March has begun. Over the next thirty-one days, many great things will happen. Along the Triple Crown Trail, there is the Gotham Stakes, Palm Beach Stakes, Rebel Stakes, San Felipe Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby, Florida Derby, Swale Stakes, Lane's End Stakes, Louisiana Derby, Rushaway Stakes, and the Sunland Derby. March also marks the 2010 debuts of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, who will likely meet for the first time in April's Apple Blossom Handicap. It's going to be a great month, but there is something that I must mention, something that I have been thinking about for several months.
Whatever happened to rivalries?
It seems like there aren't any rivalries anymore. Gone are the days of Affirmed and Alydar, Easy Goer and Sunday Silence, and Kelso and Gun Bow. When will the next great rivalry emerge?
Let's take a look at the three year olds of 2010. Let's say that two of them are going to end up with the greatest rivalry in the history of horse racing. Which two will it be?
The first requirement of a good rivalry is two good names. Lookin at Lucky and Eskendereya doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. What are needed are two good names, with not too many syllables, which sound pleasant and look good together.
If you go by that, Connemara and Conveyance fit the bill. They sound good together, look good together, and even start with the same three letters. The two names may be a little long, but not too long. Those are the top requirement for a rivalry, besides both horses meeting frequently.
The second requirement is different running styles. In my opinion, it's no good to have a rivalry where both horses run together from the start. It's better to have one horse race near the pace and one horse come from behind. It makes it very exciting.
In this case, Connemara and Conveyance fit the bill once more. Conveyance likes to go wire-to-wire, while Connemara prefers to come from behind.
The third requirement is that both names should be easy to type. If they a going to be meeting frequently, than their names better be simple!
In this case, Connemara and Conveyance do not fit the bill. Both names requiring moving your fingers every which way, trying to push those letters that are at least a few inches apart.
In this case, it's hard to beat Rule and Dublin. The names are super easy to type. Try it! Rule and Dublin, Rule and Dublin, Rule and Dublin, Rule and Dublin. See how easy they are to type? Of course, their names don't look quite as good together as Connemera and Conveyance, but at least Rule and Dublin are short and easy to pronounce. The names remind me of Kelso and Gun Bow.
But the most important requirement of any good rivalry is that they meet frequently and always put on a good show. Affirmed and Alydar would still be legendary, even if their names had been Ojunkoyowow and Gebagobu.
So which three year olds would make the best rivalry? My choice would be Rule and Dublin. They look ready to present many great races to us, assuming that they both stay sound. I think that Rule can get a mile and a quarter. Perhaps he can't do it against the very best, but he should be able to carry his speed at least a mile and an eighth against the best of them. Dublin has a nice closing kick and should be able to thrill us with many late runs at the top levels of the sport. Rule and Dublin sound good together, look good together, and both names are easy to type.
Honorable mention goes to Connemara and Conveyance, while Backtalk and Pulsion go together too. Who do you like?
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