JC / Railbird

Zenyatta

A Lucky Classic?

Well, I suppose it’s possible:

A defeat for dirt leader Quality Road and a sub-par success for all-weather leader Zenyatta were two further indications that Bob Baffert may be about to get lucky in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The first clue came last week, when his stable star ran away with the Haskell Invitational, posting the best performance by an American three-year-old this year.

But with the leading older horses having the chinks in their armour exposed on the weekend, it now looks increasingly likely that the elite division could be set for a changing of the guards in November.

Although, I’m not sure what chink is being referred to re: Zenyatta. The sub :24 final quarter? Or maybe the final sixteenth in :5.94?

Related: Eight reasons Pull the Pocket likes Zenyatta. Point #2, right on.

Posted in Racing on August 9, 2010 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup Classic, Churchill Downs, Farfetched, Lookin at Lucky, Quality Road, Racing Post, Speed, Speed Ratings, When Figures Obfuscate, Zenyatta

Ho-Hum Doesn’t Earn HOTY

Bill Dwyre:

For Zenyatta, racing’s Queen Mother, the campaign to avenge her only defeat continues Saturday at Del Mar.

If that were true, she would start in the August 28 Pacific Classic at Del Mar, or possibly, the August 29 Personal Ensign at Saratoga. Instead, she’s entered today in the Clement Hirsch, “a race she has already won 42 times. Yawn.”

Buzz babies updates: Maiden winner Wickedly Perfect took advantage of a hot pace duel between Final Mesa and Dawnie Macho to score the G3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar on Friday. The pacesetters, who zipped through early fractions of :21.89 and :44.90, finished sixth and seventh.

Posted in Racing on August 7, 2010 / Tagged Buzz Babies, Del Mar, Horse of the Year, Juveniles, Sorrento Stakes, Zenyatta

‘Rachel’ Returns to Monmouth

The day after Rachel Alexandra settled into her Saratoga stall for the summer, Monmouth Park tweeted that the reigning Horse of the Year would make her next start at the track on July 24, causing some confusion since there was no suitable stakes race scheduled for that Saturday. After looking at the schedule on the Monmouth website, and then checking for nominations on Equibase, I assumed she was starting in the ungraded Lady’s Secret Stakes on August 1, which would have been especially fitting, coming one year after the filly’s victory in the G1 Haskell.

I was half-right. The race was the nine-furlong Lady’s Secret, moved to the week before, as reported by Jeff Lowe. Majority owner Jess Jackson confirmed the planned start through a press release:

“We had a great experience at Monmouth Park … and we appreciate the overwhelming show of support the fans there have given us. It’s the perfect place to start what we hope will be another championship run.”

It’s strikingly strange that Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen would choose an ungraded race for distaffers, even one with a purse bumped to $400,000 from $150,000 (as long as Rachel Alexandra starts) for a filly chasing a second HOTY [or even champion older female honors], but Monmouth general manager Bob Kulina told the Thoroughbred Times it was all about timing:

“They’re very interested in keeping Rachel [Alexandra] on a five-week schedule,” Kulina said. “They worked back from the Breeders’ Cup because that’s their objective, and July 24 worked well for Steve’s pattern. The distance of 1 1/8 miles was what they wanted. We had contact with them long before this and told them we’d do whatever to make a race work with their schedule.”

The track also tried to entice Zenyatta to New Jersey, according to the Times, without success. Said racing manager Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs:

“They were nice about it, and they did call, but at this point in time it didn’t fit into what we want to do at this point in time.”

The SoCal star could start next at Del Mar.

So close! At this point, it’s starting to look like the only time Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta could meet is in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. That’s a daring plan, if it’s what Jackson is thinking. But you have to wonder if he really is — running Rachel Alexandra in an ungraded stakes after her win in the G2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs last month isn’t much of a vote of confidence.

7:10 PM Update: NYRA reacts:

“We are puzzled and disappointed that Rachel Alexandra, who performed so well at Saratoga last year, is passing up the Grade 1 Ruffian to run in a non-graded race at Monmouth over the same distance,” NYRA president Charles Hayward said in a prepared statement. “We remain hopeful that the Saratoga fans will have the opportunity to see Rachel later in the meet.”

Maybe she’ll appear at Belmont.

Posted in Racing on July 1, 2010 / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Jess Jackson, Lady's Secret Stakes, Monmouth Park, Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta