Hal Wiggins did all the work with this filly, working with her, believing in her when no one else did, giving her a second chance. And then, just because he landed a special horse, she gets ripped out from under him. But I was shocked by the buyer. Jess Jackson? I expected to find IEAH sniffing around again, but maybe their blunders with Patena and I Want Revenge have taught them something. I doubt it though. Those people are too thick headed. Anyway, the fact that she went to Steve Assmusen's barn just lit a firecracker in my mind. I knew it was coming, but I was still furious. Poor Rachel and poor Hal. What a awful, gold-digging operation.
And what's in between....not much....ugh...no one really cares anyway, onto the Preakness!
Preakness: Let me be the first to say...I called it! I told all my friends it would be the filly, and boy was it ever! What a special girl! I'm so very proud of her, running with the big boys with all those things against her! I shall make a list of them now...
Things working against Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness
- Changes trainer hands, new trainer coming in every morning, feeding and being with you
- Change of barn, new sights, smells, horses, and nothing is familiar
- Had already run a steller race in the Oaks, PR race
- Race was not to her liking, either dry or slopply would be better. Soft track does not suit her style. In fact, the first thing Calvin mentioned after the race was that she didn't run her best.
- Was the pace maker and set blazing fractions
- Had to hold off an incredible closer in Mine that Bird
- Was pressed by Big Drama for lead, speed duel, before striking out on her own
- New grooms at the barn, new people taking care of her, leading her, grooming her, saddeling her, putting her bridle on
- Never run at Pimlico
- Has had a packed racing scheduale, compared to her rivals
- Was running against fresh or fresher colts
Really, do I need to go on? Let's just say that when the jockey jumps from one horse to the other, it's a sign. The jock knows the horse better than anyone. I salute Calvin Borel on his smart choice, and hope he continues his succesful run this year. He had every right to take which horse he though was better, and he did. So stop screaming at him, Birdy fans who no nothing about racing. Leave Calvin alone. I like Birdy and we'll get into the Belmont later, but the filly's better. And on a side note, my little Musket Man finished third both in the Derby and the Preakness, and was right on Birdy's flank at Pimlico. Watch out for the Haskell, little Musket Man is one to watch.
Oh, and those who are all, "Well, if it had been another fifty feet..." No. Stop there. The bottom line is not it wasen't another fifty feet Mine that Bird didn't pass Rachel, and I don't believe he would have anyway. Watch again. As they near the wire, as soon as Birdy is close enough for Rachel to notice him out of the corner of her eye, she kicks in it again. He never passes her after the wire in the gallop out. It just wasen't going to happen. Look at the pictures. She still looking at Mine that Bird, because she dosen't know it's over. Bottom line, Rachel won, Birdy was second. He's good but he's wasen't good enough. No one complained about Barbaro's Holy Bull Stakes, where Great Point was charging. Same sense. Stop being sore because Birdy lost when you didn't even know he was three weeks ago.
I could ramble about all the little races in between, but no one would read, so I'll skip right to Zenyatta's season debut, which was one to remember.
Milady: Watch Zenyatta. No, not the horse flying at the front. No, not the horse mid pack. No, not Life is Sweet, dodging along at the back. Look further back, dead last, for the casual mare just loping along because she has all the time in the world and she knows it. First start in seven months, and for a second there, I started wondering if she was a little flat. I had bashed the nay-sayers, then I got worried. But no need to be afraid! Zenyatta comes sweeping around the turn, like some other worldly bird or maybe a goddness, and just crusing to the wire. What's hilarous, it that all the other horses have ears back, trying their hardest. Then look at Zenyatta. She's just for a stroll, running easy and cool as a cucumber. This mare never ceases to amaze. Love Zenyatta, a perfect 10 for 10!
Next post: The Belmont!
