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Zenyatta improves to 14-0 with BC Classic win

Nov 7, 7:16 pm EST

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP)—Zenyatta has beaten the boys in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, running her record to 14-0 in a race delayed briefly when Quality Road bucked violently in the starting gate.

Zenyatta rallied from last in the early going and fought off Gio Ponti in the stretch to win by a length Saturday at Santa Anita, beating a loaded field of 11 males.

Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, the 5-year-old mare ran 1 miles in 2:00.62 and paid $7.60, $5.60 and $3.80 as the 5-2 wagering favorite of the 58,845 fans.

Gio Ponti returned $9.20 and $6.60, while Britain-bred Twice Over paid $7 to show.

Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird was fourth and Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was ninth, extending his losing streak to five straight since his 50-1 upset on the first Saturday in May. Irish import Rip Van Winkle was 10th.

Quality Road was scratched from the race.

Updated Nov 7, 7:16 pm EST
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62 Comments

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  1. Justin
    62. Posted by Justin Wed Nov 11 12:13am EST

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    You right ALEXT you can't fix stupid, you a testament to that!! I said that she didn't deserve to be Horse of the Year because of the easy race schedule.That's right less that stellar, this was clearly the weakest Classic in several years, Mine That Bird has been going the wrong way since the Preakness,, Colonel John he won the overnight Stake race at Del Mar, he his best are behind him, Girolamo, Regal Ransom, Awsome Gem, what were they doing there? an obviously not right Quality Road {who never even ran} Aiden O'brien said before the race "I wish I had another month, he just isn't doesn't himself", and Rip Van Winkle ran like he a short horse. Richard's Kid came in off and and ok 3rd after the Pac Class win, Einstein a few steps behind, but stll a nice horse. Gio Ponti is turf horse, they took a shot here because he was exposed at 1 1/2 @ Belmont when Interpertation came on again and beat him, they didn't want tangle Conduit. Summer Bird is going to be a wonderful 4 year old. Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over were the unknowns, and the latter 2 were from Europe. She is undoubtely the best mare since Personal Ensign, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, but in my eyes and a lot of other seasoned horseplayers she didn't do enough for horse of the year. Didn't you father ever tell here's where we separate the men from the boys?, You need to go back to your room and start acting like a man not a spoiled child who dropped his lollipop.
  2. tale of the cat
    61. Posted by tale of the cat Tue Nov 10 11:39pm EST

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    that would have been interesting to see sea the stars run in the 2009 bcc. i kind of had the idea in sept; if the colt went to leopardstown( irish champions stakes) to race and then longchamps (prix de l'arc de triomphe), there would be a slim chance for him to race in the bcc.the traveling would have been grueling. i got to see both him and conduit race at longchamps. sea the stars also has that 'press the button gone' speed. if r.a. wasn't coming to the bc, of all people who wanted to see the match up of zenyatta and sea the stars: man! i was hopeing. i only got to see 1 of them run last saturday and 1 of them was enough. that zenyatta is one helluva gal.
  3. alext
    60. Posted by alext Tue Nov 10 10:43pm EST

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    You know what's funny about you Justin, you just can't fix stupid! What kind of ignorant fool would belittle an Eclipse Award Champion mare such as Zenyatta? Maybe only you are right and the industry that gave her that Eclipse Award are all wrong! And to say Z did'nt beat much in the BC Classic? 12 multiple grade 1 winners is not a "stellar" field? on the world's biggest stage! It is quite clear your mother dropped you on your head as a small child........Justin is proof you can only take inbreeding so far.......
  4. Justin
    59. Posted by Justin Tue Nov 10 9:39pm EST

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    I read some your moronic staments also.. What I forgot you didn't learn yet. I was actually typing a few posts about Sea the Stars and got crossed, really not a big deal. It's always the no it alls that post the most A$$hole texts I not sure if you born a retarded or was is nutured as you got older. I read some your posts you seem of the left coast mind set that the she really beat good horses,an opinion you are obviously entitled to, too bad you bad your comments didn't have as much class as the horse. The best race she ran was her last, this wasn't a stellar Classic field, but she has had to go out and win, which she did.QUITE IMPRESSIVELY. SHE BEAT NOBODY IN THOSE GLORIFIED GRADE 1's and thats the reason she WON'T win Horse of the Year. Her camp only went to the BC Classic because they knew Sea the Stars wasn't going,. I recall 2 picks Careless Jewel, who blew up and Twice who was 3rd. So do me favor read handicapping 101 again and learn a little bit, keep your jackoff comments to yourself, you obviously have a lot of growing up to do.
  5. derbylady
    58. Posted by derbylady Tue Nov 10 5:44pm EST

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    Craig, Pepper's Pride is in foal to Tiznow, nesting on the next uber horse!
    Pepper's Pride won't be running vs. Rachel & Zenyatta, tho that would be interesting.
    Despite her winning ways, Pepper's Pride was not even nominated for H O Y, let alone, I believe, filly/mare of the year!
    Let's hope THIS YEAR, ZENYATTA CAN CRACK THE GLASS CEILING AND BE HORSE OF THE YEAR with Rachel Alexandra winning in her category...that would be only fair. It is not enough for "the boys" to win just the Derby to be HOY anymore.
  6. Kim V
    57. Posted by Kim V Mon Nov 9 5:52pm EST

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    Know it wont happen but I think HOY should be shared this year. A fillie that is just a Freak and A Mare with class behond any other Mare out there. 2 Great Race Hores's they both deserve the title.

    Don't blame Rachel for not coming west Nor Z for not coming east both stayed on surfaces that they can hanled why mess with that.

    Its been a great year of racing good luck 2 both in the years to come
  7. Sam Z
    56. Posted by Sam Z Mon Nov 9 4:52pm EST

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    I could have drove Z yesterday and beat those boys R A did the right thing, stayed home!
    H O T Y simple as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevorlets.
    Win is putting it lightly, she smashed em with ease, how can anyone with half a brain be in doubt about what they saw! KUDOS to Z, its a wrap 14-0 beat the best with no real need to press the go button. R A these @#$%
  8. alext
    55. Posted by alext Sun Nov 8 11:00pm EST

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    Justin your posts are so stupid and exposes you know nothing about horse racing. Zenyatta will not be going off to "stud" she is a mare and will be heading off to be a "BROODMARE" dumba$$. I saw all your selections for the BC you could not even find a pick to hit the board let alone pick a winner......JUSTIN was one of clueless idiots who said who claimed Z was beating allowance types. and was'nt that good Justin, Zenyatta sure made you and all the other naysayers look like a bunch of babbling idiots....GOOD NIGHT LOSER.....
  9. Justin
    54. Posted by Justin Sun Nov 8 9:01pm EST

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    Just a tremendous performance from one of the better mares since Personal Ensign, She looked like she was in trouble turning for home, but even Mike Smith couldn't get her beat.,and she clearly saved her best for last.Zenyatta now heads to stud a great undefeated champion. All that said, one race does not make Horse of the Year, I've said all along she needed to come off the Poly and find a race or 2 outside of California and get a little steam if she wanted to be horse of the year, but her handlers were very careful with her, as I probably would have too, and she didn't beat any real Grade 1's, other that the last one, and as I far as I'm concerened, Summer Bird was the best horse she beat in there. No she not dance every dance, Rachel ran and won 5 Grade 1's at 5 different traces, beating boys 3 times and older colts. Other that retiring unbeaten, this proved nothing in terms of championships, she was a lock for older mare anyway. It was a great 2 days of racing and now we won't have to deal with the Poly for at least 2 years. At least we get to see Rachel run a 4 year old, if she stays sound.
  10. alext
    53. Posted by alext Sun Nov 8 8:53pm EST

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    After watching Zenyatta handle a world class field on the worlds biggest stage there's no doubt who going to win Horse of the Year. Take nothing away from Rachel, she had a great year, but staying in the barn and away from the world championships surely are gonna hurt her HOY chances....In order to be the champ you have to beat the champ.....Sorry JJ and Rachel you just got punked........deal with it......
  11. <i>patrick.smith76</i>
    52. Posted by patrick.smith76 Sun Nov 8 4:37pm EST

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    Rachel is clearly the horse of the year and it's not even close !!!! what she did this year as a 3yr old filly has never been done before in the great history of this sport and it won't be done again....zenyetta has been handled with kid gloves avoiding coming east and basically running prep races all year vs weak foes...sheriffs is a great trainer and he mapped out a plan to have at her best for the classic and to keep her record perfect...in doing so with rachel doing what she was doing he should have called an audible if he wanted HOY but he didn't he kept her on schedule to win the classic and she did , but the body of work simply doesn't match up with rachel's.....

    Track Grade Finish
    09/05/09 $750K Woodward S. Saratoga 1 1
    08/02/09 $1.2M Haskell Invitational S. Monmouth Park 1 1
    06/27/09 $300K Mother Goose S. Belmont Park 1 1
    05/16/09 $1.1M Blackberry Preakness S. Pimlico 1 1
    05/01/09 $500K Kentucky Oaks Churchill Downs 1 1
    04/05/09 $250K Fantasy S. Oaklawn Park 2 1
    03/14/09 $400K Fair Grounds Oaks Fair Grounds 2 1
    02/15/09 $50K Martha Washington



    7 graded stakes wins on 7 differnt tracks !!!!! 2 vs colts and 1 vs older males and two 20 + length wins all done by a 3yr old filly !!!! maybe the greatest single season in the history of the sport ....HOY should be a no brainer
  12. RANDY
    51. Posted by RANDY Sun Nov 8 3:53pm EST

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    What a performance by Zenyatta.She is definitleyHOTY. Let's hope the east coast bias that has existed for decades HOTY voting ends. Give the lady the respect she deserves.
  13. Connie
    50. Posted by Connie Sun Nov 8 2:32pm EST

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    I am thrilled about Zenyatta's win and, as a horse owner & my knowledge of horses I am one of her biggest fans. My worry is what will happen to Mine that Bird since he has not won the last 5 races. His owner needs to take under consideration that the horse won the derby and came in second on his next race. He made his owner proud but what is his fate now that he came in 9th of this race. I hope that he doesn't go the route of a lot of thoroughbreds these days.
  14. Francisco Parra
    49. Posted by Francisco Parra Sun Nov 8 2:12pm EST

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    Zenyatta is by far better the RA because is a perfect 14 for 14 wins and her final race beat the best horses on the planet. This classic win is 10 times more important that the 3 victories against the grade II males in the woodward,haskell and jockey club of RA. Zenyatta is the HORSE OF THE YEAR!!!!!
  15. <i>jpsbman</i>
    48. Posted by jpsbman Sun Nov 8 2:02pm EST

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    Zenyatta was not only the first female to win the B.C. Classic She is also the only horse to ever win two different B.C. races. She deserves to win HOTY and so does RA. RA had a great year too. But there can only be one and that one has just got to be be gal that's improve to 14-0. Zenatta put her record, her reputation everything on the line against the best horses in the world on racing big day. Zenyatta deserves Horse of the Year honors.
  16. craig
    47. Posted by craig Sun Nov 8 1:04pm EST

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    how about a race involving the undefeated female horses, zenyatta, pepper's pride, and rachel alexandra? or a series of races on dirt and synthetic?
  17. <i>james.simpson5@...</i>
    46. Posted by james.simpson5@... Sun Nov 8 12:39pm EST

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    Zenyatta vs. Rachael Alexander two horse race, that's all I have to say! Can anyone horse racing enthusias or not this would be on Super Bowl level, I can see gathering parties all over. The build-up on the news airways would be tremendous. DON'T LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THIS!

    JCS
  18. Supreme Empress
    45. Posted by Supreme Empress Sun Nov 8 11:20am EST

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    I've witnessed the performances of some of the TRULY great race horses of all time...Kelso,Forego,John Henry,Secretariat,Ruffian,Lady's Secret, Dr. @#$%er,Affirmed,Alysheba,Winning Colors,Seattle Slew,Barbaro, Cigar,etc and I got say, although Rachel's performances raised the bar for fillies and mares, Zenyatta's win in the BC Classic, took it to a whole new level. She is, deservedly, HORSE OF THE YEAR!
  19. DOMENIC
    44. Posted by DOMENIC Sun Nov 8 11:03am EST

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    I posted a few months ago and informed all the RA cheerleaders that ZENYATTA although perfect had yet to really show her best. Well she did it yesterday and ran by them in a different gear. This was a loaded field of grade one stars and not a field that RA could have run away from. Like I said before ZENYATTA would have run by her like she was standing still. No excuses for the connections of RA. It's clear they had no guts. RA would have tried by the connections had no confidence and used the synthetic surface as their excuse. Please note that RA had won impressively on the same type of surface at Keenland awhile back. She would have been great on it again. But not good enough. Zenyatta should be the horse of the year. You skeptics should review my old posts and you would have leaned something. Not to mention cash in huge of 5-2 odds and an excellent exacta etc. HORSE OF THE YEAR! Acting like a bunch of real @#$% and hanging their hat on a weak three year old campaign is no way to back in to that honor.
  20. Bobby W
    43. Posted by Bobby W Sun Nov 8 10:11am EST

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    Uh Steve, RA did create history, she won the preakness, why did Zenyatta not run any of the triple crown races at age 3? Zenyatta had never run a mile and a quarter before yesterday. So why expect it from a 3 year old female if Zenyatta waited til she was five? You see, truly different scenarios. You say Jess Jackson was scared? Where was Moss when Ra raced older competition for the first time. You see the difference. It doesn't matter what foot you put the shoe on, you can't make both feet happy at the same time, thus you won't make the fans happy until they race. If Oaklawn park can put up the money, I thnk they need to raise the purse for the Apple blossom to $1,000,000 ( or the Oaklawn handicap) and let these 2 great horses enter. Then we can truly call it a race for the ages!!!
  21. Bobby W
    42. Posted by Bobby W Sun Nov 8 10:01am EST

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    Can some one enlighten me. Why do you all put down RA when she beat the boys three time in three differnt races and conditions on three different tracks? Why is it that when she was invited to meet RA on another track she didn't show up but you Zenyatta fans say it was the smart thing to do. Last but not least, how about we all agree on this. RA and Zenyatta should be co HOY. Zenyatta is the queen of synthetics, RA is the princess of dirt.

    Until they race one another, no one can claim they are better than the other. I am a hugh RA fan, but yesterday, Zenyatta impressed me enough to watch the race again. Did anyone notice how NO one tried to block her from coming off the rail? Does any one remember when they tried to block RA from getting into a race? Think about it.
  22. SquarepusherAlienSoundBwoy
    41. Posted by SquarepusherAlienSoundBwoy Sun Nov 8 8:10am EST

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    I see you, Zenyatta......Shakin that big ol bahdonkadonk ass. LOL You go, girl.

    When she and Mike angled out with a 1/16th to go I went NUTS!!!!! Zenyatta and Mike created that victory. Nothing was handed to them. They had to TAKE it and boy did they ever. My girlfriend was like WTF is wrong with you when I screamed YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I think it scared her. LOL But, watching that race was amazing. The call wasn't memorable, though. I'll have to rewatch it, today. MAN! I'm still reeling from Zenyatta's win. Horse of the year no doubt.
  23. <i>checkerboardkid</i>
    40. Posted by checkerboardkid Sun Nov 8 12:58am EST

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    Zenyatta deserves HOY. None of the horses that Rachel beat did anything on Breeder's cup races. The older males that Rachel beat were Grade two types at best. Zenyatta beat a field loaded with Grade 1 horses. The critics who say she didn't race against much in California should check the results of the Fillies and mares Distaff.
  24. Goalie
    39. Posted by Goalie Sun Nov 8 12:57am EST

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    WOW - already a Zenyatta Breyer on ebay...
  25. <i>leestroyer</i>
    38. Posted by leestroyer Sun Nov 8 12:19am EST

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    What is amazing about Zenyatta is that she was able to win several races going only a mile and one sixteenth. She is clearly a mile and a quarter horse. What I saw at Santa Anita today hasn't been seen out here since the days of Affirmed, John Henry etc. Wow that was great.

    Can't wait to see Rachel next year. She is a special horse and it will be her turn next year and I fully expect to see her at Churchill next November taking on the males in the Classic.

    Bravo to both them they really helped horse racing immensely this year!
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