Sheriffs comments. " It's entirely up to the owners..."

 

Moss " We want to see what she really has in her tank. She will be preentered in both races."

After her show today they will be confident.  Classic it is... Let the games begin

 

Can we imagine a Sea the Stars ( one of the best ever) vs Zenyetta ( 13-13-0-0 G1-7)

It's still a huge purse and will definitely be one of the greatest moments in horse racing history if it happens.

Heck she really wowed today and if she wows again in the Classic HOY could be hers. The Classic is really shaping up as a great race 

According to Steve Crist over at DRF.com, the up and coming (but far from top level yet) Euro conditioning winner that beat California's top handicap horses, ran a much faster race than Zenyatta, while still getting his final furlong in under 12 seconds.  Crist calculates Gitano Hernando will receive a BSF figure at least 8-10 points faster than Zenyatta for his Goodwood effort.

Considering that, if Sea the Stars can get his footing on Pro-Ride, and actually comes here, I cannot imagine it being close. This is a horse that has beaten 20 group 1 winners in his last 4 races alone and has won 6 group 1s in a row.  By the time Smith cranks Zenyatta up, STS, Rip Van WInkle and Mastercraftman will be long gone (if the Goodwood is any indicator). And I love Zenyatta and I know she finishes as fast as any horse could on Pro Ride. But, she would be up against it in the least against the above even if STS does not show. According to Crist, she would not have caught GItano Hernando had she run off of that pace and half furlong longer... Remember, they raced 35 minutes apart, so the times and form are material (even if Z ran a half furlong shorter).  I do not agree with everything Crist says, but he makes sense here.


Here is Crist's quote:

Jockey Mike Smith said after the race that Zenyatta won easily and that he only turned her loose "for about four steps." Students of time, however, will note that Zenyatta's winning time of 1:42.89 for 8.5f was sharply inferior to Gitano Hernando's 1:48.39 for 9f in the Goodwood 35 minutes earlier...they are laughing over in Europe right now."

These Euros all quicken dramatically in the final two furlongs. That is how GH beat CJ today, and CJ excels at SA. Gomez said GH just had a quicker turn of foot and outjumped the Colonel and that was the difference.  Horses like MC, RVW and especially STS have push button speed and stamina. They can rate and as quick as you can snap your fingers they are off and running in the stretch at a much faster pace.  It's exactly the way it was last year with Raven's Pass and Henrythenavigator left Tiago and Curlin in their wake and powered home 1-2. Pro-Ride surface is perfect for forms like theirs.  And remember how shocked Johnny V was last year on Henrythenavigator. He said he thought he moved a bit late trying to save energy, but he was shocked the way his horse kicked home in the stretch:

"He (HTN) clearly had it in him to get 10 furlongs. Had I known I had that much horse under me I would have asked him sooner for his run, and I think he may well have caught the winner. This is a very nice horse...they both skipped over this track"

And RP and HTN were milers on soft turf.  Horses like RVW, M and STS are classic runners who can get 10, 11 and 12 furlongs very efficiently. Z would be up against it, and because of that I predict Moss will ask Sherrifs to run in the Lady Classic or DIstaff (which may be the US's only winner over 1 mile on BC weekend).

I hope I am wrong, but my gut says watch out for the Euros.

Your not wrong, your exactly right, the smart money will be going on the europeans.  I know that's where my money is going, the horse that won yesterday was only a group 3 winner in Europe.  Just think what the good horses are going to do.

The plane with the real monsters is coming. We have not seen anything yet. We have nothing that can win the Classic over Europe this year.

Don't go by what Moss says.  He's been saying heroic stuff all year long & then doing the same old same old.  The proof will be in the pudding.

Plus, they caught him for the quote right after the race while he was still exulting. ("Yes, the rumors are true.  She's going to become an astronaut!")

The reality is she beat up one's she's already beat up on.  Why that would all of a sudden make her connections think she could compete in the BC Classic, I have no clue.

Now, if they had run her in the Goodwood & she had prevailed in that one then I would be taking the "talk" more seriously. 

It's night and day from the Lady's Secret to the Classic.  I mean, I'm a Zenyatta fan (who isn't?) but if she shows up in the Classic - no offense, but she's a bet against & I'll be happy to see her taking money because without a doubt she will take tons of it.

Heck, if she wins the Classic (if she enters the Classic) I'm almost tempted to say I'l; eat Early's Racing Form & come back here for some grey poupon to make it taste a little better.  :)

If you don't think the betting public bets with their heart - look at MTB in the Goodwood yesterday.   What besides that made him 3-1, 7-2 in that field yesterday?