This page is a Daily Archive of entries for Friday, July 11, 2008 listed from newest to oldest.
A Champion Born, a King is put to the Test
Last Saturday, Zenyatta, the big four year-old filly, went to her sixth career start looking a little sweatier than usual. And even under circumstances that showed the girl was having an off day, the “Amazon” managed to hold off rival Tough Tiz’s Sis, winning the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap by half a length. For Zenyatta, an “off day” means winning by a half length instead of 4 and a half. Until the Vanity, no horse has come to challenge Zenyatta in the stretch, at closest trailing her by a 1 ¾ lengths — and that horse happened to be Bob Baffert trainee, Tough Tiz’s Sis. Openly admitting he had been trying to avoid a match-up with his filly against Zenyatta again, Baffert had hoped the daughter of Tiznow would be able to keep her two-race winning streak rolling. It was not to be, as the reigning Queen of California proved to be the best even when she didn’t feel like it.
I’ve long debated an angle for my next Cardinals-related column. While the acquisitions of C.C. Sabathia by the Brewers and Rich Harden by the Cubs could provide an opportunity to express a desire for the Cardinals to pick up a shut-’em-down reliever and big bat, I’ll take a pass this week. I’ll even avoid talking about the implosion of Mark Mulder’s shoulder, yet again, and the surprise promotion of one of St. Louis’ prized pitching prospects, Jamie Garcia. For by this time next week I’ll have a better read on all of the above.
In the meantime, there are always books to read while wasting away warm summer afternoons. So, let’s discuss some you may have a hard time putting down.
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