We got a comment – how about that? And wouldn’t you know it, it’s an angry one.

Kay writes:

Yes, Zenyatta’s owners ARE open to running her on dirt, as evidenced by the fact that she’s won two GI races on dirt. When will this dirt nonsense stop? She’s based in California, and she runs on what’s offered. She’s not ducking any surface. It would be great if people would stop making this non-issue into something legitimate. It’s actually Jess Jackson who has come out and said that he won’t run his horse on “plastic,” even though Rachel Alexandra has won on the surface. But everyone knows that it’s really Curlin’s defeat at Santa Anita that has made Jess hate synthetics. So why not make this accurate — Jess Jackson is afraid of synthetic surfaces and the Mosses have no problem with dirt.

Shees.

First, Kay, how on Earth did you find this blog? Second, welcome!

Kay, here at Intelligently Defending we strive for accuracy – well, most of the time. I would love to take your advice and correct the entry – but I’m having a hard time finding out what is wrong.

- I said ‘Rachel’s owner [Jess Jackson] is steadfastly against those poly surfaces.’ I’m not sure how much more explicit I could have been than that.

- At no point did I accuse Zenyatta and her connections of ducking anybody. I merely stated that she is a veteran of poly tracks and implied that she would prefer to run on synthetic – the first half of that statement is fact and I’d be willing to wager the second half is too.

I don’t think its any secret that Jackson hates poly surfaces since Curlin lost the Classic at Santa Anita. Whether he is right or wrong (personally, I agree with him) we won’t be seeing this race unless it’s on dirt. As you mentioned, the Mosses seem to be fine with this so, as racing fans, let’s hope this thing goes down.

Thanks for writing.

-Ken
http://IntelligentlyDefending.com

Mark it down – sheeee’s baaack.

After being narrowly beaten in her first two starts of 2010 after her Horse of the Year campaign in 2009, Rachel Alexandra has rolled off two straight wins. She followed her 10 length romp in the Fleur de Lis with a dominating 3 length victory on Saturday down the Jersey Shore at Monmouth Park in the Lady’s Secret… No word on if Snooki was in attendance

Check it out…

Meanwhile, out West, Zenyatta continues to cement her legacy as an all-time great. About a month ago she improved her unblemished record to 17 for 17 in the Vanity Handicap and set the all-time mark for consecutive wins in the process. The race itself was one of her most thrilling yet as she came on in the last few yards to steal the win.

Peep that ish below…

With Zenyatta still at the top of her game and Rachel returning to form, it would appear that talk of a possible showdown will once again surface. It would be the biggest race in probably the last 25 years and a huge day for the sport. The biggest question is where the race would take place. Zenyatta is a veteran of the synthetic tracks of California and Rachel’s owner is steadfastly against those poly surfaces. If the race does go down, Zenyatta would have to venture to a dirt surface - which her owners seem open to.

Personally, I’d like to see Rachel impressively win the Personal Ensign in late August at Saratoga to cement her return to prominence. From there, we can have an autumn clash of the titans.

Here’s hoping it goes down, because these are two of the best ever - male or female - and the racing community deserves to see them do battle.

We’ll get back to the world of MMA tomorrow when we discuss the possible MMA debut of the Guide Sensation.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com