Deux Choses

The Head Chef and I are busy getting ready for a vacation in Paris (that's right, the week after the Arc), so I'll add that to the long list of excuses for the infrequent posting around here the last few weeks: our internet being down or intermittent after the storm (finally fixed a couple of days ago), being seriously ill with a bad case of bronchitis and asthma (and being really tired from the antibiotic I finally got to get over it). Don't know when I'll next post, so here's some comments on a couple of completely unrelated topics.

- I see via Railbird that Haskin is still whining that the public is owed a believable explanation, or any explanation for that matter as to why Rachel Alexandra was retired.

How can you not wonder what Rachel would have done had she not been retired, coming off three bullet works. Was she injured? Did she bleed? Were her feet acting up? Or did Jess Jackson simply wake up one morning and decide to retire her? As long as Jackson keeps the reason for her retirement to himself and keeps Steve Asmussen and Scott Blasi under a gag order, we’re always going to wonder. Her devoted fans deserved more. [Bloodhorse]

And a Railbird commenter adds:

Some of these connections, don’t seem to understand how we racing fans feel. That they are not their horses, they’re OUR horses.

Well, actually, the writer needs to get over that. They are not OUR horses. Jess Jackson owns Rachel Alexandra, and he has the right to do anything he wants with her (well, not anything).

Whatsmore, I don't really see where he owes anyone an explanation. And I think those who are demanding one need to move on with their lives at this point. The fact is, it doesn't really matter why he retired her. It's not important; after all, it's not like we're going to learn anything that will benefit the sport or the species (other than keep them out of the hands of egotistical owners like Jackson).

I think you can be sure that the decision to retire Rachel was made with what's best for Jess Jackson in mind, and not for the filly, who, as Haskin correctly points out, was training extremely well for whatever race she wasn't being pointed to. Jackson says that she deserves a less stressful life, which I guess means being herded into a stall and having her massive stablemate Curlin forced upon her without even an introductory glass of wine to loosen up; and then spending the vast majority of the rest of her life being pregnant.

I suspect that Jackson is the one who wanted a less stressful life. Maybe he's tired of being criticized and told how to campaign his horse by know-nothings like me; or maybe, with the Classic effectively out of the question, he was afraid for her legacy if she ran in races like the Distaff in which she really had little to gain. Well, of course there's the purse money, but what's the price for peace of mind? Whatever the reason however, and as selfish and ego-driven as it might have been, it's really pas de vos affaires; it's nobody's business but his.

- Carl Paladino now has nothing to say regarding his blurted-out accusations last week that Andrew Cuomo kept paramours. On Tuesday, he said of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver "“The man’s a criminal, OK?” And he added: "I have no intention of sitting down with Shelly Silver." Seems like a constructive way to run the state. He also said that Andrew Cuomo "should be in jail," and that he would "absolutely" prosecute him as governor. It seems like Carl just can't help himself. Even with fellow Republicans urging him to tone it down, he only appears to know how to dial it up to 11.



The Paladino campaign has set up a "debate clock" showing how many days Cuomo has declined to agree to a debate But I don't blame the Cuomo campaign for not wanting to lend their opponent the air of legitimacy that the debate format does. That might make Paladino seem like a serious candidate, when, in fact, he's nothing but a loudmouth, name-calling, blustering blowhard who, if he's not a racist, then he must be a moron for sending those vile emails along. Cuomo may very well be a far cry from the outsider he's trying to make himself out to be. And the tight control over his access goes a long way to enhance the "King Andrew" notion that he considers himself entitled to the position. But at least he's a man with a plan - 252 pages worth - and if it's not the radical change that the state government needs, at least it's a realistic, if incremental, step in that direction. Paladino has nothing to offer but the steam coming out of his ears.

You'd think that Cuomo would be ahead in the polls by more than he is, but it seems as if the "upstate" vote is roughly split. I guess I don't really know much about upstate, where is it exactly, somewhere near Texas?

And with that, au revior, bonne chance aux courses, et de vous parler bientôt!