http://farewelltokings.com/2009/11/breeders-cup-wrap-up/ Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:59:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://farewelltokings.com/2009/11/breeders-cup-wrap-up/comment-page-1/#comment-31 sbloomer Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:29:18 +0000 http://farewelltokings.com/?p=223#comment-31 Hi Darrell. Just found your blog. Yours is the 1st blog I've found that seems to want to rain a bit on the parade of Zenyatta's Classic win, but I found my response to it very similar to mine. My thoughts afterwards are there is no real way to gauge how good Zenyatta is (compared to other HOFers) , which is a shame . There are 3 ways to gauge quality - won/loss record, race times, quality of opposition. She certainly has the 1st nailed, the second is difficult to judge because she has done all that has been required and little more (but in an exciting come from behind fashion), and the third...made me go looking. You've made the point that this is probably the worst bunch of older male dirt horses in your memory, which I agree with. And this is not dependent on dirt vs. synthetic, not one has won even a couple of stakes on either surface that would make them a champion this year. But I had to go back to 1970 to find as bad a bunch of dirt males, including 3 y.o's - a record of 3 stakes win in 9 starts for the consensus pro tem champ isn't particularly great in my mind (Temperence Hill would be a good comparable for Summer Bird, though TH accomplished a little more). I'm afraid this criticism applies to RA as well, except she ran some faster races with wider victory margins. Hi Darrell. Just found your blog. Yours is the 1st blog I’ve found that seems to want to rain a bit on the parade of Zenyatta’s Classic win, but I found my response to it very similar to mine.
My thoughts afterwards are there is no real way to gauge how good Zenyatta is (compared to other HOFers) , which is a shame . There are 3 ways to gauge quality – won/loss record, race times, quality of opposition. She certainly has the 1st nailed, the second is difficult to judge because she has done all that has been required and little more (but in an exciting come from behind fashion), and the third…made me go looking. You’ve made the point that this is probably the worst bunch of older male dirt horses in your memory, which I agree with. And this is not dependent on dirt vs. synthetic, not one has won even a couple of stakes on either surface that would make them a champion this year. But I had to go back to 1970 to find as bad a bunch of dirt males, including 3 y.o’s – a record of 3 stakes win in 9 starts for the consensus pro tem champ isn’t particularly great in my mind (Temperence Hill would be a good comparable for Summer Bird, though TH accomplished a little more).
I’m afraid this criticism applies to RA as well, except she ran some faster races with wider victory margins.

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