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Breeders’ Cup 2010: Parting Thoughts

High point: Goldikova's hat-trick

As we’ve already covered the Friday races, we’ll just reiterate these two points:

Do not cross Calvin Borel. Do feel free to pitch a reality TV show in which he becomes a boxer or MMA star – it may be wrong, but it would be a guilty pleasure. #jockeyfight […]

On Perfection: Musings on Zenyatta and Goldikova

Zenyatta and Blame, joined in history

Perfection can be a double-edged sword; no one suggests that missing out on maintaining it by inches has in any way tainted Zenyatta’s reputation, but it could be argued that its pursuit has, in some sense, held her back. While jockey Mike Smith may continue to lament […]

Secretariat: A Review

William Nack’s Secretariat: The Making of a Champion is, far and away, the finest book ever written about horse racing. No one else has so convincingly portrayed the dramatics, enthusiasm and sense of serving as a witness to history that Nack took on in documenting Secretariat’s origins and Triple Crown. For those of us who […]

On the Occasion of Rachel Alexandra’s Retirement

I had been planning a blog comeback for next week, coinciding with the release of Secretariat (the film, not some sort of terrifying reanimated zombie Secretariat), but a number of news stories earlier in the day – notably Kingmambo being pensioned and Real Quiet’s death in Pennsylvania yesterday – seemed likely to get me back […]

Quick Hits

Time is short today, so we are limited to a few brief bullet points:

Lava Man back in training – the ‘Behind the Music‘ version is very informative.

Zenyatta to possibly run a few times next year – hey, that would be half her season this year already! How about Keeneland instead of Santa Anita? […]

End of Part One

While the dust settles from the Triple Crown and many of the 3-year-olds take a little break (literally, in the case of Dunkirk, who is having surgery for a left hind fracture – although with luck he should be back in the fall – although it still adds fuel to the Unbridled’s Song = ‘soft […]

If…

If Big Brown wins the Belmont, his Triple Crown will place him on the threshold of greatness; he will still need to charge through the door with further feats to prove it.

If Big Brown wins, we his contemporaries may not rank him among the greats; time may be kinder, as […]

Who Would You Geld Today?

In the wake of the Derby, one comment that seemed to come up often was a belief that ‘too much’ is asked of top-level three-year-olds at this point in their careers and that delayed training or a lighter schedule could help prevent injuries of the sort Eight Belles suffered. While well-intentioned, it goes against both […]

Secretariat Film Moving Like a Tremendous Machine?

Disney has officially announced that a film about Secretariat is on the way; the film will focus on Penny Chenery and the production team is working closely with William Nack to get the script moving. Nack’s Secretariat: The Making of a Champion is perhaps the finest portrait of a racehorse (and his connections) one could […]