Six Weeks in Saratoga , livre ebook

State University of New York Press - Brendan O'Meara

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197 pages

English

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Semifinalist for the 2011 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award presented by Castleton Lyons and Thoroughbred Times

When Rachel Alexandra thundered to a stylish win against the boys in the 2009 Preakness Stakes, her connections came to the 141st Saratoga Race Course meeting wanting more than just another victory. They wanted Horse of the Year.

Her jockey, Calvin Borel, pointed triumphantly to the three-year-old filly beneath him. Rachel Alexandra was the best horse he had ever ridden and it was his job to ensure that she and her connections didn't leave Saratoga Springs without a victory.

Hall of Fame trainer and gruff New Yorker Nick Zito felt he could slay the queen. He'd take his shots with two rival horses, Da' Tara and Cool Coal Man, because, as he well knew, you can't win if you don't play.

New York Racing Association president and CEO Charlie Hayward knew that Rachel Alexandra could run elsewhere and didn't have to come to Saratoga. The pressure was on him to keep this talented and magnetic filly on his property, but how far could he go without compromising his values?

Then there were the other horses at the meet: the Zito-trained Commentator, eight years old and looking for one last try in the Whitney Handicap; Kentucky Derby–winner Mine That Bird, aiming to reclaim his glory if he could only stay healthy; and Summer Bird, the Belmont Stakes winner, who demanded respect.

Everyone was in the twilight of their careers. What would be their legacies? How would they be remembered?

Never before has the famous racing season at Saratoga been illustrated through these threads, in real time. As we follow the jockey, the trainer, and the executive, we come to understand how they, and so many other racing fans and professionals, were drawn to the magnetism of one special horse, Rachel Alexandra.

All of this happens in six weeks, all at Saratoga.
Acknowledgments
Prologue

1. Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on ’Toga’s Door

2. Health, History, Horses

3. Is She the One?

4. Lunch with Trophy

5. No Fear

6. Christmas Eve

7. Opening Day

8. The Problem with Pairs

9. A Shot at No. 3

10. Where He Still Races

11. Old Smoke

12. The Triple Crown Assembled

13. Enshrined

14. Out of the Fog and into the Fog

15. Fragility Illustrated

16. For Clarity’s Sake

17. The Fog Lifts

18. A Good Guy

19. One Tough Throat

20. The Travers Stakes

21. Comings and Goings

22. The Rachel Show

23. The Orphan

24. The Cusp

25. Alexandra the Great

26. King Henry V

27. Farewell to the Champ

Epilogue
References
Index

Sujets

Sport

Autour du sport

Histoire du sport

Regional

Region

Horse racing

History of sport

Sport équestre

Sports équestres

Informations

Publié par	State University of New York Press
Date de parution	01 juillet 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781438439433
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1648€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Six Weeks in SARATOGA
How Three-Year-Old Filly Rachel Alexandra Beat the Boys and Became Horse of the Year
BRENDAN O'MEARA

Cover art: Rachel Alexandra and Calvin Borel courtesy of Nicholas Aquilino
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2011 Brendan O'Meara
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Excelsior Editions is an imprint of State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O'Meara, Brendan.
Six weeks in Saratoga : how three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra beat the boys and became horse of the year / Brendan O'Meara.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4384-3941-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Rachel Alexandra (Race horse) 2. Race horses—United States—Biography. 3. Thoroughbred horse—United States—Biography. 4. Horse racing—California— Saratoga—History. I. Title.
SF355.R33O66 2011
636.1'320922—dc22 2011004372
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Melanie

Acknowledgments
Whoever said writing is a solitary act had it all wrong. The author is every bit the pitcher: the center of attention, but nothing without the players behind him or her. And so because writing is a team sport, here's a thank-you to my lineup for making all the plays.
Thanks to Betsy Senior, Steve Duncker, Hal Handel, P. J. Campo, Don Lehr, Dan Silver (and his tireless staff), and the rest of the New York Racing Association Huddle; to Ed Lewi, Mark Bardack, Steven Crist, John Pricci, and John Scheinman; and to all the dozens of turf writers who were the foot soldiers that provided much of the muscle to this skeleton. Thanks also to Lisa Borel (Funk), Jerry Hissam, Robby Albarado, Shaun Bridgmohan, and Cecil Borel; to Amy Kearns (my Rachel Alexandra liaison), Scott Blasi, Hal Wiggins, Ed Dodwell, Dede McGhee, and Dolphus Morrison; to Tim Poole, Maxine Correa, Todd Pletcher, and D. Wayne Lukas; to Victoria Garlanda (from the Saratoga Room at the Saratoga Springs Public Library) who was a tremendous aid for my John Morrissey chapter ( chapter 11 ); to Richard Hamilton, whose suggestions were priceless; to Donna Bates, who read the manuscript before its submission to SUNY Press; and to Marjorie Knechtel, who catalyzed the publication process, truly a stroke of luck.
The nonfictionist is nothing without characters, willing characters who allow you to be a partner in their lives and privacy. They withstand the most mundane questions (What did you eat that night? What was the weather like?). They also withstand the buzzing gnat that is the scribbling reporter always in their shadow, is their shadow. What do they have to gain by this? So it with heartfelt gratitude that I recognize my “A” threads in Charlie Hayward, Nicholas P. Zito, Calvin Borel, and Rachel Alexandra.
The greatest of all thanks, though, must extend to my wife Melanie. I worked on this book—the reporting and the writing—while on unemployment. And while my unemployment benefits weren't much less than what I was earning as a sports reporter for The Saratogian , Melanie felt the pressure of having to buy all our groceries and to be the rock while I continued to write.
So, Melanie, thank-you.

Prologue
The Answer
The Answer waited. It waited in the dimness of the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. Horse people in their best evening attire plucked hors d'oeuvres off of trays, trays that floated around the room. Their voices hummed. There was talk of the Answer: Who would win the 2009 Horse of the Year? Soon they found their seats and tuned their frequency to the stage for the start of the 39th Annual Eclipse Awards.
Zenyatta turned what was once unanimous into a debate. The 2009 Horse of the Year award had already been won—it was already Rachel Alexandra's award. Why did Zenyatta have to go and win the 2009 renewal of the Breeders' Cup Classic against male horses and look positively fantastic while in motion? She let the boys from America and Europe hold the door open long enough and unleashed her fury. Zenyatta, for those who don't know, was the unbeaten five-year-old mare who ran like a bulldozer on nitro down the middle of Santa Anita's synthetic surface to win the Classic. Perhaps race caller Trevor Denman said it best when Zenyatta struck the front in the Classic when he yelled, “This. Is. Un. Be. Lievable!”
It was supposed to be concrete.
Rachel Alexandra, the freakishly gifted three-year-old filly, had staved off older horses in the Woodward Stakes on closing weekend at Saratoga Race Course. She capped 2009 with her eighth consecutive victory—three against males, the latest against the older, more accomplished brand. Horse of the Year was hers. All she had to do was bask and smile for the camera. Then Zenyatta came running late.
The debating was virulent, the words venomous. Just read some of the forty-seven comments from Horse Race Insider editor and columnist John Pricci's Morning Line column, dated January 13, 2010, about the Rachel versus Zenyatta thread. Pricci wrote that it was best for Zenyatta fans if she lost the Horse of the Year vote, reasoning that Zenyatta would come back with her only loss to date being one handed out on paper, should the voters elect Rachel Alexandra over her.
What follows are actual comments, edited for clarity, from readers. Where no avatar was used, the full name has been abbreviated to simply the first or last name.
Jeff says:
My gut feeling is that RA will be retired if she wins HOTY and Zenyatta stays in training. RA can't hide in restricted 3yo races this year, and she wants no part of Zenyatta.
Freespirit says:
Nah, I don't think they will retire RA if she wins. Jackson won't do that, I don't think. However, even though I would love to see Zenyatta race again, not at the expense of her losing HOY. She so deserves it. RA is great too, but I think Zenyatta is better.
Anne says:
I do not understand all of you East Coast-voters' remarks always against Zenyatta. It is getting to be ridiculous and childish. Did that wine that Jess Jackson gave voters (that was announced) with her picture on it cloud your brains? We KNOW it clouded your votes. Stop it! RA can't run a 1¼. She beat a bunch of has-beens in the Woodward.
Zenyatta beat the best we and Europe had to offer in that BC Classic this year. She ran for the first time and proved she can handle it. She ran against the best males and beat them (why do it in 3 when you can beat a field like this in 1 race?). She always showed up and showed up in a fashion that we will NEVER see again. She has class, charm and determination (her own, not that brought on by 20+ whippings).
Give it a rest, Mr. Pricci.
Susan says:
Good Morning John,
I can tell you right now that this loyal Zenyatta fan is not rooting for her to lose. And if the Mosses are keeping her in training, and I hope they are, I don't think her running hinges on the outcome of HOTY. Of course she is going to win, BUT either way it appears that they may very well have a sound, fresh horse who has not been damaged by the rigors of a gut-wrenching campaign. That is the beauty and superiority of Zenyatta and ANOTHER testament to her greatness.
Ron says:
Ah, come on you guys touting RA for HOTY, can't you read a racing form's past performance or watch a race? take a look at the older horses, horses that RA beat in NY. They certainly weren't the best or the same class that Zenyatta defeated in the classic plus the three-year-old-colt crop sure wasn't the best we ever had. Not taking anything away from RA—she was definitely an outstanding filly, but no Zenyatta.
Mike says:
RA is the HOY. Sorry Zenyat-iacs. Beating a few grass horses on plastic tracks in dumpy bankrupt, fire-ridden California can't compare to winning 8 races on 7 tracks. The only thing preventing RA from HOY honors is the anti-NY media bias.
Sheila says:
I love both horses. That being said, Zenyatta's race in the BC was great, a wow moment. Every time Rachel ran this past year was a WOW moment. You can't deny it! I think that's all that needs to be said!
ThePixiePoet says:
I'm from California, proving this is not an East Coast—West Coast thing: I think Rachel Alexandra is the better horse. She should (barring injuries) put a lid on all nay-sayers in this year's campaign.
When Rachel is given more time to rest, she is a powerhouse. For example, when Rachel was given 2 months off after the Preakness, in her next race alone she broke 2 stakes records (time and winning margin) and came within one second of the track record set by Secretariat, while being eased!
Mark says:
When you go 14-0 against the best in the world, win 2 Breeders' Cups and NOT win HOY, explain how there's NOT an East Coast bias?
Terlingua says:
The best horse of 2009 is quite simple. It's not that hard, people.
Question: Who won the most money with less starts?
Answer: Zenyatta.
Anne M. says:
HOY is simple—Rachel Alexandra.
Zenyatta had one really good race the whole year and people think she should be HOY??? NO WAY.
The room buzzed. Rachel Alexandra, as expected, won Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. Zenyatta, as expected, won her second consecutive Champion Older Mare. Then it was on to the big one, the Answer.
The video montage of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta's races called hairs to an about-face. The announcer recited the select few female horses that have also won Horse of the Year over the