.........................................................................By Arsène ABITBOL - 16th Jan. 15.33 pm
.........................................................................
136 lbs...That's what Sea The Stars was given after his gliterring career...That is what was awarded 3 y.o who made history when he romped home in the 2,000 Guineas , The Epsom Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - video link -. To start with, he is the only one who has done this !
Secondly, he broke the track record in the Coral-sponsored Eclispe Stakes, completing the 10 f in 2'03''40... What else can handicappers expect ?? The horse beat what he was given to beat. He is smart, so he doesn't enjoy making too much and saves his gears and effort. That is his temper because he is smart. So much so, that when parading in the paddock on 4th October (Arc Day), many French jockeys said they had never ever seen such a cool horse.
Similarly to Zarkava who was given a dismal rating, Sea The Stars never dug further than 80 % of his capabilities. I am not making this up as his partner Mick Kinane spoke about 80 % ... Handicappers should have taken this into account...they might have, but certainly not enough..Anyhow, 136 lbs is just not right, and it is not a fair tribute to an exceptional thoroughbred of his calibre. Peintre Célèbre was rated 137 and I am curious to know if the handicapper at the time was the same because, make no mistake, The Wildenstein horse, was a fantastic racehorse and a great tribute to French racing (myself beign a French national) but he did not achieve what S.T.S achieved.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Posts
You make a great point. Sea The Stars is exactly like our great horse, Citation, in the 40's. Citation had the speed, and more gears than imaginable but he won by what was sufficient. Smart horses do that.
ReplyDeleteOur Tiznow was similar. In fact, he lost a lot of races after his back problems and became very picky about working, often standing for 45 minutes or more during his works. But he knew when the Big Races were!!
Are they really giving Zenyatta and Rachel 3 pounds to move them up to 3rd and 4th in the rankings? What about Zarkava? Where is her 3 pounds? I feel her Arc had to be underappreciated after a troubled start, significant traffic problems, and no chance to accelerate until the last couple hundred yards.
I fully believe Zarkava would have demolished Curlin in 2008, even at his preferred distance of a mile and a quarter.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete