Zenyatta to Defend Breeders Cup Classic Tomorrow

Zenyatta, whose 19-for-19 perfection and quirky personality allow her to transcend Thoroughbred racing in popularity, faces the ultimate challenge when she tries to defend her title in Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

The goose-stepping, tongue-wagging mare became the first female to beat the boys in 26 editions of the Classic last year. In her home state of California, she rallied to win by a length on a synthetic track at Santa Anita that favors her breathtaking last-to-first style.


Zenyatta takes a look around on arrival at Churchill Downs (www.usatoday.com)


It will be a new ballgame as she leaves her West Coast comfort zone to make her Churchill Downs debut, where she is an 8-5 favorite, and confront the world's swiftest males on dirt for the first time.

Nothing less than Zenyatta's legacy is at stake.

Trainer John Shirreffs, whose cautious management of the former $60,000 yearling purchase on behalf of owners Jerry and Ann Moss has been scrutinized as part of a coast-to-coast debate about her achievements, is confident she is 1¼ miles from proving her greatness.

"If she runs her race and everything," he says, "she should be fine."

Jockey Mike Smith says what is expected to be Zenyatta's last race can be the run of a lifetime.

"I think we could see something incredible," he told CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday, adding, "I've always felt there was another gear if I needed it."

However, Daily Racing Form columnist Andrew Beyer notes that every great American Thoroughbred was celebrated for achievements on dirt.

"If she doesn't run well in her one test against high-class males on dirt," he says, "history's verdict on her would be she was a great synthetic runner, but would you put her on the list with (legends) Citation and Man o' War? Absolutely not."

Radio analyst Ron Flatter shares Beyer's skepticism.

"She's like Boise State," he says, referring to the controversial college football power. "She had an easy schedule and comes from a goofy-looking surface."

Then again, to put 19-for-19 into perspective, consider that such greats as Citation and Cigar had winning streaks stopped at 16. The magnificent filly Personal Ensign was retired after she defeated Kentucky Derby champion Winning Colors in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff to close at 13-for-13.

Even Zenyatta's body language points to her as something special. Her ears were pricked as she flashed across the finish line in every start, including five this year, a clear indication the equine star — who towers above most competitors because she stands more than 17 hands tall and weighs about 1,200 pounds — was just getting it on.

"She just has it all, and then some," Smith says. "What makes it special is the 'then some.' "

'She knows she's special'

Those hard-to-describe qualities have allowed North America's leading female earner ($6,404,580) to gain recognition outside a sport that struggles for attention beyond the Kentucky Derby and the season-culminating Breeders' Cup World Championships.

She was second to tennis' Serena Williams as Associated Press' 2009 Female Athlete of the Year.

The 6-year-old daughter of Street Cry made Oprah Winfrey's 2010 O Power List for "the power of heart."

Penny Chenery, owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, was among those who crowded into the paddock for a look-see before Zenyatta's most recent start, Oct. 2 at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

"I came to see her dance," Chenery said.

Zenyatta, upon seeing the crowd she is accustomed to drawing, broke into her trademark pre-race dance, exaggerating her stride with her front legs as she walks to resemble a goose-step. According to Shirreffs, it is her way of "channeling that nervous energy every athlete has."

Here's some great pre-Breeders Cup Classic footage of Zenyatta:


The Kentucky-bred Zenyatta has been known to bow when her name is announced. She will stop to pose for photographers.

"She knows she's special," Shirreffs says.

Zenyatta can be affectionate almost to a fault. She insists on licking the face of groom Mario Espinoza, making it difficult for him to tend to her. When she grazes, she is not content to tear at the grass below. Her extraordinary height allows her to stretch her neck into trees for leaves.

She receives superstar treatment and adores a good massage. Her curiosity knows no bounds. She once refused to budge for exercise rider Steve Willard until she studied a nearby possum.

And did we mention her fondness for Guinness? The staff tried other beers — she prefers the stronger stuff as a treat.

In fact, racing's grand dame can be quite particular about everything. Anne Bettinger left her Orange County, Calif., home at 6 a.m. not long ago to bring apple slices to Shirreffs' Hollywood Park barn. Carrots, however, are the snack of choice.

Zenyatta, who drops far back as if spotting her competition a lead before she gradually quickens and surges past in the deep stretch, possesses qualities that lead her to be viewed as something more than a racehorse.

In a sense, she is a reflection of Jerry Moss, who rose from humble beginnings in the Bronx, N.Y., to chase what he calls his "California dream." He moved to the West Coast at 24 and founded A&M Records with bandleader Herb Alpert two years later in 1962.

They initially operated the company from an office arranged in Alpert's garage. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

"It is amazing what can be done. That's what Zenyatta is all about," Moss says of the horse named after The Police album Zenyatta Mondatta, produced under the A&M label. "You can break through barriers. It's an optimistic statement."

Beth Shimkin of Pasadena draws hope from 19 starts that produced 13 victories in Grade 1 races, the highest level.

"She inspires people with the way she comes from back in the pack and circles the field, the way she lengthens her stride and heads for home," she says.

"It makes you forget for a minute and 43 seconds, or whatever the race is. She captures you, and you feel better."

A step up in competition
Her style also brings into question her level of accomplishment. Although ESPN analyst Randy Moss salutes her as "the greatest female horse ever," he also says, "If some more of the 19 races had been on dirt, she probably would have lost three or four. … Dirt tracks tend to favor speed (horses on or near the lead), and sometimes greatly favor speed."

Zenyatta, held back from competition until late in her 3-year-old season in Shirreffs' determination to be careful with her, has never been named Horse of the Year. Despite her historic breakthrough in the 2009 Classic, voters opted for Rachel Alexandra and her 8-for-8 tour de force that included victories against males in the Preakness, Haskell Invitational and Woodward Stakes.

"You always have to do what's best for your horse," Jerry Moss says. "I'm sorry if people feel we didn't capitalize on her brilliance by taking her to different racetracks."

As much as majority owner Jess Jackson was admired for his willingness to test Rachel Alexandra's limits, the well-traveled filly never regained her form against mediocre competition in five races this season as a 4-year-old and was retired. A proposed clash with Zenyatta at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas this past spring never occurred.

Zenyatta's only two performances on dirt suggest she may relish the footing at Churchill Downs and join Tiznow (2000-01) as the only champions to repeat in the Classic. Her two ventures on dirt at Oaklawn, in 2008 and earlier this year, resulted in victories of more than four lengths each time, her most decisive margins.

Then again, she was not facing older males such as Blame and Quality Road. Blame's fondness for Churchill Downs is well documented. He has three wins in four starts beneath the twin spires. Quality Road boasts three Grade 1 victories this year. Leading 3-year-old Lookin At Lucky, who won this year's Preakness, rides a three-race winning streak. And the list of world-class competitors goes on.

Randy Moss predicts Zenyatta's tremendous closing kick will finally fall short. But he says, "If she wins the Breeders' Cup Classic, at that point she is not only the greatest female racehorse of all time, but she has to be considered among the greatest racehorses."