Eight Belles Part II

As Johnny Cash once sang... I'm a very worried man.

If you've been under a rock the last couple weeks you are probably un-aware... but otherwise surely you know that yet another promising filly will run with the boys in a triple crown race. Just two weeks ago Rachael Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths.

Now you have to understand... that doesn't mean she wasn't trying. She's special. She knows one speed... GOOOOO! Before the Oaks she frequently fought her training riders. She simply has to run. Deep down inside... she has a burning desire to run flat out... and she will run... until she dies.

Just like Eight Belles in last year's Derby. She was would beat Big Brown or die trying. We all saw how that ended.

Now... on just two weeks rest... Rachael Alexandra will trot out against the boys.

The media crush has been unbelievable. Bo-Rail has shunned the Derby winner to ride her. That's something that has never happened before. She's the only horse anyone is talking about.

Now keep that media glare in mind when you consider this... there is a towering mountain evidence that clearly states the folly of running a filly in amongst a group of males. The pheromones skyrocket... and it clearly freaks the girls out.

So...

What happens when the whole world is watching... and the famous and glamorous Rachael Alexandra is put down on the track after she ran herself to death trying to catch the bursting Mine That Bird?

I'm very worried. I'm very very worried.

Goliath Has Arrived...

The question is... where is David?

The 19 horses living horses that ran in the Derby are now scattering all over the country. Only one of them is heading for Baltimore. The rest are heading home to heal their wounded pride.

Big Brown dominated in such a fashion... that not a single one of the Derby also ran's is going to bother running in the Preakness. Boys... this doesn't happen. Even when Barbaro dominated the Derby by 5 lengths... there were still other owners out there that thought they got a bad trip... they figured maybe with some luck they could run him down.

Not this year. They've seen enough.

I'm looking at the list of horses that are likely to race The Freak in a couple weeks. David ain't in there. This is a group of hacks... and Big Brown is gonna blow them out of the water.

So then it will be New York... where the distance... 12 furlongs will give some owners hope. Looking at the way Big Brown finished the Derby though, I can't imagine why they'd think he couldn't go that far.

War Pass is lurking... healing up and resting. He's probably the last one standing that has a chance against Big Brown... but I guess the question I would have is... why run him? Is it worth the risk? How much value does War Pass lose if Big Brown smokes him like everyone else? He's a good horse... I've seen him run when he was healthy. But he's not a Freak.

I keep using that word... let me give you a specific example of what makes Big Brown special. Go back and watch the Derby. If you have an HD television... look at his ears. They are flopping around dude. The horse is out there breezing. He's not even trying. He wants to try... but the jockey keeps saying no... then watch him make his move. The idiot announcers keep saying it takes a few strides to get going... that's not what happened at all.

At one point... the jockey showed him the whip and asked him to take the lead. He did. That was the first big move... once he passed Recapture the Glory... he actually holds him up... then he tells Big Brown to go again.. and he makes a second move.

Horses don't do that. They have 1 big move in them. This is so much horse... you can ask him to go two or three times.

I tell ya... generally around this time of year I find myself wondering... Can he do it?

Not so this year.

This year I find myself thinking... is there anyone out there that can stop him? Maybe I'm a chump... but I don't think there's another horse out there that can deal with him.