The Year’s Best Rivalry
Zenyatta (left) and Rachel Alexandra (center)
It’s probable that most sports fans will complete their 2009 without having paid attention to the best rivalry of the season. It’s over, although it’s not settled. It was intense, but neither competitor faced one another. Many of the events were designed for males yet dominated by two girls.
I’m referring to Horse of the Year candidates, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra.
From Z to A: A Tale of the Tape (Click to enlarge)
Go ahead and scoff at this assertion (I already hear some of you scoffing. Honestly, it happened faster than I thought it was going to), but all season long, these two fillies have been absolutely astounding by the standards of the sport in which they compete. Detractors of horse racing really won’t be swayed no matter what the argument, but for those of you who believe in the sport’s merit, it’s simply undeniable how legendary these two horses have been.
What makes this rivalry special is the dominance both horses shared while going about such dominance quite differently. Zenyatta, the pleasant plodder who was rarely flashy, but won by virtue of calculation. Alexandra who avoided stress and strain by simply running ahead of it. These two girls went a combined 22-0 this year, most races of which were against a stable full of boys and both with a steady shot at becoming the first female to win Horse of the Year honors since Azeri seven years ago.
From the AP:
It’s a debate sure to simmer until January, when the Eclipse Awards—the Oscars of horse racing—are presented in Beverly Hills. Members of the National Turf Writers Association, the Daily Racing Form and racing secretaries at the major tracks decide the year’s champion horses.
Even before Zenyatta’s come-from-behind win Saturday, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert suggested the horses should share the top honor.
“If they don’t reward her with Horse of the Year, it would be a travesty, or at least co-Horses of the Year,” said Baffert, who trained sixth-place Classic finisher Richard’s Kid. “It was the only time in horse racing that I didn’t mind getting beat in a big race.”
Chip Woolley Jr., trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, said before the Classic that Rachel Alexandra had already clinched Horse of the Year.
“The one thing everybody keeps forgetting, she beat the fillies with authority,” he said of Rachel Alexandra. “She didn’t win by a neck or a length or two lengths. She beat ‘em by 20 and in a big gallop. When you look at that and you put everything together, I think she’s a very deserving champion.”
Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird was beaten by Rachel Alexandra in the Haskell Invitational and by Zenyatta in the Classic. His trainer, Tim Ice, was critical of Rachel’s absence Saturday at Santa Anita.
“Each sport has their championship game,” he said. “If you don’t compete in the championship game, then you shouldn’t be a champion. This is the highlight of the year as far as all the great horses coming together. This should name Horse of the Year.
“I wish they would have brought her (Rachel) here so we could have proved to the racing world what Zenyatta’s really about,” said Zenyatta’s jockey, Mike Smith. “I’m not going to go out and say I’m going to beat her, but I would have given anything to run against her.”
Both horses had their fickle moments this season. Zenyatta was in Kentucky on Derby weekend but scratched because of a muddy track. Alexandra was begged to compete in the Breeders’ Cup. Organizers even offered an extra $1 million to the purse if she showed, but her owners didn’t like the synthetic track.
Oh, what could have been. Oh, but what was anyway.
Horse racing just isn’t very popular in America, at least not compared to many other professional sports. Because of that, this rivalry-from-afar will largely go unnoticed. And with Zenyatta set to retire following her stunning Breeders’ Cup race finale, there will be no chance for a second act between these two.
But my god, it was fun while it lasted.
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Top photo collage courtesy of Yahoo! Sports via Getty Images
2 Responses for “The Year’s Best Rivalry”
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I agree with much of what afleetalexforever has to say with the exception of his claim that the Horse of the Year voting “won’t be close.”
I think it will be. The same way that voters for the Cy Young Award look at many of the wrong stats (Wins, strikeouts) to determine who the most dominant pitcher was in any given year, voters at the Eclipse are likely to see that Zenyatta’s got six more wins than Rachel. Although I don’t think they’ll be swayed by the size of Zenyatta’s record, the fact that she won’t be racing next year and Rachel WILL, will sway tons of voters.
Can’t you see a lot of voters giving Zenyatta the award this year with the intention of awarding Rachel the HOY next year (providing she can go 5-0 or 6-0)?
I think that people are just looking for someone and or something to step up and put a positive spin on the sport and also anything that can be said against Jess Jackson makes them feel good because he doesn’t like the synthetics. Well I have news for folks, the East Coast bias has nothing to do with it but the voters understand what HOY Campaign means. And this knee jerk reaction to one race while supremely impressive is 1 race out of 5 this year where she was challenged. I guess from the time she left Oaklawn I had thoughts in the back of my mind about how great she could be but wasn’t allowed to show her true talent. She is always the freshest horse in the field, never runs in difficult races during the rest of the year, and her connections always put her in the softest spot to just focus on the Breeders Cup, and then add to that each and everyone from the Zenyatta clan has been begging and pleading for HOY votes, what does Jess Jackson and his people say. No comment – Rachel Alexandra commented on HOY ALL YEAR LONG- not just in one race. A race where everyone else had a grueling campaign and banged heads with the best and Zenyatta well, she raced against Hot And Dusty and Champagne Eyes. Well the Moss’s wanted to campaign selectively and soft and thats what the voters will remember when casting their ballot, again this year they will be embarrassed by the HOY vote. It wont be close.
People consistently dog JJ for not wanting to run in the Travers, but why, to beat Summer Bird again, does anyone ask the Moss’s why they skipped the Louisville Stakes (track condition is not a good reason), or the Beldame, or the Pacific Classic or the Goodwood, all of these skipped for easier spots. It kinda makes me sick to hear them talk about “this is HOY”. Its a disgrace for horses to have to run hard to win races all year and then have a horse that towers above her competition not get tested and then win 1 race and want HOY honors. Shame on the Moss’s for such a scheme to win HOY in the back door, asking for HOY votes after running in allowance races all year long and winning the Classic is not a HOY campaign, its classless and embarrassing to the horses legacy. She’s a synthetic champion at best. Not proven on dirt. Rachel Alexandra Horse of the Year.