Happy Friday!
It is always so hard for ME to believe how quickly time is literally flying by. It is already September 2nd….and the closing weekend of racing at both Del Mar and Saratoga. Labor Day is upon us…and students all over the country are returning to school.
I hope all of you enjoy your weekend and all of the great racing that is scheduled. The 2 year olds are starting to step up to stakes activity on both coasts….and then Havre de Grace is going to take on the males in The Woodward Stakes–G1. Additionally at Del Mar, the Del Mar Derby G-2 will be showcased. All the best to all of the participants and their connections.
Yesterday, a few dear friends of mine sent Dottie a link regarding an article in the September, 2011, issue of THE AMERICAN TURF MAGAZINE. The piece is written by Mark Shrager. In it, he is listing (in his opinion) the TOP 10 AMERICAN RACE HORSES EVER!
Guess who is there at #6? ME!!
Now this is very special…and I so appreciate Mark’s ranking. The list of horses and how he rated the TOP 10 are as follows:
1) DR. FAGER
2) KELSO
3) SECRETARIAT
4) SEATTLE SLEW
5) CITATION
6) ZENYATTA…….THAT’S ME! (BLUSH, BLUSH)
7) AFFIRMED
8) MAN O’ WAR
9) SPECTACULAR BID
10) JOHN HENRY
Click here for the article.
This is a list of some amazing thoroughbreds with massive racing accomplishments. I am so PROUD to be included with this elite company. Dottie was commenting to John last night that I AM THE ONLY FEMALE on the list. Also, I am the only horse to be included who ran in the last few decades. John Henry won his HOTY titles in 1981 and 1984. All of the other horses represent decades of racing before that time. This is truly significant and as I mentioned earlier, I am extremely PROUD and HONORED to be in such company.
I hope you enjoy the article, your weekend, and some great RACING! Cheers to great handicapping!
With Love,
Hugs to All~ (Thank you Camille and Jim for sharing this article with US!)
Z
Christine in VA
zenyatta all she does is MAGIC have a safe week moma
judy berube
To Ingrid Arnone:
Dear Ingrid:
Good luck today. Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Barbara Wood:
The new one is “Katia”. I hope it makes a “U” turn and heads out to sea. Hugs, J.B.
Anne from Paramount, CA
Hi Queen Z! Congrats on being on that list! Of course, why not?? Agree with Terry Crow about “lists” in general, but good for you, our Queen of the Dumplingz!
@Cynthia H: I agree: “a Queen amongst Kings,” great comment.
@all who provide those links, muchas gracias to all. So enjoyable.
@Terry Crow and others: re Jerry Lewis, there is a very readable book: Dean & Me (A Love Story) by Jerry Lewis and James Kaplan. For those of us who remember those days, it is great reading. (Published in 2005.) Also@Terry Crow, I don’t comment each time, but I do enjoy your jokes. Thanks for taking the time to put ’em out there! Take a bow!
@HDG and connections: saw your great race while at Del Mar yesterday! Congrats! The filly did it!! :)
@Diana S…am thinking of you and hoping for continuing good news.
Will add more later (I hope), just got a family interruption. Go Cloud Man!!
@Dottie and Zenyatta: thanks so much for the Noor diary…very very touching.
Jan
Zenyatta,
Hope you are having a fantastic weekend.. xoxo.
@Suzanne G. Thanks for the update on Indian Tale. I also was very worried about her.
Zenyen
@judy berube,
No horse could have withstood the way Saint Liam fell. It was not a genetic predisposition to soft bones that caused his accident.
Jo
Happy Labor Day week-end wishes to Z and Team Zenyatta!
Good luck to St Trinians this afternoon. She will always be in my heart having watched her in the epic Vanity against Z, putting it on the line and giving it everything she had. I’ll respect her forever. But was my heart ever pounding as Z came flying down the stretch…what an unforgettable moment, one of so many. My hope for St T is that she goes out with a big win and is retired, that her connections do right by her as Z’s always did for her.
judy berube
Dear Zenyen:
Please understand, I was not implying that genetics was involved. I was just observing what Doreen had reflected on concerning Saint Liam’s son, Buddy’s Saint, who broke down while working out at Belmont. These horses legs are so delicate; sometimes just a bad step is all it takes. From what I read about Saint Liam, his was a rare, freak accident and he fell with all his weight on his leg. Hugs, J.B.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/35007/freakish-accident-causes-saint-liams-death
judy berube
Dear John:
Good luck to Cloud Man today. Hugs, J.B.
Abigail from Montreal
ARE WE READY FOR THE SPINAWAY?
I just loved Bellamy Road, so I’d like to see Georgie’s Angel take it, but we can’t ignore Judy the Beauty, right Judy B ?
Listening to HRTV & Gary Stevens is talking about the fierceness of storms last night. I’m thinking of our Southern Zen-sters and hoping you all are well.We’re waiting on a ton of rain & storm activity here in Montreal too….
Good luck to all the Spinaway fillies!
Trina Nagele
Go, Judy the Beauty!
Trina Nagele
Go And Why Not!
Trina Nagele
Judy the Beauty second, And Why Not third!
Trina Nagele
And Why Not is Bernie’s girl, right?
Cynthia H.
Gracie/Judy exacta. Someone on this site should have had this!
Barbara Wood
@judy berube–yes, I hope she does too! No rain for us from any of them, sadly. Just high winds.
Cynthia H.
@nne from P: Thanks!
Cynthia H.
@ANNE from P: Oops, sorry!
Trina Nagele
Congratulations to Chantal Sutherland on her win aboard Great Heart in Torrey Pines.v
Kari Bussell
Congratulations to Chantal Sutherland on Great Hot
@Cynthia H- or anyone… What time Cloudman? I’ve been out all day did I miss it??
Trina Nagele
OOPS—I thought they were saying Great Heart but it was Great HOT!
Trina Nagele
@ Kari–Cloud Man at 5:35 PACIFIC–still coming up!
Doreen
@Zenyen – I was the one that thought that perhaps there was a genetic predisposition to soft bones, not Judy Berube. You are correct in that Saint Liam died because of a freakish accident, but my concern was with their pedigree, that it may have put them at a disadvantage. Raise A Native and Mr. Prospector appear in their pedigree. Both were known to be unsound. Raise A Native’s sire Native Dancer, reportedly had ankle issues. Buddy’s Saint, a son of Saint Liam, had surgery because of a bone chip in his ankle and was later euthanized when he fractured his shoulder during a workout. I’ve included a link that brings up these concerns with Raise A Native, Mr. Prospector and Native Dancer: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/columns/story?columnist=nack_bill&id=3399004
Having researched breeding soundness, I truly believe that the soundness of the horses of yesteryear is progressively being bred out of our horses and this link aptly discusses why. I’m not saying it was a deciding factor, but a factor that shouldn’t be disregarded. I’m far from being an expert, but it’s an issue that concerns me enough to do research on the subject.
@Eveline – I too cannot believe that the driver didn’t notice the horse falling out of a trailer.
@Quarterhossgal – my thoughts and prayers go out to your mare, please let us know how she’s doing.
Zenyen
@Judy Berube and Doreen,
Saint Liam’s fall had nothing to do with the strength of his bones. To understand what happened, look at your elbow joint. It moves one way, forward and back. It is not designed to go side to side correct?
A horse’s stifle joint, is the same. It moves forward and back, no rotation whatsoever, unlike the shoulder or the hip. Saint Liam’s leg slipped and the stifle joint was drive to a left/right bend and then his weight came down atop the misshapened joint and his tibia exploded.
Any horse, even the iron horses of old, would have suffered the exact same fate had the ground slid under them like this and they went down in the same configuration.
Buddy’s Saint took a bad step, something that does regretfully happen to hundreds of racehorses each year. His bad step was particularly noteworthy due to his being one of the 96 few from Saint Liam to run and at the time was one of the best from Saint Liam on the track.
In my opinion brittle or soft bones come from a horse like Unbridled Song. Saint Liam’s and Buddy’s Saint were unfortunately and freak accidents.
judy berube
Dear Zenyan:
The article I posted on Saint Liam says pretty much what you posted; a freak accident. So sad when we lose them and especially in Buddy’s Saint’s case, so young. Hugs, J.B.
Barbara Wood
Of course Zenyatta has Mr. Prospector, Raise a Native, and Native Dancer.
I’ll never forget beautiful Rough Sailing going down on wet turf last year in the BC.
judy berube
Dear Doreen:
I do believe in some cases, genetics plays a role. Also, in other cases, if the horses are raced too hard too soon by some trainers and owners, then that plays a role too, I think. I’ve read two theories on whether racing at two years old is good for the bones or not. Some proponents are for it, claiming it helps to strengthen the bones and opposition say it could be damaging and cause injury down the line. Have you come across this dilemma in your research? Hugs, J.B.
judy berube
Dear Abigail:
Loved Bellamy Road too, but I was rooting for Judy the Beauty. BTW, thank you so much for all the great links you give us. Hugs, J.B.
Trina Nagele
Congratulations to St Trinians–#1!
Trina Nagele
@Quarterhossgal—Hoping and praying your mare will recover from her laminitis. Please do keep us updated. Maybe the new stem cell therapy will be useful. Let me add that I’m so very sorry that one person jumped to false conclusions and added insult to injury. So sad.