To view the Breeders' Cup Classic, click here.

by Steve Bailey

Thirteen proved to be a lucky number for the connections of unbeaten champion older mare Zenyatta.

Fourteen, however, made history.

The five-year-old Street Cry (Ire) mare remained unbeaten with her 14th consecutive victory and became the first female to take down the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and she did so in front of a raucous crowd of 58,825 on Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

And she did it in spectacular fashion in her first career start against males, taking her typical position at the back of the field under Racing Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith and charging down the stretch with authority—her stride lengthening and becoming more powerful with every kick—to inhale the leaders and hit the lfinish ine first, just as she did in each one of the previous 13 starts of her brilliant career.

“There are tears coming to my eyes,” said trainer John Shirreffs, who won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies' Classic (G1) last year with Zenyatta and this year’s Ladies' Classic on Friday with Life Is Sweet, becoming the first trainer to achieve the rare double in the same season. “I can’t believe it.

“She is a great, great filly. She is all heart. The way the crowd took to her was just amazing. They cheered for her; they clapped for her; they love her. What a wonderful relationship.”
 
With her previous start, a 1¼-length victory in the Lady’s Secret Stakes (G1) on October 10 at the Arcadia, California, track, Zenyatta matched the mark of the beloved Personal Ensign, who ended her career with a thrilling victory over Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Winning Colors in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1)—her 13th straight victory without a loss.

With her 14th victory, however, Zenyatta took a step toward transcending the sport and becoming a legend. And many who before the Classic had conceded Horse of the Year honors to BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Rachel Alexandra now were going to be forced to make a much more difficult choice.

“You tell me,” Shirreffs said with a wry smile when asked if Zenyatta deserved to be Horse of the Year.
  
The prerace festivities provided nearly as much drama as the race itself as Florida Derby Presented by BlackBerry (G1) winner Quality Road took several minutes to load—bucking and thrashing each time they tried to lead him into the starting gate—and then crashed through the front of the gate before being scratched by the track veterinarians.

“The horse is okay,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Quality Road. He’s got some scrapes and scratches. “We’re very disappointed, but it’s just one of those things. We’ll have to regroup and try again. It was bad timing. We got the worst luck at the worst time on the biggest day.”

The short delay as the field was unloaded and then loaded back into the gate made little difference to Zenyatta as she broke a bit slowly and then assumed her usual position at the rear of the field.

Super Derby (G2) winner Regal Ransom hustled quickly to the lead, taking the field through an opening quarter in :24.16 and a half-mile in :47.88 as Zenyatta and Smith loped alongside another deep closer, Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Mine That Bird.
 
As many in attendance knew they would, Smith and Zenyatta cranked up their pace midway through the turn, inching up on the bunched up field from the inside as the crowd began to roar its approval.

By the time Smith swung Zenyatta six or seven wide in the stretch, the shouts and screams at the top end of the grandstand seemed to reach a crescendo but only got louder and louder as the pair quickly began dispatching challenger after challenger with every fluid stride.

As Zenyatta overtook multiple Grade 1 winner Gio Ponti in the final sixteenth, and the crowd realized that history indeed was about to be made, the grandstand crackled with an explosion of emotion that too rarely is seen in the sport as patrons cheered and hugged and high-fived and cried.

“I still never got to the bottom of her; that’s the amazing thing,” Smith said. “She still had run left. She is from heaven. She’s God’s horse.

“When we loaded the second time, she just stood there as the gates opened. I needed to help her out of there, but once I got out, she settled into stride very well. She started to get to them in the stretch and the crowd started screaming. Then she started looking at the crowd and I had to get after her a little bit, but she still won within herself.”

The adulation continued as Smith led Zenyatta back to the winner’s circle, tipping his helmet, patting her on the neck, and pointing to the horse every couple of seconds. He waved his arms up and down for even more cheers as the two entered the winner’s enclosure.

The typically warm but stoic Shirreffs could not contain his joy or his pride in the moments after the race or in the interview room.

“Life is Sweet is the princess and Zenyatta is the queen in my book,” he quipped of his storybook weekend.
 
Bred in Kentucky by Maverick Productions Ltd., Zenyatta, who is out of the Kris S. mare Vertigineux, boosted her earnings to $5,474,580 with her 14th victory from as many starts.

For video of winning jockey Mike Smith, click here.

For video of winning trainer John Shirreffs, click here.

For video of winning owner Jerry Moss, click here.

For quotes, click here.

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times