Zenyatta's unbeaten streak ends in Breeders' Cup Classic

By J.J. Hysell
Special to FOX Sports Ohio
Saturday, November 6th, 2010

A nose away from perfection.

Zenyatta, the undefeated champion attempting to become the first American Thoroughbred to win 20 consecutive races, came up just short of history in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

As many as 20 lengths back at the start of the race, the 6-year-old mare made her trademark late run at the turn into the homestretch and surged toward the wire. But she could not catch Blame, who held on gamely for the win.

After the race, jockey Mike Smith - who’s been aboard the mare for 17 of her 20 races - was very emotional about the loss and blamed himself.

“I believe she ranks up there with the best of all time,” Smith said, fighting back tears. “If I had won this, you could arguably say she was. To come up a nose short . . . it’s just too hard.”

Smith said he may have left Zenyatta, the even-money favorite, with too much to do. He guided her through traffic in the stretch, but had to go wide when attempting to run down Blame.

“Down the backside, she picked it up, but there was just a wall of horses,” Smith said. “I swung out wide. After the sluggish start, I knew I had to cut corners somewhere.”

Smith also said Zenyatta, who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, may have been affected by dirt being kicked in her face. While she has raced on dirt twice before - most of her career she’s raced on synthetic surfaces - Smith said she hadn’t experienced that.

“It took her awhile to get used to it.”

Mentioned in same breath as the sports’ signature champion, Secretariat, the Guinness-drinking, paddock-dancing mare has captured the hearts of race fans and horse lovers worldwide. Fans from points across the globe turned out in droves to support the dark bay Kentucky-bred, sporting the aqua and pink silk colors of owners Jerry and Ann Moss and waving homemade signs.

The race was so close that some of Zenyatta’s fans in the crowd of 72,739 immediately erupted in celebration, thinking she’d won. Many Zenyatta fans were crying as they left the track, consoling one another after watching their equine hero give her all in a losing cause.

Winning jockey Garrett Gomez had nothing but praise for his horse - and Zenyatta.

"It's mixed emotions, because she's been a wonderful ambassador of the game," he said. "People that didn't know anything about horse racing became fans of her. She's an amazing race horse, to plainly put it. She's awesome. I wish she would have went 20 for 20 at the expense of someone else and not us. I'm very proud to say we beat her."

Now the decision comes as to whether to retire the heralded Thoroughbred. The Mosses indicated Zenyatta would retire after the Classic, but Moss began to back off that statement during the week leading up to the race, saying instead he “would wait and see.”

"We're so happy with what Zenyatta has done," John Shirreffs, Zenyatta's trainer, said. "She ran her heart out today. . .They (the fans) were behind her win or lose and I think she represented them really well. She ran an excellent race."

Kent Desormeaux, the jockey aboard fifth-place finisher Paddy O'Prado, was shocked at Zenyatta's loss. "I want to go watch the replay," he said. "I don't know how she got beat."

Blame, a 4-year-old son of Arch who has nine wins in 13 lifetime races, will retire after this Classic win and is now a leading contender for Horse of the Year.

“This horse has made my year,” said winning jockey Garrett Gomez.