Almond Eye storms away from the field then under persuasion, she hangs on to impressively win the Gr 1 Dubai Turf over 1800m on Sunday morning.
Everyone raved about it and yes, it was outstanding, probably even awesome.
The time was good, the way she won was grand sitting 3-deep most of the way and she is clearly brilliant. Her trainer said she is headed to England now then will be aimed at the Arc, probably clashing with Enable.
The words ‘Global Superstar, true champion’, all the accolades possible from the racing experts at the track were spoken.
Then came this comment from Hong Kong based racing analyst, Andrew Le Jeune, who has worked in Australia. “She is a proven superstar now, and she looked great winning Gr 1s against her own age, then took on the boys and beat them too in the Japan Cup to cement her brilliance .”
True statement. BUT, really Andrew? You said what?….That almost sexist comment was delivered as if to say the true test of a female racehorse is performing against the males.
Well, that is utter rubbish.
It is in fact the other way around.
And it’s very easy to back that up.
Winx is the best racehorse on the planet. She is a girl. Almond eye is quite extraordinary as well…a girl.
Enable is the best horse in Europe and in the top three globally. She is a girl.
Closer to home, we’ve seen the emergence of Mystic Journey with a Gr 1 thrashing, ’against the boys’, and then the All Star Mile win against a phalanx of former Gr 1 winning… boys.
And yesterday, Verry Elleegant won the Gr 1 Vinery Stud Stakes in a manner and style that says she is perhaps the best middle distance 3YO – of any gender – in Australasia.
In our past we’ve had Black Caviar – 25 wins from 25 starts, all ‘against the boys’. Best sprinter we or the world has ever seen. She is a girl.
Kiamichi, the young horse by Sidestep, just led all the way to win the Gr 1 Golden Slipper. She is a girl.
And of course Makybe Diva….. champion stayer and 3 x Gr 1 Melbourne Cup winner.
So it’s time we recognised the questionable fact, female racehorses are…. better. Period. And now when we talk about comparative expert performances we need to say, “well he’s a superstar because he’s done it against the girls.”
Everything about what we’ve known about horse racing has and is changing so quickly – and that premier racing gender is just one of them.
