Ok, I’ll amend my statement.
The 2008 HOY was the weakest in my memory.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3874120]
As an aside - Zenyatt’s 1/2 sister (via the dam Vertigineux) tries again to break her maiden today at Gulfstream Park in the 9th race.
3-yr old Treasure Trail (Pulpit - Vertigineux by Kris S.) was sold for $550,000 as a yearling and has sadly done little in the spirit of Zenyatta or even Vertigineaux.[/QUOTE]
FYI She finished 6th
[QUOTE=2LaZ2race;3873268]
why didn’t she win?[/QUOTE]
She didn’t win because Curlin broke the most money earned record, and was absolutely brillant in Dubai and the first part of the year.
Zenyatta never raced in open company. The only female ever to win the HOY while racing in restricted company was Azeri, and there was hardly any competition that year for horse of the year. War Emblem was the best male that year.
While Zenyatta is a wonderful mare and may be one for the ages, Curlin was a wonderful horse as well. We’ll likely not see another one of him for awhile.
Personally, Curlin would have gotten my vote. He was more brillant than her at the beginning of the year, and had a much tougher campaign than her. It is very tough for a horse to travel around the world and continue to win races like Curlin did. Traveling takes a lot out of them. Also, Curlin didn’t duck anyone and tried all three surfaces.
Zenyatta is brillant too, but we’ll see how she handles the boys this year. Her connections are wonderful, so she is easy to root for.
When you combine stamina, speed, athleticism, soundness, and consistency, Curlin was the best route male to race since Cigar.
