Breeders’ Cup Day 2
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Zenyatta, the unbeaten 5-year-old mare, put together a performance for the ages Saturday before 58,845 at Santa Anita. She rallied from last place in a field of 12, went to the inside around the final turn, went to the outside in the stretch and mowed down her male rivals to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, her 14th consecutive victory.
She becomes the first female horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the 26-year history, and there were thousands of screaming fans rooting her home as the 5-2 favorite. Gio Ponti finished second, one length behind Zenyatta, and Twice Over was third.
‘There are tears coming to my eyes,’ trainer John Shirreffs said. ‘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.’
Zenyatta finished the 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.62, the longest race of her career, under jockey Mike Smith. And she helped ignite debate over who’s the Horse of the Year, since the 3-year-old filly Rachael Alexandra did not race Saturday. She paid $7.60 for the victory.
‘I just hope the press appreciates what they have seen,’ Shirreffs said.
The race was delayed when Quality Road refused to go into the gate. After putting a hood over his eyes, he was shoved into the gate but started kicking and ended up being scratched, forcing the remaining 12 horses to be pulled from the gate and put back in. It didn’t faze Zenyatta. And for Shirreffs who won the Ladies’ Classic on Friday with Life Is Sweet, it means a sweep of the biggest races in the two-day event.
The two-day attendance figure was 96,496, up nearly 10,000 from last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Conduit was content to watch Presious Passion roll out to a 10-length lead early in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf race and then put in a kick to win the race by 1/2-length. In many ways, the fact that Presious Passion was still around at the end was equally remarkable. Dar Re Mi was third and Spanish Moon fourth.
The Irish-bred Conduit was ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by Michael Stoute, who also trained Spanish Moon. Allegre had scratched in themorning out of the $3 million race making it a seven-horse field, the smallest of the day.
Conduit paid $3.80, $3.00 and $2.20. It was the fourth favorite of the day to win.
--John Cherwa
Furthest Land benefitted from a crowded field that bottled up favorite Mastercraftsman to win the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Midshipman was holding down the lead in mid-stretch under heavy pressure. Furthest Land, with Julien Leparoux aboard, sailed up on the outside to win by 3/4-length. It was Leparoux’s third win in the two-day Breeders’ Cup.
