Oooops, I posted same article not realizing you had already done so!

Haha ... I've nearly done the same to something you've posted a zillion times. You and I are reading the same things!! LOL ...

Thank you for correcting me on the win fractions ... I don't know the difference between neck/nose/3/4 of length but I defer with great respect to your knowledge. 

I know from having read about Rags work times with TAP that he doesn't work fast and I've also read enough to understand that neither does SA.

I'm really not worried, prudery, and I do appreciate the information I am learning from you and others.  So, Rachel's work was a gallop and not even a breezing?  Is that correct?

It was a workout--an officially timed exercise .

A gallop is just a  leg stretch that is not timed and not that fast and not " official "...

Breezing is a workout term to describe the nature of exertion .

Handily is another--a step up--as doing the work well within themselves, but not as casually as breezing .

I did not correct the fractions--those are time words--I corrected the margin of defeat ...

3/4 of a length is wonderful for a horse that has been on a 6+ month layoff and has 6 works to get ready for a race , prep or not. I read the other horses finished 11 lengths back . Welcome to the forum, and I like what you wrote .
BobbieB

Hi Cindy and thank you for the welcome.  I do agree that everyone was trying to accommodate a 'date' with Rachel and Zenyatta but I do think that JJ knew she wasn't ready yet, and obviously Steve must have known, too.  No harm done, really, but the long-anticipated race is now 'on hold'.  OK, that's the way it is to be.

Rachel was named HOY based on her 2009 performances, and I completely agree with that.  I also feel, and this is just my opinion, that the reason Zenyatta was 'unretired' was because of this; she did not win HOY and there was something left to prove, not between the horses because they have no clue, but between Moss and Jackson.  And so, we are here for a possible showdown at some point with both very talented ladies in the same race with others.

 

 

I stand corrected on the margin of defeat; a wrong use of terms.  Thanks again.

Agree again....and whatever the reasons are that we have both of these champs running this year, we the fans are the lucky ones and appreciative to see both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta in 2010.   I don't think it's unreasonable to think that if both are fit we see them on the same track later this year, not necessarily the BC specifically but elsewhere as well.

Thank you, Bobbie -  and I fully agree about Rach although I don't know the margins of victory as well as others ... she lost by a close margin, that's all I know but I appreciate others' comments which are more knowledgeable than mine.

Rachel performed great based on all of the 'intangibles' and she is one of the greats, along with Zenyatta.

Thanks for your welcome and your kind comments.  They are appreciated.

 

Yes, we the fans are very lucky to witness the greatness of both of these incredible ladies on the track.  My only 'wish' is that they all come home safe and sound, and that applies to the ladies and all the colts vying in the Triple Crown race challenge.