Thoughts on Rachel's win?

RightAngle

She seems to be a very nice horse right now, but far from the brilliance she showed last year. At this point it seems unlikely we will ever see her at that level again.

wire2wire

I believe when she ran against the males it took alot out of her.I don't think she will ever be as good as she was.I also wish BOREL would shut up about her being a SUPERHORSE.w2w

KP-HR2k9

i thought there was gonna be an Inquiry on her, the way Borel rode her bumping of the runner up down the stretch was a bad move, but since it was Rachel, i guess is was ok to them...:thumbdown:

Zenyatta will fly by her, an RA will eat Zdirt

kingoftherapid

Rachel gets a 110 Beyer in the Lady's Secret, while Devil May Care gets a 96 in the CCA Oaks.

Horsin~Aro

More of a Zen fan here but the owners are what messed this horse up. Obvious she wasnt going to be in form until june from after the big boy races and they put her in these preps lured in for the Big Z race when she was far from ready. do not know if she would have ever been the same anyways BUT, putting her back in a couple months early and way out of form certainly did not help and now she may never be the horse she once was.

kingoftherapid

agree 100 percent. it is a shame.

KP-HR2k9

Horsin~Aro wrote: »

More of a Zen fan here but the owners are what messed this horse up. Obvious she wasnt going to be in form until june from after the big boy races and they put her in these preps lured in for the Big Z race when she was far from ready. do not know if she would have ever been the same anyways BUT, putting her back in a couple months early and way out of form certainly did not help and now she may never be the horse she once was.

#1 Zenyatta fan here., i luv the QUEEN :yes:

RA IS NOT IN ZENY'S LEAGUE regardless what the cappers an critics/ fan say., the Queen is Unbeatable mmmm Flawless Victory
Zenyatta................................. :cool2:

FlyinLate

kingoftherapid wrote: »

Rachel gets a 110 Beyer in the Lady's Secret, while Devil May Care gets a 96 in the CCA Oaks.

Ridiculous. Thats all I have to say about that.
IMO, DMC is the best 3yo filly in the country. I'll take her over Blind Luck all day.

InTheFog

The old Bay Mare ain't what she used to be.

rayphil

ra was spent last year and will never go the 1 1/4...im waiting for what race they pick for zen...now that st. trians is out of the hirsh.....and j. moss has said he dont like the del mar track right now...also agree with you flyin late on dmc...she just finds more and more

DiscreetCat

Pretty much what you'd expect to see. Rachel just sitting chilly vs. an overmatched group and then taking the lead and drawing away without any trouble, though she did turn a bit sideways coming into the lane (not something i've seen her do before). The time was fine over a track that's been running slow all meet, and of course, it's not like Rachel was fully extended.

Regarding her 2010 form vs. her 2009 form, i don't think there's been a huge dropoff. I still think she had some kind of physical issue over the winter, and of course her campaign has been a joke (for the reigning HOTY, anyway), but she's looked good when she's been out there. Might've been a bit more powerful and responsive last year, but aside from that i haven't noticed much of a change. The 110 Beyer is ridiculous, btw. Has that been confirmed?

Here's the Rachel replay, btw:

YouTube - RACHEL ALEXANDRA - 2010 Lady's Secret Stakes

fbwinners

The Beyer has been changed to 105, what if Lady Zen had won the HOY award this year. What about her starts this year? She hasn't faced anyone this year, just the same old filles/mares in Cali and that weak field at Oaklawn. It is really sad to see to quality fillies/mares handled this way. Lady Zen won't face tough comp. again till the BC Cup. They want to send her out 20-0 and I hope they complete that goal. She will run at Del Mar early August and then run again in Septmeber and hopeully she is 19-0 and then will run in the BC Championship in Nov. shooting for 20-0 and let's all hope that feat happens. I would love to see her go out 20-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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DiscreetCat

Completely disagree regarding Zenyatta's campaign thus far. She committed to facing Rachel in the Apple Blossom, and she kept her end of the bargain. It's not her fault that Rachel (Jackson) backed out. I think you're also forgetting about St Trinians, who posed a giant threat to Zenyatta, and damn near beat her. Personally i think St Trinians is the best non-Zenyatta female in training, better than Rachel or DMC.

Btw, i read over the weekend that St Trinians is out of the Clement Hirsch due to some kind of "soreness" issue. That doesn't sound good, especially considering she hasn't run in a while.

Update: I just googled her, and there's a new DRF article saying she's now out for the year.

RightAngle

Zenyatta doesn't really have much else to prove. In fact, if I owned her I would even consider running in the BC Distaff instead of the Classic for her final race. Would hate to risk ending her career on a loss. I'd retire her immediately if she had even a hint of a health issue. Her 2010 campaign has been nothing but a bonus for race fans.

FlyinLate

I'd have to say my thoughts on Z's campaign fall in between FB and DC's.
She has had a pretty simple campaign thus far, following many of the several stepping stones she always has instead of stepping out of the box or venturing east for a real challenge before the BC.

I do give her credit for the Apple Blossom though. Z's camp ventured away from Cali and was ready to tackle her, even complying with RA's camps request of a later date. It seems like that was the only risk they wanted though. She's likely to walk the same steps as the 1/9 choice up until the BC.

DiscreetCat

Why is it assumed that Zenyatta has to ship East for a "real challenge"? What was St Trinians? She went favored vs. older males in the Santa Anita Handicap earlier this year. She also beat the living tar out of the BC Ladie's Classic winner.

And in a related matter, both of Rachel's losses this year have come vs. California fillies, the same ones that Zenyatta beats over and over again and receives no credit for. Besides, who was Zenyatta supposed to ship East to race against? Rachel? She already did that. Quality Road? Well, the Donn was out because Zenyatta was preparing for the Apple Blossom. And she sure isn't going to ship to Belmont for the Met Mile. I just don't see what else she could've done.

Maybe a date with Devil May Care should be considered, but that's down the line a bit (Belmont fall meet?), as Zenyatta is currently set for the Clement Hirsch (where she would've faced St Trinians a a second time). But i'm not sure they'd be keen on shipping Zenyatta cross-country in her prep for the BC Classic, where of course she'll have to ship again to Churchill. So maybe DMC is out. I don't know, but i would imagine some kind of statement will be made after the Hirsch.

FlyinLate

DiscreetCat wrote: »

Why is it assumed that Zenyatta has to ship East for a "real challenge"? What was St Trinians? She went favored vs. older males in the Santa Anita Handicap earlier this year. She also beat the living tar out of the BC Ladie's Classic winner.

And in a related matter, both of Rachel's losses this year have come vs. California fillies, the same ones that Zenyatta beats over and over again and receives no credit for. Besides, who was Zenyatta supposed to ship East to race against? Rachel? She already did that. Quality Road? Well, the Donn was out because Zenyatta was preparing for the Apple Blossom. And she sure isn't going to ship to Belmont for the Met Mile. I just don't see what else she could've done.

Maybe a date with Devil May Care should be considered, but that's down the line a bit (Belmont fall meet?), as Zenyatta is currently set for the Clement Hirsch (where she would've faced St Trinians a a second time). But i'm not sure they'd be keen on shipping Zenyatta cross-country in her prep for the BC Classic, where of course she'll have to ship again to Churchill. So maybe DMC is out. I don't know, but i would imagine some kind of statement will be made after the Hirsch.

May have come out a bit wrong. Not saying she has to venture east to get a challenge, but rather to get a different challenge. She is clearly the better of the two fillies right now. Quality Road was the one that came to mind for a challenge, as well as DMC, and hopefully after this weekend we'll have a big name in Trappe Shotte. I did forget about st trinians though, one whom I felt confident had a legitimate shot to beat her (I actually wagered on her against the boys in her prior race).

Im not saying Z is facing a bunch of nobodys, just saying she should beat up on some new horses.

rayphil

i think we spend to much time comparing fields on the east and west coasts...imo there are not to many older females willing to take them on..its not a weak field but just a field who accepts running second...st. trinians is the second older female in training until she got hurt..m. mitchell was quoted saying the main reason she got hurt is because she ran against zenyatta...the only reason i say zenyatta races are better is because ra gets the perfect trip everyrace..when was the last time zen got a 46 half...every horse gets the first jump and it still doesnt matter...and DC i would love her to ship somewhere else because that was the REASON they brought her back...but i think like you think..she does not have to ship anywhere...and flyin late even though im a lookin at lucky fan i will be betting on trappe shot...