Last year, Goldikova finished seventh in the Prix d’Ispahan, her yearly debut; it seemed that the extra furlong and soft going were not to her taste.  There were no such questions this year – the 5-year-old mare set a new stakes record in the same race, capturing her eighth [...]]]>

Goldikova (l) does her winning thing

Last year, Goldikova finished seventh in the Prix d’Ispahan, her yearly debut; it seemed that the extra furlong and soft going were not to her taste.  There were no such questions this year – the 5-year-old mare set a new stakes record in the same race, capturing her eighth G1 victory.  It was a narrow margin, to be sure, over the up-and-coming Byword, but the rest of the field (including Stacelita, who may need to regain some conditioning) was some distance back.  While a threepeat in the Breeders’ Cup Mile is her goal this year, her next race could be nearly as starry – she is being pointed to the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, potentially taking on Paco Boy and Rip Van Winkle.

While the Breeders’ Cup is a long way away at this point, other Europeans to keep an eye on were in action last weekend – 3-year-old Richard Hannon-trained Canford Cliffs was impressive in the Irish 2000 Guineas, while Ballydoyle has another strong group of colts, headed by Jan Vermeer (impressive winner of the Gallinule Stakes) and St Nicholas Abbey. The 3-year-old filly ranks look equally strong (or, perhaps, stronger – at least, in France) with the green-but-promising Sarafina just besting Deluxe in the Prix Saint-Alary.  Both fillies may head to the Prix de Diane in June – and we may see one or both of them in the Breeders’ Cup at some point.

Given the somewhat scattered picture our own 3-year-olds paint, perhaps more overseas horses will consider heading to Churchill Downs this year – why not take the opportunity to show it can be good breeding and a lack of medication that win big races, rather than an affinity for Santa Anita?  I’m of the opinion that the track surface played a smaller role than widely assumed in the European domination of the last two Breeders’ Cups, and would love to see that put to the test this fall.  Of course, we have plenty of racing to look forward to before that point – but it’s always worth watching what’s going on abroad.

Here in the US, NYRA got a loan, which should keep things running for a while – and the Met Mile is on tap for the long weekend…in the meantime, why not celebrate Irish-bred Goldikova’s continued magnificence by purchasing The Divine Comedy’s new album,  Bang Goes The Knighthood, out on the 31st?

D. Wayne Lukas may not be sending Dublin to the Belmont, but he’ll be busy nonetheless; he’s just become the trainer for Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.  The move had been rumored for a few weeks, but it was confirmed this week with the horse setting out from New [...]]]>

Hasili VIII: A New Hope?

D. Wayne Lukas may not be sending Dublin to the Belmont, but he’ll be busy nonetheless; he’s just become the trainer for Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.  The move had been rumored for a few weeks, but it was confirmed this week with the horse setting out from New Mexico for Kentucky – this time, in a trailer not driver by his old trainer.

Apparently Chip Woolley’s handling of the popular gelding was not quite good enough, as just about anyone can get a horse to win the Derby and finish in the money in the other two Triple Crown races.  That leads us to a small aside – how frequently do we see the previous year’s Derby, Preakness and Belmont champions all residing in a new trainer’s barn by the following spring?  Granted, Rachel Alexandra had already made the move by Preakness time, but that was just days after her Oaks win; all statistics in this area are welcomed.

It seems the switch was handled with the requisite class and communication we have come to expect:

“I appreciate the opportunity I had to train him and I wish him the very best and hope he has a long career and wins 100 races,” Woolley said. “I will be pulling for him every time he goes into the gate. I thought I had a good bond with him, but I guess that doesn’t really matter now.

“Nobody ever prepares for something like this,” Woolley said. “I had had a lot of assurances that this was all just a rumor and I was keeping the horse. But this is the nature of the game. You’ve got to get up in the morning and do the same thing, whether you have the Derby winner or a $25,000 claimer. I just hope we can get another one.”

Woolley said he was not invited to come by and say goodbye to the horse.

It would seem that Woolley has joined the John Servis Club – win the Derby, get dropped by your bigger clients.  Here’s hoping both trainers find better luck (and, perhaps, more loyal clients) in the near future.

More cheerily, we have an exciting return to the races to look forward to this weekend – dual Breeders’ Cup Mile champion Goldikova will take on the talented Stacelita in the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp on Sunday.  It will be the seasonal debut for both mares, and both are likely a bit vulnerable here after long layoffs.  Let us recall that Goldikova finished seventh out of nine (or Seven of Nine, if you prefer) in this race last year to inferior competition over a soft course, although she returned to her winning ways next time out.  Stacelita is also looking to bounce back from a seventh-place finish, albeit a respectable one – she faced a tough group in the Arc and finished better than most.

Also Sunday’s Longchamp card is the Prix Saint-Alary, which will feature Deluxe, the latest racing offspring of broodmare superstar Hasili.  The 3-year-old filly is unbeaten in two starts so far, but this will be her first effort in Group 1 company (and her first shot at a 1 1/4 mile distance – her previous wins came at a mile). Stacelita won this race last year before heading to victory in the Prix de Diane – she’s as fine a role model as Deluxe’s many illustrious half-siblings.

Any guesses as to the potential odds for her to complete an Arc/Breeders’ Cup double?

Let’s begin with a basic premise: getting a check for second is not a failure, but a non-working website is.  With that in mind, let’s examine the events of the past weekend. For some reason, American racing at the highest level is hung up on success or ‘failure’ in an individual [...]]]>

This means you, NTRA

Let’s begin with a basic premise: getting a check for second is not a failure, but a non-working website is.  With that in mind, let’s examine the events of the past weekend. For some reason, American racing at the highest level is hung up on success or ‘failure’ in an individual race – while this is most likely because our best horses simply do not race as often as their counterparts in Europe, Australia and Japan do, it serves as a useful reminder that we might take a longer view.

Let’s look at Goldikova’s career – it took her four races to get her first win for the year in 2008, and in her initial 2009 race (seven months after her first Breeders’ Cup Mile triumph), she finished a dismal seventh.  Yet there were no calls to send her to the breeding shed or wailing and gnashing of teeth that she was past her best – she just went back to tougher training, returned to the races again about two months later and won her next three races.  There was minor upset when she finished third in her prep race immediately before she came to defend her Breeders’ Cup title, but her connections simply took it as a sign that she needed the race; and, indeed, she put in another sparkling performance at Santa Anita.

Watching Rachel Alexandra’s performance on Saturday, I certainly did not see a wannabe broodmare (and I’d love to see it demonstrated that life as a broodmare is somehow ‘safer’ than life on the track for a top-level filly or mare – that certainly does not ring true anecdotally) – just a horse at sub-optimal fitness.  She could easily follow Goldikova’s example and be back to her usual freakish self by May or June – and I’m pleased to see her connections are heading in that direction.  While it’s a shame for everyone at Oaklawn who worked to make a showdown in the Apple Blossom a possibility, I would rather see them meet further down the line, when both are at peak fitness – although I am hopeful that Zardana will take on her stablemate, Zenyatta, in the race.

And so to Zenyatta, who is being rather overlooked simply because ‘Zenyatta wins‘ is less of a story than ‘Rachel finishes second’ – as expected, she’s still perfection personified (although it was a less ‘pretty’ race than we might normally see from her, but that’s more down to the way things unfolded).  It’s wonderful to see her unbeaten streak continue (it’s churlish to argue with 15-0, unless we’re talking about Pepper’s Pride), but I know I’m not the only one wondering if the seam that opened for her on Saturday would have been found at another track – had she been running at, say, Belmont, she would have had quite a target on her back à la Smarty Jones.  That’s not to say she would not have overcome it, since great horses make their own luck, but it would have been a real test for her – hopefully we’ll see her travel further afield (beyond Oaklawn and, one presumes, Churchill Downs) this year.

But before we leave Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra news, we must address the massive NTRA FAIL in their webcast of both races.  One wonders what sort of traffic they were expecting if the other ten people complaining about it on Twitter could not get in – and it should have been simple enough to scale up the bandwidth in any event.  After all, we were able to keep the Penn Vet server running when Barbaro was put down (despite no warning, not that we expected one) just by farming some predictable high-traffic items (e.g. photos, video) out to another server.  It’s not hard. They would be wise to follow the #runserverlessbiz tweets from #SXSW – or just compare clouds and make a decision.  And here’s a little more free consulting advice (I do normally charge a lot for something this straightforward, but I’m making a nice exception) – putting the video stream behind a login is a huge turnoff to casual or would-be fans.  Sure, you want to gather data on users, but why not do it after they are already invested? I’m sure the stats should a huge dropoff between clicking on the ‘live’ link and actual signups – and that’s not surprising.  The call to sign up needs to be somewhere else – unless the whole point of the login was to deter potential users.  In that case, well done!

Check back tomorrow, when we’ll get back to reviewing the 3-year-olds, especially Odysseus, Lookin At Lucky and Sidney’s Candy…

Here’s a conspiracy theory for you – while Crisp certainly looked fine in her upset victory in the Santa Anita Oaks, it was a race Blind Luck ‘had to lose’ to stave off Derby fever – hence the change to her usual running style (and the troubled trip overall). An easy victory [...]]]>

Game on

Here’s a conspiracy theory for you – while Crisp certainly looked fine in her upset victory in the Santa Anita Oaks, it was a race Blind Luck ‘had to lose’ to stave off Derby fever – hence the change to her usual running style (and the troubled trip overall). An easy victory would have made it harder to argue that she should stick with her own sex (for now), and this keeps her on the road to the Kentucky Oaks, rather than the Derby. In all seriousness, the top three finishers all looked good – and Blind Luck, in particular, looked like she’d relish some extra distance. There’s always the Belmont…

I’m not entirely sold on the colts who ran last weekend (yet) – I liked Awesome Act’s performance in the Gotham, but I’m not quite ready to add him to my top list at present (although I have no good reason for that – I like a versatile horse who can perform on different surfaces); however, he definitely merits further consideration. The same goes for Sham winner Alphie’s Bet, the subject (along with his trainer, Alexis Barba) of a fine article by Joe Drape – I want to see how both horses look in their next starts.

The fact is that the Derby trail is simply not as compelling as what’s happening next Saturday – Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are both making their yearly debuts. Zenyatta (pictured) has been assigned 127 pounds in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita; while she’s carrying the high weight, she’s won with more, and the field should not offer her any trouble – she worked another bullet on Friday in preparation, and on paper, it’s another paid workout for her on Saturday.

As for Rachel Alexandra, not many have elected to take her on in the New Orleans Ladies; although she won’t be 100% fit, the field of four other mares should (in theory) still be easy pickings, even with the addition of John Sheriffs’ talented Brazilian trainee Zardana. Still, as this race is really a prep for the Apple Blossom (and it looks as though Rachel Alexandra has been bored with her layoff and needs a race), we’ll wait to see how things pan out – her last work was impressive. We’ll have more on both races as well as Lookin At Lucky’s 3-year-old debut later in the week.

Finally, while things did not pan out for St Trinians in the Big Cap, nicely won by Misremembered, another mare went against the boys and came away with a win – Proviso took home the Kilroe Mile in the final strides, becoming the first filly or mare to win the race. Formerly trained by Bobby Frankel and now in the care of Bill Mott, the British-bred bay has a starry pedigree (by Dansili, so she’s a grand-daughter of Hasili) and has finished within striking distance of Goldikova in France – perhaps she’ll prove a bigger threat in the Breeders’ Cup Mile this year…

While discussion continues apace over the possibility of a Zenyatta-Rachel Alexandra matchup at Oaklawn, some of their potential competitors in the older horse division are looking to burnish their credentials this weekend.  Musket Man, who finished a reasonably creditable third behind Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, will return in the Super Stakes at [...]]]>

Quality Road

While discussion continues apace over the possibility of a Zenyatta-Rachel Alexandra matchup at Oaklawn, some of their potential competitors in the older horse division are looking to burnish their credentials this weekend.  Musket Man, who finished a reasonably creditable third behind Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, will return in the Super Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday.  The competition won’t be quite of the same caliber, but as it’s his first race since the Preakness, it’s a good way to ease back in.  The seven-furlong distance may be more his cup of tea as well – despite good finishes in both the Derby and Preakness, he looks like he might excel as a sprinter/miler.

And while the race is flying a bit under the radar, the Strub could have some eventual Santa Anita Handicap implications.  Misremembered is looking like the likely favorite, but there it also features a few talented horses aiming to get back into the big leagues, notably Square Eddie.  The race goes off  after the Robert B. Lewis for 3-year-olds, and is being somewhat eclipsed by it – but we’ll look at that shortly.

Also on Saturday, Quality Road is taking on a slightly tougher field in the Donn Handicap.  And while I still think Quality Road’s best distance is one mile, he should have no difficulty with the 1 1/8 mile distance here – nor should he have too much trouble with the field.  That’s not to say there are not some nice horses in it – Dry Martini can step up on occasion, and the same is true of Delightful Kiss.  I’m curious to see if Duke of Mischief comes into his own to trouble the favorite; it should be an interesting race.  One hopes that Quality Road will continue with his recent good gate behavior.

On Sunday, Richard’s Kid is looking to return to winning form in the San Antonio; he did not show much last time out, but neither did Gabby’s Golden Gal before her last win – clearly, she just needed a race, and the same is likely true of Richard’s Kid.  It’s also got an interesting field, with Mast Track (now trained by John Sheriffs), Nownownow and American-bred, British-trained Giganticus, who is trying his luck at US racing for the first time.

Moving to the turf, Court Vision headlines the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap on Sunday; while he has proven very effective indeed on the grass, he may be tested by Never On Sunday.  The French-bred son of Sunday Break has not won since last May (nor run at all since October), but he’s been taking on very serious competition in the form of Vision d’Etat and Goldikova overseas; this may prove comparatively easy for him.  But Take the Points also looks strong, and Yate’s Black Cat has to win a race sometime, right? Granted, he never has, but…

And so to the 3-year-olds – both the boys and girls are in action this weekend.  Blind Luck seems to have scared off much of the competition in the Las Virgenes; trainer Michael Talla, who sends out the interesting Crisp, noted that:

“Racing against Blind Luck is challenging in the sense that she’s the second-best three-year-old on the West Coast. The first one is Lookin At Lucky,” Sadler said. “We’re up against it, but you’ve got to get them started.”

I also like La Nez in this race (although she is likely to scratch if it rains), but I hope to see Blind Luck continue her winning ways; it would be pleasant indeed to see her turn up in a Triple Crown race, given that she’s been nominated, just in case the filly division looks too weak for her.

The rain and a slight temperature have kept the aforementioned Lookin At Lucky in the barn, but his rivals (including his stablemate, Tiz Chrome) are getting things going in the Robert B. Lewis.  American Lion also contests this race, and it should start to clear up the 3-year-old male picture a bit – at least for California.

On Sunday, Derby preps shift to the turf as Interactif starts his year in the Hallendale Beach at Gulfstream.  My chief interest in Interactif is that he’s out of a Broad Brush mare – it would be nice to see that line continue.  I also like the notion of turf horses successfully switching to dirt – the more versatility, the better.

Finally, let’s return to the Apple Blossom possibility for a moment; by the seeming lack of involvement by the racing Powers That Be, we have avoided the embarrassment of seeing them proclaim ‘Girl Power!’ (thusly) – at least for the time being.

Perhaps the most exciting race of the previous weekend was the Santa Monica – somehow, Gabby’s Golden Gal went off at 11-1 odds.  Granted, she did not show much in her final effort as a 3-year-old (and first race since a disappointing effort in July), finishing a distant seventh behind Evita Argentina [...]]]>

Gabby's Golden Gal

Perhaps the most exciting race of the previous weekend was the Santa Monica – somehow, Gabby’s Golden Gal went off at 11-1 odds.  Granted, she did not show much in her final effort as a 3-year-old (and first race since a disappointing effort in July), finishing a distant seventh behind Evita Argentina in the La Brea, but the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro easily turned the tables – this time, Evita Argentina was the far-off seventh, and Gabby’s Golden Gal was

back in the winner’s circle.  Runner-up Proviso, who has finished respectably behind the likes of Goldikova and Zarkava, is still looking for her first US win, but she certainly bears watching this year – as does this entire division.

Of course, Medaglia d’Oro had another filly in action this past weekend – just not in a race.  On Sunday, Rachel Alexandra had her first workout since winning the Woodward.  It was just a gallop, and she’s still some way off from entering a race, but it was still very encouraging to see her back on the official worktab.

Neither Rachel Alexandra nor Zenyatta appears in the current list of Dubai World Cup nominations (PDF) – but either one could be added later this month.  Gio Ponti looms large as the very early favorite, but other notable names among the nominations include Zenyatta’s stablemate, Life Is Sweet, Friesan Fire, Quality Road, Weekend Hussler, Dar Re Mi and second-most-expensive-horse ever, Jalil (to name just a few).

The Sunshine Millions ended with a media-friendly storyline (largely ignored, unsurprisingly, except by the LA Daily

News) – hard-knocking older horse and tough older jockey steal win in big-money race.  The older horse in question, Bold Chieftain, keeps making money the hard way – finishing in the money often, and managing some nice wins along the way.  The same is true of his jockey, Russell Baze; we may not see him in the headlines very frequently, but he holds the world record for career victories.  Both achievements would be worth highlighting.

Over to the 3-year-olds for a moment – we’re pleased to once again be included in the Paulick Derby Index – although please note that this first installment is based on very little data!

Finally, next weekend, Quality Road headlines the Donn Handicap – check back later in the week for more…

2-year-old male: Lookin at LuckyAs per usual with the juvenile awards, there was no surprise here. His three G1 wins sealed the deal, and he looks to improve this year. We’ll soon find out if [...]]]> Last night, they handed out a few awards for horse racing – you may have heard a bit about it.

2-year-old male: Lookin at Lucky
As per usual with the juvenile awards, there was no surprise here. His three G1 wins sealed the deal, and he looks to improve this year. We’ll soon find out if he likes real dirt, but trainer Bob Baffert seems quite happy with things thus far.

2-year-old filly: She Be Wild
While this category had a little more competition, She Be Wild has a good backstory – former claimer, unwanted at auction wins four out of five, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Both dirt and turf could be in her future – versatility FTW!

Turf Male: Gio Ponti
A well-deserved bit of recognition for a horse who showed up just about everywhere – but who truly excelled on the grass. And the night was just beginning for him…

Turf Female: Goldikova
While I respect the notion that the Eclipse Award winner should have more than one start in the US, I am quite happy to toss that guideline out when the horse in question is as overwhelmingly superior as Goldikova is. Her repeat of Miesque’s back-to-back Mile victories, under the tutelage of Miesque’s former jockey, Freddie Head, completes an undeniably satisfying circuit – and the news that she’s aiming to capture a third Breeders’ Cup victory this year should certainly be rewarded. Given the excitement over Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, it may be difficult to recall that the opportunity to see a horse of Goldikova’s caliber is rare indeed – and it should be celebrated.

Steeplechaser: Mixed Up
How often does a 10-year-old PA-bred win an Eclipse Award? And hey, he doesn’t even take Lasix. These are Good Things.

Breeder: Juddmonte Farms
These awards tend to follow the money, and it’s certainly hard to argue with Juddmonte’s success in producing top-level horses. There were a few stray votes for Dolphus Morrison for breeding Rachel Alexandra – even if he did not want to truly unleash her talents.

Female Sprinter: Informed Decision
The overwhelming pick of her division (although one has to assume that Ventura’s positioning in both this category and the Turf Female category may have hurt her chances), Informed Decision won at nearly every track she visited, under a variety of conditions – and the best news is that she’ll be back later this spring to extend her winning streak.

Male Sprinter: Kodiak Kowboy
Although he had a respectable career as a 2 and 3-year-old, Kodiak Kowboy truly had the chance to prove himself as a 4-year-old, winning as a sprinter and miler. He goes to stud with a solid record of achievement.

3-year-old Male: Summer Bird
This was a no-brainer – but I am quite curious to know who cast the single vote for I Want Revenge. Trainer Tim Ice reiterated that we should be seeing him back on the track later this year; let’s hope his recovery continues in such an encouraging fashion.

3-year-old Female: Rachel Alexandra
The great filly took home the least-suspenseful award of the night – it was also the sole unanimous award (but more on that in a moment). Owner Jess Jackson’s acceptance speech was thoughtful, but at something approaching seven minutes, it could have used some judicious editing. But given that the award winners can’t speak for themselves, we can allow a little indulgence.

Owner: Godolphin Racing
This was one of the most competitive awards, with only five votes separating the winner from Jerry and Ann Moss. But as in the case of the Breeder category, the Eclipse voters tend to recognize revenue – but the narrow margin of victory demonstrates that there is also a desire to reward owners with a more personal touch.

Trainer: Steven Asmussen
Once again, you cannot argue with the numbers – or his great good fortune in having Rachel Alexandra drop into his lap (although her original trainer, Hal Wiggins, also received a few votes). While I may not be a fan of his record of medication violations, his staff clearly loves the horses they work with, so the award is as much an acknowledgement of their hard work.

Older Male: Gio Ponti
A double on the night for the versatile 4-year-old was clearly in the offing; as much as I love Einstein, based on this year’s wins, it had to go to Gio Ponti. He’s still flying under the radar in the eyes of the general public, and even the racing press sometimes overlooks his accomplishments, so it was entirely justified that he be doubly rewarded. The Blood-Horse points out that he is the first horse to win this award without a win on traditional dirt – so it’s particularly interesting. His future plans may involve the Dubai World Cup – that could end up a very competitive race indeed.

Older Female: Zenyatta
While this was another foregone conclusion, there was a single (protest?) vote from someone at the Daily Racing Form for Icon Project – presumably the backstory there will be revealed at some point. While I still believe she should have been crowned Horse of the Year last year, the news that she will return to the track this year means she may finally get to take home that honor; in any case, winning two consecutive Eclipse Awards and making history in the Breeders’ Cup Classic is certainly enough to consider without worrying about Horse of the Year – yet.

Apprentice Jockey: Christian Santiago Reyes
Further proof that Puerto Rico knows what it’s doing when it trains jockeys, this 19-year-old has a bright future – he would be wise to study the next winner.

Jockey: Julien Leparoux
It’s hard to imagine he won the Eclipse for Apprentice only four years ago – it seems he’s had nothing but success since arriving in the US. Clearly, the title of his Facebook fan group is on the right track.

Horse of the Year: Rachel Alexandra
In the end, it wasn’t even close: the votes were 130 to 99. That in no way reflects poorly on Zenyatta’s accomplishments – it simply honors the fact that during the past racing season, Rachel Alexandra had more opportunities to show off her immense talent, in a wider variety of venues – she won for her efforts throughout the year, not for a single race (regardless of how impressive that race may have been). But as I have said before, while Horse of the Year honors are important to some, a firm place in history means more in the long run. If we are lucky enough to see Rachel Alexandra take on Zenyatta, that would be tremendous – I’d like to see a Best of Five race series at a variety of different tracks. The difficulty will be getting other horses (male or female) into the gate to fill a race – but someone should certainly be working to set that up. Any takers?

10) Einstein wins the Big [...]]]> It almost seems we racing fans have experienced a karmic reversal this year; after the lows of the previous few years, we were treated to nothing less than history – live. So, without further ado, here are the top ten moments in horse racing for 2009, as seen from Superfecta HQ:

10) Einstein wins the Big ‘Cap
It was wonderful to see Einstein, a blog favorite for years, pick up a big win; this may not have been his best season, but it certainly had high points – this being the top. Hopefully his versatility and record of sheer hard work will be rewarded with a successful stud career.

9) Bambera wins the Clasico del Caribe
Yes, the Venezualan filly is the real deal. Sid Fernando is your man for all things Bambera – and he notes that we should see her Stateside in 2010. She’s won 15 of 17 starts – 10 of those were G1s, including her nation’s filly Triple Crown and most of the mixed-gender variety as well. Look out, Gulfstream!

Goldikova repeats in the Breeders’ Cup Mile
Let’s recall that the French mare was beating the boys long before it came into fashion this year – she handled them with no difficulty in last year’s Prix du Moulin and, of course, the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Trainer Freddie Head, who rode the great Miesque to her back-to-back Mile victories thinks she’s even better; she’s on track to come back next year to aim for a threepeat. Fingers crossed!

7) Yeats wins his fourth Ascot Gold Cup
The Times was right – it’s hard to imagine a more perfect swansong for the 8-year-old; he’s demonstrated time and again why he’s an all-time great. Here’s hoping his stamina and quality is recognized at stud – it will be hard to live up to the reception he received from fans after his victory.

6) Rachel Alexandra wins the Kentucky Oaks
Can you remember seeing anything like it? Rachel Alexandra would go on to demonstrate in the Mother Goose that against her peers (including a perfectly nice filly like Gabby’s Golden Gal), that’s just how she rolls – deal with it. Super filly? You bet.

5) Sea the Stars wins the Arc
That’s a lot of Group 1 winners finishing behind him – and it’s not every day you see a colt equal his mother’s success in that particular race. His win made him the first horse to win the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, and the Arc in the same year – and he did it all undefeated. While it’s easy to see the allure of getting the half-brother to über-stud Galileo into the shed, it’s a shame we’ll never really know what he might have been capable of.

4) Rachel Alexandra wins the Preakness
While I normally go to the Belmont, it takes something special to get me to Pimlico for the Preakness (largely because of the appalling state of the track) – but I was certainly not going to pass up a chance to see Rachel Alexandra take on the boys for the first time in person, and it was a beautiful thing. It’s only the second time I’ve seen the entire crowd cheering for one horse (the other being Smarty Jones coming into the Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line); it was to be the first time I would see that faith rewarded.

3) Rachel Alexandra wins the Haskell
What, you want me, the Preakness winner, to beat the Derby and Belmont winners? Hey, you asked for it. Even with the miserable weather, this is by far the best performance I’ve ever seen live (sorry, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer!); once again, the crowd was there for Rachel, and only Rachel – and she repaid them with another runaway victory. This race also receives special note for Sarah K. Andrew’s fantastic photo (right) – my favorite of the year.

2) Rachel Alexandra wins the Woodward
Finally, some real competition – and the chance to see what Rachel would do when eyeball to eyeball with another horse. Apparently, the answer is win – yet again. I’m looking forward to seeing her as the ‘older horse’ – after all, in a few short days, she’ll be all of 4.

1) Zenyatta wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic
I’m one of Those People who wanted Zenyatta to be Horse of the Year last year and I was not pleased by the rest of her campaign this year – but she proved she’s more than just a great mare with a distinctive running (and, let’s be honest, walking) style. She earned the number one spot with her sparkling, historic performance.

While I’ve already determined that the Horse of the Year debate will not matter much in the long run – indeed, who, beyond the industry, even knows or cares that such a thing exists? – my own vote would go to Rachel Alexandra. I cannot think of another year when I would have listed the same horse more than twice, at most, in a year-ending review – to see the same name four times is not something I expect to see again anytime soon. However, as she’ll be running next year, I may need to keep some slots vacant…but the truth remains that both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta firmly stamped themselves into this history books in emphatic style.

Here’s hoping that 2010 will be half as exciting as 2009!

On Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs, Unbridled Belle and Swift [...]]]> Things are slowly getting back to normal here at Casa Superfecta, after a quick jaunt to the left coast for some soccer (but more on that later). The Breeders’ Cup may be in the history books, but Thanksgiving weekend offers quite a variety of top-level racing.

On Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs, Unbridled Belle and Swift Temper are in action in the Falls City Handicap; it is likely the last start for both millionaire mares.

The following day, Einstein (picture, by Barbara Livingston) is aiming to return to winning form in the Clark Handicap; as Julien Leparoux will be in Japan, he’ll have Rajiv Maragh aboard as well as some stiff competition from Macho Again and Bullsbay. But it seems that it may not be the final start for the stalwart son of Spend a Buck – he’s been supplemented to the Hong Kong Cup in December – however, it would still be lovely to see him win.

Both coasts are in action over the weekend; in New York, the Cigar Mile is the headliner. Quality Road has been working hard on his gate schooling, and the distance makes the race seem like a good fit for him – if he wants to start. It’s a great lineup in any case – Bribon, Kodiak Kowboy, Munnings, Vineyard Haven and Pyro are all possible starters. The 2-year-olds will also be on display in the Demoiselle and the Remsen.

In California, Ventura has a chance to give Bobby Frankel a final win in the Matriarch; while she will run in the name of his longtime assistant, Humberto Ascanio, Frankel was still directing her career, even at the end:

“Last Friday (Nov. 13), Bobby called me while I was at the barn and told me, ‘I’m going home tomorrow. I’m not going to take any more transfusions. I just don’t want to go on like this.’ And he said, ‘I’m scared.’

“There was a silence, and then, Bobby said, ‘Talk to Humberto and just tell him, two easy halfs for Ventura and she’ll be fine for the Matriarch.’

Ventura’s frequent rivals Rutherienne and Diamondrella (who is now trained by Gary Stevens, which was apparently something of a surprise to him) are also expected, but it would be nice to see Ventura end with a flourish. Also looking for a positive final race is Cowboy Cal in the Citation, but he will have competition in the form of El Gato Malo, Whatsthescript and another Frankel horse – Proudinsky.

And while she will not be running, Zenyatta will still be very much a presence in California over the weekend; she’s expected to parade around Hollywood Park between races on Sunday. There will be posters, DVDs and other collectibles on offer – although hopefully these are not part of the package.

Overseas, Breeders’ Cup Turf repeat champion Conduit will line against top Japanese mare Vodka in the Japan Cup – last year’s winner, Screen Hero, will be on hand to defend his title. Conduit will be retiring to stud in Japan after the race, but he could take home a considerable bonus if he wins on Sunday. Interpatation, Marsh Side and Just As Well will be representing the US in the race.

And while neither news item relates specifically to this weekend, there is welcome word that Rachel Alexandra has begun to stretch her legs again, and that Goldikova will, as rumored, remain in training next year. Rachel Alexandra will head to the Fair Grounds for the winter after leaving Churchill Downs, while Goldikova’s campaign to win a third Breeders’ Cup Mile will begin again in France.

Check back later (likely after the holiday weekend) for some thoughts on what racing might learn from American soccer – and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!