JC / Railbird

Goldikova: That’s It?

While recognizing that once Triple Crown season is over, it’s the handicap horses that take up the Glamour Division mantle, I think Vic Zast is being a little dismissive of Goldikova as a story for promoting the Breeders’ Cup:

It would be fun to be a bug on the wall in the Breeders’ Cup offices. Having a star to promote your event provides you a leg up. But, right now, at least, there doesn’t seem to be any available. If you think the three-year-old division, the main source of Breeders’ Cup promotional currency, is weak, then you probably believe the handicap division is bankrupt. If the Breeders’ Cup was smart it would send representatives to England today to talk the owners and trainers of Royal Ascot runners to plan ahead for Louisville this November. The unbeaten Frankel, of course, would serve ideally to sub for Zenyatta as publicity fodder. As of now, nonetheless, what the Breeders’ Cup has is Goldikova — that’s it.

Not “that’s it,” but “that’s it!” A globe-trotting champion and three-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner on track for a fourth consecutive victory, she’s a huge story, with a terrific international hook. She’s a gift, not an also-ran.

(Disclosure: I’m working with the Breeders’ Cup on a BC Classic website, set to launch early in July. The opinions here are my own.)


3 Comments

Really quite absurd. And yet Zast’s gross under-appreciation is, sadly, a common symptom of the broader ignorance of the U.S. fans when it comes to assessing European stars.

Zenyatta was objectively inferior to Godikova, and yet the vast majority of American observers, including many who fashion themselves as sophisticated, were quite convinced of the opposite.

Goldikova is an exceptionally brilliant racehorse, and American fans would be well-advised to treasure every moment of a fourth assault on the Breeders’ Cup, should it come to pass.

In the meantime, tune in to TVG on Tuesday morning and watch to see if she can pass her stiffest test to date. Canford Cliffs is also outstanding, and would be nearly impossible to beat in the BC mile were he to show up rather than Goldi.

Posted by Tinky on June 13, 2011 @ 8:47 pm

Goldikova is the main reason I’ll go to Louisville again this year.

Posted by Rich on June 16, 2011 @ 10:55 am

Goldikova is fantastic–if I voted, she’d have been mine for last year, as much as I loved Zenyatta. There is zero reason to dismiss her like that.

Posted by C. Hyde on June 17, 2011 @ 6:04 pm