It seems like the ESPN writers just love to pick on Jackson, and we aren’t talking Michael! Now, I have taken shots at his decision to run Rachel off little rest in the Preakness, but for the most part, I see him for what he is…a sportsman.

He is not ducking Zenyatta by choosing to bypass the Breeders Cup. Period. He has proven that he does not duck anyone, and if Rachel’s races are any indication, she would have little trouble dispensing the reigning queen. She ran lights out in the Kentucky Oaks and came back two weeks later to take on the top three year old boys under new ownership. Zenyatta has yet to face the boys, even the glorified claimers of California’s circuit. Rachel embarrasses her inferior opponents in breathtaking displays. Zenyatta does not.

So Jess Jackson does not like ‘plastics.’ So what! The Breeders Cup races should not ever be races that define an entire year of work, which is exactly what has happened every year since its inception. The good old days used to focus on a horse’s whole body of work, not just one race that last weekend of October. Add to that the muddled picture synthetic surfaces brings to the table. There are horses that are superior on synthetics, and should they have the advantage since the Breeders Cup was ridiculously placed on that surface for two years in a row? Rachel has run on it once. Yes, she did well but she wasn’t facing a mare two years her senior, that runs primarily over it.

If anyone should be blamed it is Moss for choosing to duck competition, not once, but numerous times, maybe as many as nine! He wants to get his horse to the end of her career undefeated obviously and as Jeremy Plonk says that is more important than any Horse of the Year trophy. Is it? He points to Personal Ensign as an example, but seems to forget that Personal Ensign traveled, beat the boys and ran in the most heart-stopping Distaff in history against a Kentucky Derby winning darling and champion in her own right, Winning Colors. Sometimes in racing champions are judged by the company they keep and run against. Zenyatta defeated Ginger Punch and that may be the best horse she ever faced. That being said where is Cocoa Beach?

While I agree it is ridiculous to compare Zenyatta to Peppers Pride, her connections do leave open debate on just how fantastic she is. It has grown beyond tiresome seeing her fly past the same rivals over and over, the best recently being her own stablemate.

If the two ladies never meet, it will be ok. If Zenyatta were a turf darling, no one would be clamoring for a meeting between the two. So may be the same with dirt and synthetics in the years to come. They are different surfaces even though some in the industry will say they are not. It used to be horses ran over two surfaces and most were either a dirt horse or a turf horse. Now horses are asked to be a little of both also and run over synthetics. Until there are synthetics and turf (no dirt), the prejudices California horses face will continue to grow. If I were Jackson, I would not rush back to Santa Anita. Zenyatta has the advantage with her age, so I certainly would not give her the home court advantage. I would continue racing on the East coast, face the very best fillies and mares and beat the boys again in the Travers and maybe face them in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. I might even announce that the last race of Rachel’s season will be the Clark Handicap and if Zenyatta wants to challenge her there, so be it. At this point Rachel has won six of six so far at five different tracks, including three Grade Is and one against boys. Zenyatta has run just twice, one Grade I both at Hollywood Park. Anyone saying that Rachel has to beat Zenyatta, at this point is delusional. Now if she is to win the Breeders Cup Classic (and not the Ladies Classic), the game changes since thoroughbred racing loves to give awards out based on Breeders Cup results.

In other news glad to see that Mine That Bird’s connections finally bounced Borel. After his waffling during the Triple Crown it was long overdue. It is mind boggling how little respect this Kentucky Derby winner gets. After speaking with someone more in the know than me, I see it is more about jockeys wanting to ride for an entire stable instead of one particular horse. Mine That Bird does not come from a large racing operation, and therefore gets passed on more for loyalty purposes to larger stables, and not for lack of talent or promise. That being said his connections need to find a jockey who can make Mine That Bird their big classic horse. Mike Smith has Zenyatta running in the Classic so he is out for that, and Julien Leparoux (who has the right type of riding style for this fast late closing gelding) has Einstein as his big horse being possibly pointed to the Classic. At least both these riders would be able to commit to Bird until that point, and won’t make the mistake of bypassing his races in favor of an unproven colt like Warrior’s Reward. Why the connections of Warrior would want a jockey who will dump him in favor of Rachel should she run in either the Travers or Haskell is beyond me anyway. Granted, he may be a very nice colt, but Borel should have more loyalty to a horse and owner that netted him his second Kentucky Derby. It is understandable that Rachel would come first, but it is also understandable that Chip Wooley wants Mine That Bird to come before Warrior’s Reward, large stable or not. At this point he is the top three year old male in the country, and as a gelding the racing world could have him for years to come.