"Ever" is an awfully long time. Even harder is a comparison across eras when 'ever' encompasses over 100 years of thoroughbred racing. I will go so far as to say that Rachel Alexandra is the most impressive of her breed that I have seen in my 25 years of really watching races.
I've heard the argument that the great undefeated Cigar was the greatest. He was awesome and his winning streak was impressive. But he did everything that was expected of him. Not that he was expected to win every race he entered, no horse can possibly be expected to do that. However there was not a race he was entered in where folks said, "Well, THAT just can't be done." Rachel's done it twice. She beat the boys handily in a Classic event, did it again for fun in the Haskell and then beat the older fellows as a follow up ("She'll get trounced against older males", I heard from several). In the meantime she also showed that no 3-year old filly is near her class in the Oaks and Mother Goose. Take a look at these races again over at SuperfectaBlog and feel the goose bumps.
Believe it or not, I've also already heard the "but who has she beaten?" line. Stunned as I am that victories in the Preakness Stakes, the Woodward and the other Grade 1s against all types listed above were not enough, I'll let Macho Again's jockey, Robby Albarado answer that question:
“Champions show different dimension. She is in a league of her own. She has beaten every top division we have in racing. Older horses, her age, it doesn't matter. No matter what they throw at her, she'll beat them."
So while "ever" may be too much, the best I've ever seen is a lock.
Showing posts with label Robby Albarado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robby Albarado. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Some Random Claiming Crown Thoughts
It was unquestionably an outstanding day of racing at Canterbury Park. The races were competitive, the crowd was large and enthusiastic and Minnesota hospitality was well showcased. Some of my own musings from the big day:
- First of all, a HUGE thank you to Jeff Maday, media relations chief at Canterbury Park who got me credentialed and allowed me a spot in the press box to blog live all day from the event. We had a great deli lunch, a super set up and were very well hosted by Jeff and his staff - Bonnie and Justin were both fabulous.
- The pre-racing banter in the press box from the likes of Steve Davidowitz, Marty McGee, Steve Fierro and others made my day. Listening to the angles and reasoning for picks as they floated selections on the upcoming card was worth the price of admission. Well, it WOULD have been worth the price of admission if there were an admission charge. Davidowitz's book, "Betting Thoroughbreds" was one of the first books I ever read on racing. Unfortunately I reverted back to my high school football mentality: being the new guy I was to be seen and not heard. Instead of 'acting like I'd been there', I should have embraced my newness and not been uncomfortable approaching the legends. I especially lamented not taking this course of action when my stable mate at the end of the row, Steve Fierro, ended up being a tremendously personable and approachable guy.
- While maybe not a Steve Davidowitz as far as fame goes, it was an absolute highlight to my day meeting the lovely and engaging Quinella Queen as well as her equally charming King, Kevin. A lot of great horse and life discussions prior to racing. I'm glad that they made the trip out to our little corner of heaven and I hope to reciprocate next time I'm through Iowa.
- The access to information in the press box is really invaluable. Handle stats, attendance numbers, how the day is moving along as it is viewed by track management was all great information to have. It's not that this information is proprietary, it's just getting it earlier than normal was great to relay to folks tuning in.
- The quality of the racing stock was stellar and this reflects directly on the trainers and their teams in the Crown races. Most of the men and women whose names appear on the training line of the program are not household names. They don't spend their days gearing up for yet another graded stakes race or dealing with the media. They train average racehorses and try and make a living in the toughest racing ranks out there: the every day claimers. And these horses looked fabulous! Many remarks were uttered throughout the racing plant on how good the horses looked and how well behaved they were in front of a large and loud crowd. Again this all speaks toward the high level of training prowess among the folks that work with these every day heroes and may never see the quality of racing stock of an Asmussen, Dutrow or Pletcher.
- Though our local jocks may not have won any of the Crown races, they did pretty well holding their own against the big boys. Within a few of the races there were moves from Derek Bell, Ry Eikelberry and others that had had a direct bearing on the outcome of the race and improved their own chances of finishing in the money. Still, watching Russell Baze, Julien Leparoux, Jamie Theriot and Robby Albarado was a privilege. Theriot's ride and his work down the stretch aboard Antrim County was a particular joy to behold and a racing highlight of the day.
- I was able to do far less color than I originally had hoped. While I was able to get some crowd reactions and a feel for the day early on, once the Crown races began it was tough to get downstairs and get some mingling done. I wish I could have done more of this with some photos as it was a great crowd and a little more color from them would have improved the look and feel of the notes on the day.
So was the day for yours truly a success? I guess there are a couple of ways I can measure what success is. I'll be tackling the picking winners part of success tomorrow when I review all the picks for the races I made, what bets I may have changed near post time and how that worked out.
I was a bit disappointed that Bernell Rhone couldn't get a winner with Couple Whiles, that Emerald Bay Stables (and friend Jack Holstrom) couldn't get a win with Pursue A Dream or Spider Power, that Ready's Rocket (and friend Gary Porter) couldn't cross the line first or that one of our local jockeys couldn't boot home a winner in the Crown. While these weren't necessarily unexpected events, I was still rooting for them.
As far as the live blogging went, my hope was that average traffic would increase by a multiple of four for the day. It ended up being six. Twenty five states were represented in the traffic numbers as well as literally a geographic spread sea to sea and border to border. Six countries were also represented. There were some nice e-mails from folks as well as some instant and continuous feedback via Twitter. Thanks goes out to fellow Internet denizens Green But Game, The Aspiring Horseplayer and Raceday360 for helping to get the word out. So while I consider the live blogging a success, I think I can do a bit better now that I have a feel for how to get around more and what I can add to jazz up the coverage.
Finally, my thanks to all of you that click in here from time to time and especially those of you that tried me out for the first time for the Claiming Crown. I hope you realized two things: this guy ain't half bad and; boy they really have a nice place there at Canterbury Park!
- First of all, a HUGE thank you to Jeff Maday, media relations chief at Canterbury Park who got me credentialed and allowed me a spot in the press box to blog live all day from the event. We had a great deli lunch, a super set up and were very well hosted by Jeff and his staff - Bonnie and Justin were both fabulous.
- The pre-racing banter in the press box from the likes of Steve Davidowitz, Marty McGee, Steve Fierro and others made my day. Listening to the angles and reasoning for picks as they floated selections on the upcoming card was worth the price of admission. Well, it WOULD have been worth the price of admission if there were an admission charge. Davidowitz's book, "Betting Thoroughbreds" was one of the first books I ever read on racing. Unfortunately I reverted back to my high school football mentality: being the new guy I was to be seen and not heard. Instead of 'acting like I'd been there', I should have embraced my newness and not been uncomfortable approaching the legends. I especially lamented not taking this course of action when my stable mate at the end of the row, Steve Fierro, ended up being a tremendously personable and approachable guy.
- While maybe not a Steve Davidowitz as far as fame goes, it was an absolute highlight to my day meeting the lovely and engaging Quinella Queen as well as her equally charming King, Kevin. A lot of great horse and life discussions prior to racing. I'm glad that they made the trip out to our little corner of heaven and I hope to reciprocate next time I'm through Iowa.
- The access to information in the press box is really invaluable. Handle stats, attendance numbers, how the day is moving along as it is viewed by track management was all great information to have. It's not that this information is proprietary, it's just getting it earlier than normal was great to relay to folks tuning in.
- The quality of the racing stock was stellar and this reflects directly on the trainers and their teams in the Crown races. Most of the men and women whose names appear on the training line of the program are not household names. They don't spend their days gearing up for yet another graded stakes race or dealing with the media. They train average racehorses and try and make a living in the toughest racing ranks out there: the every day claimers. And these horses looked fabulous! Many remarks were uttered throughout the racing plant on how good the horses looked and how well behaved they were in front of a large and loud crowd. Again this all speaks toward the high level of training prowess among the folks that work with these every day heroes and may never see the quality of racing stock of an Asmussen, Dutrow or Pletcher.
- Though our local jocks may not have won any of the Crown races, they did pretty well holding their own against the big boys. Within a few of the races there were moves from Derek Bell, Ry Eikelberry and others that had had a direct bearing on the outcome of the race and improved their own chances of finishing in the money. Still, watching Russell Baze, Julien Leparoux, Jamie Theriot and Robby Albarado was a privilege. Theriot's ride and his work down the stretch aboard Antrim County was a particular joy to behold and a racing highlight of the day.
- I was able to do far less color than I originally had hoped. While I was able to get some crowd reactions and a feel for the day early on, once the Crown races began it was tough to get downstairs and get some mingling done. I wish I could have done more of this with some photos as it was a great crowd and a little more color from them would have improved the look and feel of the notes on the day.
So was the day for yours truly a success? I guess there are a couple of ways I can measure what success is. I'll be tackling the picking winners part of success tomorrow when I review all the picks for the races I made, what bets I may have changed near post time and how that worked out.
I was a bit disappointed that Bernell Rhone couldn't get a winner with Couple Whiles, that Emerald Bay Stables (and friend Jack Holstrom) couldn't get a win with Pursue A Dream or Spider Power, that Ready's Rocket (and friend Gary Porter) couldn't cross the line first or that one of our local jockeys couldn't boot home a winner in the Crown. While these weren't necessarily unexpected events, I was still rooting for them.
As far as the live blogging went, my hope was that average traffic would increase by a multiple of four for the day. It ended up being six. Twenty five states were represented in the traffic numbers as well as literally a geographic spread sea to sea and border to border. Six countries were also represented. There were some nice e-mails from folks as well as some instant and continuous feedback via Twitter. Thanks goes out to fellow Internet denizens Green But Game, The Aspiring Horseplayer and Raceday360 for helping to get the word out. So while I consider the live blogging a success, I think I can do a bit better now that I have a feel for how to get around more and what I can add to jazz up the coverage.
Finally, my thanks to all of you that click in here from time to time and especially those of you that tried me out for the first time for the Claiming Crown. I hope you realized two things: this guy ain't half bad and; boy they really have a nice place there at Canterbury Park!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Express
Early money right now is on the 8 and 9: Ready's Rocket and Chasing the Prize, my top two choices. This is a pretty deep field though, and any one of several could win this one. This could be the race that we get a boxcars payoff. With ten going six, a lot can happen!
Attendance is oustanding with over 14,000 on hand here today. The weather is cooperating nicely as there is a preponderance of sun as opposed to earlier in the day when we had some dark overcast skies. Folks have seen a great show and are certainly treated to some oustanding performances included Albarado's ride on Mizzcan'tbewrong in the Tiara.
Attendance is oustanding with over 14,000 on hand here today. The weather is cooperating nicely as there is a preponderance of sun as opposed to earlier in the day when we had some dark overcast skies. Folks have seen a great show and are certainly treated to some oustanding performances included Albarado's ride on Mizzcan'tbewrong in the Tiara.
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