Take that, Rachel Alexandra. Zenyatta, the rugged race mare, ran her record to 14-0 in spectacular fashion on Saturday, running down some of the most accomplished race horses in the world to win the US$5 million Breeders Cup Classic by a length.
She completed the mile and a quarter in 2:00.62, a time that is even more remarkable because she had to circle the field widest of all to run down the US’ best turf horse, Gio Ponti. It was the first time a mare had defeated the boys in the marquee race of the Breeders Cup World Championships.
When Zenyatta and her jockey, Mike Smith, returned to the winners’ circle, they were greeted by a thunderous, standing ovation.
PHOTO: AFP
Her performance punctuated a remarkable year for female horses in thoroughbred racing.
Rachel Alexandra, a three-year-old filly who skipped the Classic, won eight races this past year and beat the boys three times — in the Preakness Stakes and the Haskell she beat colts her own age, and in the Woodward Stakes she dispatched some of the US’ best older horses.
Which of the girls are the best in North America will be debated by Horse of the Year voters in the coming months. Zenyatta’s owner Jerry Moss cast his vote with a cracking voice.
“She’s our horse of the year,” Moss said. “We like to play in the biggest spots, and you can’t get any bigger than this.”
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