List of horses that I have jinxed by getting all attached and watching their races:
Cigar (and his win streak)
Silver Charm
Real Quiet
Charismatic
War Emblem
Funny Cide
Smarty Jones
…after Smarty I fell out of racing for a while because my heart was shattered into billions of tiny pieces because I was tired of the racing gods toying with me.
Then along comes Zenyatta. Holy crap, 19 for 19? Undefeated? Always comes from behind to win in the last second? SIGN ME UP.
…and of course, in the biggest race of her life, going for 20 out of 20…
…she runs harder than she has ever run, she comes from dead last and some 20 lengths off the lead, she weaves her way through terrible heavy traffic, she disproves everyone who said she couldn’t run on dirt…
…and she loses by a head.*
I AM NOT ALLOWED TO WATCH MY FAVORITE RACEHORSES ANYMORE.
Though on the plus side, I guess we can use me as a reliable indicator for who to bet on to place. Eh?
—
* (Click here to view my response.)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That horse is still worth a fortune, though, so don’t feel too bad.
@ Bell – She still put in a fantastic run and I think no less of her as a racehorse. But it was still so very very sad face 🙁
But you echo the way so many of us feel. My heart stopped when Smarty didn’t make it to his coronation. Literally. And yesterday was just as heart breaking. Oh I still love them both. Just can’t take the pain.
Why are weird racehorse names in America cool whereas in England they are just things like “Sunday Lunch” and “Bored With Otters” and my invented examples are way more awesome than the names they have here. xD
I believe that she lost to traffic and timing, not to Blame (who is a great horse). It was clear that she was the best dang horse on the field that day.
@ Gunslinger – Oh, Smarty… that was so heartbreaking. I mean, it’s been six years and I still hate to think about it.
@ Mr. Adequate – Okay, I would bet on “Bored With Otters” FOREVER.
@ Twayblade – I 100% agree, she was the best horse in that field. Blame is also very good, but honestly… Zen is better overall.
You know, I rooted for Cigar, Silver Charm, and Real Quiet. Always wondered why they lost:) Haven’t really followed the racing world since then, though.