Alicia Wincze Hughes on horse racing

I didn’t think anything could top the passionate Rachel Alexandra-Zenyatta Horse of the Year debate that erupted last season in the aftermath of the Breeders’ Cup. But then, Blame had the audacity to keep his head in front of Zenyatta’s at the finish of this year’s $5 million Classic at Churchill Downs and, voila, we have a whole other chapter of heated talks occurring when it comes to 2010 edition of year-end honors.

Much has already been written as to why one deserves the Horse of the Year trophy over the other. Many of the vocal Zenyatta supporters pointing to her career body of work and mainstream appeal as to why one narrow defeat in her final start should not deny her the one accolade that has eluded her. How – they argue – can a mare who earned 13 Grade I wins, won 19 of 20 career starts, bankrolled more than $7.3 million and captured the hearts of millions of hardboots and casual observers alike possibly have a career that does not include racing’s highest honor?

When the Eclipse Awards are announced on January 17, Zenyatta may indeed make all that a moot point. But on my ballot, the vote went to Blame for numerous reasons.

As many before me have said, it’s Horse of the Year, not of Horse of the Career. Thus, I’m only looking at what Zenyatta did in 2010 compared to what Blame did in the same time period and in my opinion, his body of work comes out on top.

The general opinion heading into the Breeders’ Cup was that if either Blame, Zenyatta, Lookin At Lucky or Quality Road were to emerge victorious, said horse would be the favorite for the year-end award.  It doesn’t matter how wide the margin was. It doesn’t matter if you think Zenyatta may have stuck her nose in front of his a few jumps past the wire. When they hit the line at the end of the 1 1/4-miles journey, Blame had defeated the horse that had previously never been beaten and won fair and square.

It’s not like Blame was some one-hit wonder either.  After opening his season with a triumph in the Grade III William D. Schaefer at Pimilco on May 15, his wins in the Grade I Stephen Foster and Whitney Handicap – where he ran down Quality Road at his peak after the latter got a leisurely half mile in :48 – cemented him as one of the top older horses in the country. Blame’s lone loss this year came when he ran second in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup to Haynesfield on October 2.

I’ve read many who point to Haynesfield’s 11th-place showing in the Classic, and Quality Road’s last-place effort that same day as proof Blame was just beating up lackluster competition. To that end, I point out that Haynesfield and Quality Road came into the Classic with four Grade I wins between them last year.  By contrast, Zenyatta had not faced a single Grade I winner in 2010 prior to stepping into the gate at Churchill Downs (Lady’s Secret runner-up Switch did go on to win the Grade I La Brea Stakes in late December ). Also, trying to downplay Blame’s form doesn’t help Zenyatta’s Horse of the Year cause – not when he’s the one who beat her.

Fact is, Blame was an extremely talented, tactical runner who could make his own luck and did exactly what he was primed all year to do – run the race of his life in the Classic.  It was the same plan owners Jerry and Ann Moss and trainer John Shirreffs had for Zenyatta, only theirs fell just short. There is no shame in that, but it doesn’t make up for the fact the ambitious campaign they initially promised when they announced she was staying in training for 2010 did not materialize.

That she remained primarily in California again doesn’t bother me so much as the fact they chose the safe route of keeping her against her own sex, whom she had clearly established superiority over, and didn’t test her against males in some of the top West Coast races like the Pacific Classic and Goodwood Stakes prior to the Breeders’ Cup. If another female horse had run Zenyatta’s identical 2010 campaign and fallen short of Blame in the Classic, would the same push be there to make that distaffer Horse of the Year? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no.

Of course we know it’s not just any female horse. It is Zenyatta. She is charismatic. She is immensely loved. She has inspired a slew of people to become fans of the sport. But championships are not based on popularity. If they were, Barbaro would have been the 2006 Horse of the Year, the New York Yankees would win every World Series and Brett Favre would have 10 Super Bowl rings.

Championships are based on performance and in 2010, I believe the superior equine performer was Blame. He won the most important races and he beat the best quality horses when it counted. The campaign Blame ran makes him a more than worthy champion and he should not be penalized because his Q score doesn’t rival Zenyatta’s or because some feel she should have already won this honor in past seasons.

It takes nothing away from what Zenyatta has done. She – like Personal Ensign, Easy Goer, Silver Charm and a slew of greats before her – simply came along at a time when racing was blessed with other top-quality horses. And considering the sport has more problems that it can count, I for one am grateful we have had more than one star performer to get our hearts racing.