"We Are Family"

Blame, at left. Posted before--we are ok with Arch colts winning big races. Uncle Mo below, broodmare sire, Arch.
Compared to our Arch in my pasture, observe that there is a family resemblance! I'd paid zero attention to Uncle Mo. When I watched the BC Juvenile with that huge rear end motoring down the track the fleeting thought was--looks familiar! Checked pedigree. Whoops. Arch.

Both BC horses are longer than ours and more athleticism. Rollin' Rodney (broodmare sire Arch) shares the strong leg structure and athletic powerful rear end.

Congrats. to Claiborne Farm and Ms. Dinschneider. Ironic. Blame it on Blame that legend of Z retires slightly tarnished.

Other BC thoughts:

1. Tremendous ride by Mike Smith. You'd have to be on a horse to understand how helpless you are when the horse refuses to run, as Z did after the start with sand obviously kicking her in the face. Happened again early backstretch when Smith was trying to rev. her up.

2. Great great race by Z and yet a little less than it looked visually. Though she was initially 18 lengths behind the front group, she was but 8-9 lengths behind the Blame group, and that's what she made up weaving through traffic.

3. The extra gear of speed Z needed in a championship race was absent. Training. Great job by Shirrefs except had noted--very little speed training. It's a speed game to win it all.

4. Blame---what of the training(?)--despite my historical disdain for methods such as Albert Stall--have noted what A. Stall has done/failed to do with many other horses-- Stall seems to have accomplished a decent training job with Blame. Note last post field PP analysis. Blame right there at the top in 3 month frequency of speed work, and near the top in the other categories.

5. Quality Road--bled, locked up his breathing due to lack of conditioning (likely), or was injured. To Plecher observers--expected.

6. Lookin' At Lucky--a decent instead of great horse, it seems. You expect a Baffert horse to be running, and he was.

7. Haynesfield--the thought of prior post--the weight would give him trouble, and the obviously tiring track and slow training since the JC Gold Cup hardly helped.

8. Espoir City--prominent and leading at the mile call!

9. First Dude--wish they'd give that horse to Baffert, or bring Nafzger out of retirement.

10. Fly Down--Zito training has increased in intensity--see PPs. Obvious response to competition.

11. Richard Dutrow--whoops--without a horse in the Classic. Why?

12. By my eyeball think I prefer BC raced on the synthetic to deep Churchill dirt.

13. Zenyatta: probably best ever.