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Zenyatta
Shines Brightest in Sparkling Breeders’ Cup
ARCADIA, Calif. — What was there not to like about this edition
of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships? The San Gabriel Mountains,
haloed in rouge, were a perfect backdrop for the majesty of thoroughbred
racing. Every horse came home safely, and the headlines belonged deservedly
to a remarkable mare named Zenyatta, who in what might have been the last
race of an undefeated career emphatically turned back some of the best
male horses in the world in Saturday’s Classic.
The best thing about
this year’s Breeders’ Cup
was the transcendent performance by Zenyatta. She simply blew by 11
tremendously
accomplished boys as if they were merry-go-round ponies. It probably brought
tears to the eyes of anyone who follows and loves the sport.
It also is bringing
heated debate over who deserves to be horse of the year: Zenyatta or
the younger
but equally talented filly Rachel Alexandra.
Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer, claimed not to mind that his horse
Richard’s Kid was merely an extra in Zenyatta’s Classic tour
de force.
“I was disappointed my horse didn’t run better, but what
a thrill seeing history made by Zenyatta,” Baffert said. “It
was the only time in horse racing that I didn’t mind getting beat
in a race. If they don’t reward her with horse of the year, it would
be a travesty. Zenyatta made the Breeders’ Cup. And the way she
won! I’ve never seen a crowd so captivated. It felt like a horse
winning the third leg of the Triple Crown.”
Still, there is plenty
of passionate support for Rachel Alexandra, too. She won eight races
this year and
has beaten the boys three times. In
the Preakness and the Haskell, she beat colts her age, and in the Woodward
Stakes, she dispatched some of America’s best older horses.
Baffert offered what seems to be the only sane solution: Let Zenyatta
and Rachel Alexandra share the title.
So call off the vote, head off the arguments about East Coast vs. West,
synthetics vs. dirt, and throw the two girls a grand party. These are
two once-in-a-lifetime horses who happened to show up at the same time.
ZENYATTA
UNDEFEATED 13 for 13!
As professional as ever, undefeated Zenyatta equaled the legendary Personal
Ensign's 13-race winning streak to begin her career, sweeping past the
pacesetters in upper stretch to capture Oak Tree's $300,000 Lady's Secret
Stakes (gr. I) before 20,329 at Santa Anita in characteristic
fashion Oct. 10.
Ridden by Mike Smith, the 2-5 favorite joined rare company with Personal
Ensign, who beat males in the 1988 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga,
then ended her career by defeating Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Winning
Colors by a nose in a classic Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) that year.
Zenyatta has an invitation to defend her title in the Breeders' Cup Ladies'
Classic (gr. I) with the win, but her connections, owner Jerry and Ann
Moss, trainer John Shirreffs, are also considering a run against the males
in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I).
Zenyatta unwound her patented late kick while going wide on the final
turn of the 1 1/16-mile test and blew past the pacesetting Briecat and
several others to take command in the stretch. She held sway late under
smooth handling to win by just over one length over runner-up Lethal Heat
in a time of 1:42.89 over the Pro-Ride racing surface. Cocoa Beach, the
runner-up to Zenyatta in last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, finished
third, with Zenyatta's stablemate Life Is Sweet finishing fourth.
“I don’t know," Shirreffs said of the BC Classic. "It’s
not my decision to make.” Asked what he would tell owners Jerry
and Ann Moss about where to run next: “There’s time to decide.
We’re not going to decide (at) this moment.”
Shirreffs added, “She ran her race. That’s Zenyatta. She
does whatever is necessary. I’m like everybody else. I love to watch
her. She’s like a ship when she’s coming down the stretch.
You hardly ever see any horses inside of her because she takes up so much
of the picture you’re looking at. Thirteen in a row . . . Personal
Ensign, I mean, it’s historic. It’s a once in a lifetime horse,
believe me. You don’t see Zenyattas. They come so seldom, it’s
unbelievable that she’s here, in Los Angeles, at Santa Anita, and
it’s a blessing, really.”
Zenyatta, who counts seven grade I victories among her accomplishments,
has now earned $2,774,580 in her career. She is four-for-four on Santa
Anita's main track.
Jerry Moss said Zenyatta would be pre-entered in both races.
"
The horse is going to make the decision," he said. "We want
her to do well and be safe and be happy, but we also want to see how
much she's got in her tank."
A smiling Smith pointed down at Zenyatta as he guided her into the winner's
circle, greeted by loud cheers from the fans, many of them lining the
rail from mid-stretch to the finish line to watch the nation's other star
female.
“Ability-wise, she can run with anyone, anytime, anywhere," Smith
said in obvious reference to Rachel Alexandra. "She has an amazing
turn of foot, one that I’ve never seen before. No disrespect to
the other horses today, but she only ran about four jumps when we turned
for home and then she shut it down.
"I knew the pace was slow
and going to the far turn, everybody has to get into some kind of position.
I just have so much confidence in her
and today, she had 10 gears and she only had to use four of them. She
really loves this track over here.”
Zenyatta won a day after the owner of Rachel Alexandra said the star
filly who beat the boys in the BlackBerry Preakness (gr. I) and Woodward
(gr. I) was done racing for the year, ensuring they won't meet in a Breeders'
Cup showdown.
Zenyatta pawed the ground with her right hoof in the winner's circle
before Smith jumped off and planted a kiss on her flank. Actress Bo
Derek, a member of the California Horse Racing Board, presented the
trophy.
A smiling Smith pointed down at Zenyatta as he guided her into the winner's
circle, greeted by loud cheers from the fans, many of them lining the
rail from mid-stretch to the finish line to watch the nation's other star
female.
“Ability-wise, she can run with anyone, anytime, anywhere," Smith
said of Zenyatta in obvious reference to Rachel Alexandra. "She has
an amazing turn of foot, one that I’ve never seen before. No disrespect
to the other horses today, but she only ran about four jumps when we turned
for home and then she shut it down.
"I knew the pace was slow
and going to the far turn, everybody has to get into some kind of position.
I just have so much confidence in her
and today, she had 10 gears and she only had to use four of them. She
really loves this track over here.”
"Queen Zenyatta" was
one of the signs that greeted her in the winner's circle after her fourth
win this year, all coming on the synthetic
surfaces at each of Southern California's three major tracks.
"
It's so much fun to see all her fans," co-owner Ann Moss said. "She
enjoys herself. It's just really grand."
Briecat set the pace with pedestrian fractions of :25.06, :49.58 and
1:12.93 before being swallowed up, with Zenyatta charging five wide near
mid-stretch. Lethal Heat angled out between horses in the stretch and
finished a neck in front of Cocoa Beach for second. Life is Sweet, Anabaa's
Creation, Made for magic and Briecat completed the order. Sweet and Flawless
scratched.
Zenyatta paid $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10. Lethal Heat returned $7.40 and
$4.20, while Cocoa Beach was $3 to show. |