In my lifetime I have had a few females tie me up in knots, OK, get your head out of the gutter, not bondage, but emotionally.
Thorpedo Anna can join that crowd, over the years, as I honed my craft visually, I have had success pegging down a horse, as the late Jerry Antonucci, a media personality in California, for a long time, once said out loud in the press box, 'when you figure out a horse you can be very effective in your analysis'.
'Anna has stumped me at times, originally I thought she was all-world as she was beginning in her career.
Her preparation for the Oaks, however, threw me, and i got blasted for it, I can only report and write about what I see.
She had been somewhat erratic in her gallops, flipping leads, as she was uncomfortable, leading up to the Oaks, on a regular horse that's the agonizing tale of going south at the time, falling off form, but she rebounded, quickly, and powered thru an impressive Oaks score.
After the Oaks, she looked like the monster she is, the amazon filly, right up there with the best, but here comes the Travers and the boys.
In the morning, she is running off, videos of her unable to be controlled, are circulating, for a Tom, Harry or Jane, its again, signs of being over the top but once again, 'Anna proved to be one tough 'amazon' girl.
The credit I will put squarely on the shoulders of her trainer Kenny McPeek. He has handled her superbly, she carries great weight, good coat. McPeek is maybe turning in his best training job ever, and he has had some phenomenal horses.
What I saw in the Travers I can compare with Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta, Manistique, and other phenomenal female competitors in any sport I have had the pleasure to witness from morning to afternoon, in a losing effort, and how about her rider?
We are also seeing the emergence of Brian Hernandez, Jr.
Always very talented, he seems to be putting the mental with the physical, he is a very smart rider.
But staying with the girls, females are at a disadvantage vs males, for one single factor, brute strength, in any sport, females have to be craftier, smarter, as most females reading this are nodding in approval, and the males are scratching their heads.
Females have to handle the male counterparts with finesse rather than brute strength unless you own the power, size and strength of a Winning Colors, Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra. Their size and strength have to be comparable to the males.
When I say running a filly vs boys is tough, it can gut them, Rachel was never the same, if you recall.
D Wayne Lukas, more than once, commented on female horses taking on the males, have to look like a colt, and then he had Serena's Song, whom was dainty, small, but gutty.
In reality it comes down to is inner strength and constitution of the horse.
All of us, have been thru ordeals, right or wrong, life, some of us have become stronger, others have wilted, pressure is the equalizer for all, and the pressure on these 'girls' to compete at the highest level is even greater.
No matter what 'Anna has projected in the morning, she has overcome in the afternoon.
Now, her biggest test is overcoming the huge effort she put forth in the Travers, the distance, and the competition, as Fierceness, who looks like a filly more than a colt, came of age in front of our own very eyes.
I do believe my eyes. Yes, Iam going to be wrong at times, and I will get called out by the laughing 'Hyenas' in today's world, so be it, we will get the last laugh in the long run
This is why I my ears are pricked, Adare Manor, is running the Pacific Classic.
'Anna may be the gotcha moment in that decision.
As I keep an eye out on the future, I throw one out into the universe, if Adare' rings the bell in the Pacific Classic, we have two amazon girls leading the charge to the Breeders Cup Classic!
I am all tied up in knots for that one!
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