Rachel Alexandra is BACK in a Big Way

[QUOTE=Grumpy;418288]Woody, You can make excuses all day long but its still 17 for 17 and a new record.

Grumpy[/QUOTE]

If you only want to go by record then Zenyatta is NOT the best and it is NOT a new record. Peppers Pride went 19 for 19, retired undefeated so technically that makes Peppers Pride the best Filly and or Mare that EVER lived. The only difference is that Peppers Pride ONLY raced in New Mexico, ONLY raced against New Mexico Bred Horses, Never Won a Grade 1 race but considering your way of thinking SHE is the BEST THAT EVER LIVED. Come on Grumpy, horse racing has never been about how many races in a row. It has been and always will be, who have you beaten and how did the race setup for you to beat them.

Your not going to sit back and watch the 2 races that Zenyatta and Rachel both ran this weekend and tell me that Zenyatta was more impressive than Rachel. Zenyatta runs a 1 1/8 in 1:49 all out to win by a half a length when a 1 1/16 mile race of 12,500 claimers earlier in the day went in 1:43 4/5 (add 6 seconds for the last 1/16th and you get 1:49 4/5, only 4/5 of a second slower than Zenyatta). All the internal fractions in both races were within 1/5 to 3/5 if a second apart and Zenyatta is all out. Compared to Rachel Alexandra running 1 1/8 in 1:48 3/5 on a Churchill Track that is easily a second or two slower than the Hollywood Surface and beating the Older males Stephen Foster Handicap winner Blame who ran the same 1 1/8 mile distance in 1:49 1/5 a few races later. Blame was all out, Rachel was coasting under the wire with the reins completely dropped and could have went another second faster if needed and then some. Compare the two Mares over the weekend Rachel was far and above the superior horse, 2009 Horse of the Year means her work last year was better than Zenyatta's as a whole. I will give you that Rachels first 2 starts were not winning efforts but look inside the numbers, consider the 7 month layoff and the questionable training leading up to the first race, Borel's idiot ride in the second race and she still shows heart to finish second in both races, but she is still the better Mare - NOT BY MUCH BUT STILL BETTER.

Cigar, Citation, Hollowed Dreams and Mister Frisky all had 16 wins.

Grumpy

I'm a Lady Z fan, but have got to agree with Woody. RA smoked the times. Borel is a master @ CHD..(couldn't have said that out loud but as least I can type it.) But Lady Z needs to hit the dirt to really show us how good she is...

Do I think RA can run and win against the boys in November?...No.

[QUOTE=redneckshadrap;418325]I'm a Lady Z fan, but have got to agree with Woody. RA smoked the times. Borel is a master @ CHD..(couldn't have said that out loud but as least I can type it.) But Lady Z needs to hit the dirt to really show us how good she is...

Do I think RA can run and win against the boys in November?...No.[/QUOTE]

Easy Billy. On the Churchill Downs Strip the only Boy that can run with Rachel is Quality Road and that is all depending if he has not already peaked too soon. 121 Beyer in the Met Mile Memorial Day is STRONG, REALLY STRONG for the end of May with the best races for Older Males yet to come in the summer. Quality Roads 121 Beyer in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream earlier in the year was the highest Beyer in a race over a mile since 2005, which is pretty strong as well. Considering Quality Road has ran the top 3 Beyer Speed Figs of 2010, he may have peaked too early. Quality's connections are saying 2 Grade 1 races at Saratoga in Aug and Sept and then a 2 month break before the Classic the first week of November. Quality Road has always had the talent and breeding to be a great horse but never put it all together until this year. Quality Road was the horse that was scratched at the gate at last years Classic because he refused to load. The first horse EVER scratched at the gate for this reason on Breeders Cup day. Love to see a fast track in November with Zenyatta, Rachel, Quality Road, Rail Trip, Lookin at Lucky, Ice Box all in top form and let the chips fall where they may. Eskendereya would have made the race that much more interesting and may have been the favorite after sweeping the triple crown (as I think he would have this year) but retired after injury and we will never know. One thing for sure, Rachel will be near the lead and Zenyatta will be coming from behind so their styles won't compromise each other if they ever do meet.

They had him blind folded...He was bucking like a bronco...

[QUOTE=Grumpy;418311]Cigar, Citation, Hollowed Dreams and Mister Frisky all had 16 wins.

Grumpy[/QUOTE]
All of those got beat at some time. If I'm not mistaken, the record Woody's referring to is the record for horses who retired undefeated. And I don't care what some state-bred did, that record belongs to Personal Ensign. She went 13 for 13 running against top fields every time. Getting ready for the Breeders' Cup her 2yo year, she breezed 5/8th's in about 1:01 without turning a hair. I worked for Shug McGaughey at the time, and I helped her groom, Terry, give her a bath. She walked around the barn the standard 35 minutes cooling out, then went into her stall to pee, after which she was supposed to walk another few minutes. She peed, then when they went to bring her out of her stall, she couldn't walk. Trying to walk out of her stall was the first time in her life she took a bad step. Out on the racetrack, she'd broken her pastern bone. She had a crack in it about 1/4" wide top to bottom. A few days later, Dr. Bramlage put 5 screws in it, the odd screw being because when he looked at one the radiograms, he didn't like the placement of one he'd put in, so he put another one next to it. After the time off she needed, she came back and reeled off 11 straight wins, including 4 Grade 1's as a four-year-old, culminating with the BC Fillies & Mares where she nosed out Winning Colors. But Woody's absolutely right, that doesn't make her the best ever. I mean, who can say who was better: Regret, Ruffian, or Personal Ensign? Nobody. But of course we've all got our opinions :)

Sorry for the rambling. As my Better Half will attest, I can never resist an opportunity to tell racetrack stories.

Road Toad is correct when he says NOBODY can really say who is and or was the best filly or mare of all time. Just like any other sport played with humans - Basketball, Baseball, Football etc..., there is always an arguement of who is the best who was the best of ALL TIME. Personal Ensign is certainly in the top 5 of all time on everybody's list. Even trying to compare Rachel to Zenyatta is difficult because of them being different from 4 yr old versus 6 yr old, Dirt track preference versus Synthetic track preference, East Coast based versus Southern California based and the actual arguement has both sides to the story and will NEVER be 100 percent decided because they will NEVER meet at a track on a surface that both sides will agree is fair to both parties. First to admit that if they do meet at Churchill Downs the first week of November this year in the Classic and Zenyatta wins that race, then I will be the first post that Zenyatta is the best of the two. But will also be the first to admit that if Rachel wins and Zenyatta does not run very well that Zenyatta was up against it because of traveling East and running on a surface that is not her specialty. Ask 100 professional in the know horsemen to evaluate the works of both Rachel and Zenyatta from January 1 2009 to today and you may get 51 to agree with one and 49 to agree with the other. I think Zenyatta is tailing off her form and is not as good as she was last year, as MOST ALL 6 year olds do which will only add to the speculation if Rachel beats her as well. Most likely Z will race 2 more times before the Classic and don't be suprised if she continues to not show the form as last year but there is a real possibility of her getting beat. I see the trainers that were ducking her last year as taking more of a shot at her this year with her decreased in form. She wins that race Saturday by 3 easy lengths last year and was all out to win by a half a length. I know if I saw what I did and had a Grade 1 Mare, I would take a shot at her now and would have been ducking her last year.