An emotional Mike Smith, with his face mud-speckled and chin quivering, was the first racing luminary to arrive at the press conference following one of the most memorable stretch runs in Breeders’ Cup Classic, or any other race’s, history.
A few minutes after explaining his trip, one that took place before 72,000 fans who had come to historic Churchill Downs to see once and future history, Smith, now choking on his emotions, put it all on his own shoulders.
“If I had to blame anyone, it would be me,” Smith said. “It’s my fault, now choking on his words, and hesitant, before adding, “she should have won.”
Smith cupped his hands over his face and broke into tears. “I just wish I would have been in the race a little earlier. Without a doubt I’m disappointed. She’s my everything.”
And an eerie silence fell over the press box, before Smith began seeking even more answers.
“I was just having a rough time of it going underneath the white wire the first time. She just wasn’t leveling out like I wanted to. The dirt hitting her in the face was a lot of it. She just wasn’t used to that part.
“I just left her with too much to do. I truly believe I was on the best horse today.”
And anyone who watched two days of main track racing could empathize. Many of the contestants simply didn’t handle the cuppy surface well, the loose ground breaking away beneath their hooves. It’s the way Churchill can get in the fall.
Consequently, there might be some who would put the blame on trainer John Shirreffs, who didn’t give his mare very much experience on dirt. She only had two runs on the natural stuff.
And that came on one track, Oaklawn Park, where the horses that do well are said to sometimes “hear their feet rattle.”
Maybe there’s something to that. And maybe if it weren’t for Shirreffs’ judicious horsemanship, the racing world would not have had Zenyatta for as long as it did, perfect as she was, before falling a short head behind a late developing, totally professional, gritty four-year-old colt named Blame.
The irony escaped no one.
But editors who teach that can't be racing fans. “This game rips your heart out,” said Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News. “And that’s why we show up.”
When I offered that all Zenyatta lost Saturday was a horse race, and that a long-nose defeat while in search of perfection is the kind of poetic injustice that so often happens in this game--that it might even add to her legend, when the honored Bill Nack added, “like Seattle Slew in the Gold Cup.”
Considering the moments leading up to the Classic, the result didn't make sense. It was the Queen’s show right from the start.
When she made the long walk from the stable area, one that fans have seen a million times before the big race that’s run here every May, Perry Gastis, private clocker for new racing website GradeOneRacing.com, followed her through binoculars as she made the walk over.
“I saw her gallop twice this week. Each time she came out to train, she did so in routine fashion. Today she danced all the way over. She knows. She really knows.”
And then all the horses were led into the paddock and Zenyatta walked in. She made the bend, taking a few goose steps before entering her stall to be saddled.
She walked out of the slip, made a half circumference as the field was being led post-ward and began dancing again. In the parade, she swished her tail for a moment, not usually a good portend for horses on their way to the starting gate.
But this is Zenyatta, who followed up the tail swishing with a kind of back-leg rumba step. It was the damndest thing you ever saw.
The tote board was showing 2 MIN now, and she was perhaps several hundred yards from the starting gate when she began pawing with her right fore. Not being from California, I assume she had saved her entire repertoire for last.
Now all have seen Zenyatta lonesome last before but this was different.
She was not reaching out, so much so that race caller Trevor Denman, as she straightened away into the backstretch, informed the crowd that Smith was urging her to get a little closer now.
She did, but while getting closer it didn’t appear she was making up ground. It was unsettling.
Then as the field entered the final turn, Smith asked in earnest, cutting the corner some and she as beginning to roll.
The fact that she would be brought outside for her rally surprised no one, and she began to pick it up as the furlong pole approached. She was running, trying hard, but not lengthening the way she normally does.
Meanwhile, Garrett Gomez, who began his weekend lying on the turf course following a Thursday spill; prepped for the biggest victory of his career with two Breeders’ Cup wins, one on the day and one on Filly Friday and engineered a beautiful ground saving trip on the surface loving winner.
Go Go won it when he angled Blame off the inside--dead both days--into the five path and into the breach, Blame gamely and with class shouldered his way between rivals, opened a clear seemingly insurmountable advantage at the sixteenth pole and lasted by a gut wrenching margin that ripped the heart out of the whole place.
But all Zenyatta lost yesterday was a horse race, nothing more, because, yes, they all get beat. Only the truly great ones lose in a manner that racing’s best audience would never forget.
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Right Church, Wrong Pew
The European turf runners continued to dominate the Americans as expected in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. But it wasn’t the horse most handicappers were expecting.
With clear aim and a huge opening on the rail, troubled Arc de Triomphe fourth Bekhabad burst through burst through to challenge but hung when the real running began.
Dangerous Midge, with blinkers added and the legendary Frankie Dettoriin the boot, won down Champ Pegasus in the final strides to win going away. The latter led throughout under extremely clever rating from Joel Rosario, nearly stealing the 12 furlong marathon.
The brilliant young California won the Dirt Mile with longshot Dakota Phone a half hour earlier, catching the very game Morning Line in the final jump, the three-year-old running too good to lose. It was yet another agonizingly narrow loss for trainer Nick Zito in 2010.
The winner’s only previous stakes win came in the G3 Arc Trial in September. It was trainer Brien Meehan’s second Turf win, having won with Red Rocks four years ago. It was Dettori's 10th Breeders' Cup victory, second only to Mike Smith, who desperately wants to win the upcoming race, the centerpiece Classic.
One More for a Baker's Dozen
The great European turf miler Goldikova threw her hat into the 2010 Horse of the Year ring with a commanding and historic victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, becoming the first horse of either sex to win three consecutive Breeders’ Cup events.
Indeed, the great Goldikova is one of the more accomplished horses ever regardless of sex. The Mile was her 15th victory in 21 career starts, 12 of those Group or Grade 1, eight of those against males.
And her third Mile might have been her best. Clearly, it was against the toughest competition she’s faced in her three trips over. Either way, she is extremely special, the victory an emotional one for her trainer, Freddie Head, who, as a jockey, became the first rider to repeat in a Breeders’ Cup race with the great Miesque, over the same course as today’s.
“My English is not good enough,” said the French horseman. “I was feeling so many things. Winning a third time at Churchill Downs after Miesque repeated here. I’ve been thinking about this so long that it doesn’t seem real. I must be a very lucky person.”
As this is posted, it’s less than an hour until the Breeders’ Cup Classic. If history is made again in that race, Breeders’ Cup 27 would rank as the best of all time. Racing fans can hardly wait.
All Shook Up
A star is born. Uncle Mo, under supremely confident handling from Johnny Velazquez, was content to stalk the early pace of longshot Riveting Reason, engaged the leading with three eighths of a mile remaining, took command entering the stretch and opened up on Boys At Tosconova and all the rest, securing the juvenile Eclipse championship.
Boys At Tosconova was expected to provide the undefeated colt his greatest challenge, and that’s the way Ramon Dominguez played it, keeping the competition in his sights, moving on the turn as Uncle Mo was asserting himself for the lead.
For an instant it appeared a battle would be joined as the two straightened away into the stretch. But approaching the eighth pole, Uncle Mo found another gear and powered away, opening an insurmountable advantage.
Boys At Tosconova finished well for place but was overmatched. Rogue Romance, well regarded while making his dirt debut after two strong turf victories and bet down from 30-1 morning line to 8-1, finished well for third in a promising effort.
It might turn out that the son of Officer might have distance limitations come Kentucky Derby time but that didn’t seem to be the case yesterday, not in the slightest. It just might be that he’s one of nature’s equine freaks.
“I usually don’t get too excited when I watch my horses race. Johnny’s won a lot of races for me and when I saw him look around, I got a lot of confidence ,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “I actually started shaking, that’s not really happened to me before.
“To have a horse with this kind of natural ability with the kind of mind he has is exciting, it’s the whole package. He’s already running fast enough to win some three-year-old preps.
“All I need to do is keep him happy. We’ll take him down to Palm Meadows in a couple of weeks, hopefully to prepare him for a run at the Derby.” Pletcher won three of the four juvenile races this weekend.
After making the middle move, Uncle Mo reached the lead after six furlongs in 1:11.92. After reaching the sixteenth pole with a mile in 1:36.33, he ran his final sixteenth of a mile in :06.27, stopping the timer in 1:42.60.
Only 182 days remain until May’s first Saturday.
Today, the industry wasn’t so lucky.
Upon further inspection it was learned that Rough Sailing suffered a fracture humerus, an injury Dr. C Wayne McIlraithe described as “not repairable.”
“The owner requested euthanasia. It’s been done.”
Rough Sailing fell heavily after slipping on the turf entering the clubhouse turn during the running of the Juvenile Turf. McIlwraithe explained he wasn’t sure at this point how the injury occurred and that there would not be a determination until an autopsy was performed. Consequently, it is unknown whether the fall was the cause of the injury or the other way around.
In the Sprint, won convincingly in wire to wire fashion by Big Drama, giving jockey Eibar Coa his first Breeders’ Cup score after 18 rides and trainer David Fawkes with his very first Cup entrant, Atta Boy Roy sustained suspensory damage in the right fore. The injury is not life threatening and it is probable that Atta Boy Roy would race again.
“Calvin [Borel] felt some sensitivity in the right fore leg upon returning and jumped off the horse. At this point, the injury appears very minor and that’s all good news.”
Here Comes Chamberlain Bridge
Right down the center of the course. And to think he was troubled with physical isuues causing him to skip a final planned workout last weekend.
But he showed his affinity for the sand-based Churchill turf course, winning his fourth race in five starts with one placing, running down a very speed, and very game Central City, the pacesetter who re-rallied but could not hold the winner safe.
It was the second Breeders’ Cup victory of the weekend for trainer Bret Calhoun and local product Jamie Theriot, who broke his Breeders’ Cup maiden aboard Dubai Majesty in yesterday’s Filly & Mare Sprint. The time was :56.53, no threat to the course record of :55.45 for the 5 furlongs.
It Was Rough Sailing Alright
And so another offspring of More Than Ready, another juvenile that prepped at Woodbine for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile races, trained by the same Todd Pletcher, ridden by the same Garrett, and a pair of youngsters that trained together at Churchill for the big day, got the job done.
And it wasn’t easy. “Another time you stumble and go to your nose at the start then have to go around a fallen horse on the first turn, you have to be the best horse,” Pletcher explained.
The fallen horse, Rough Sailing, went down of his own doing entering the clubhouse turn, seeking to lose his action and sliding to a stop after falling and unseating jockey Anna Napravnik.
“It was an injury to his right fore,” explained Dr. C. Wayne McIlwraithe. “The horse has had trouble extending his leg. He’s been taken back to the barn to undergo further testing.
“The injury has not been localized, we don’t know if it’s a bone or ligament injury at this point.” Napravnik walked off under her own power.
Just as he had done with a wide draw aboard while riding More Than Real to victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, Gomez came strongly from off the early pace to win going away with Pluck, a son of More Than Ready, one of the first good horses Pletcher trained after striking out on his own.
“I talked with Rosie (Napravnik), she’s fine,” said Rough Sailing’s trainer Michael Stidham. “She said his hind leg just slipped.”
Pletcher trains the winner for Team Valor.
Timing Is Everything
I knew I should have taken the 9:20 shuttle from downtown out to the track. Missed all the fun, Ed Fountaine of the New York Post told me:
“We were passing one of the old broken down watering holes downtown. Out in front, five Hell’s Angels were sitting on their bikes. All of them were wearing Zenyatta sweatshirts. Couldn’t get my cell out fast enough to take a picture.”
“Glad I wasn’t there.” “Why? Fountaine asked.
“Because I’da stuck my head out the window and yelled: “ ‘Hey, I voted for Rachel. Screw you.’ ”
* * *
They’ve run two undercard races and the rail is still not the place to be at the Downs. Worth watching that develop throughout the day. Speed, on the other hand, is holding very well. Looks like they tightened up the surface a bit.
Want some old school handicapping philosophy? Speed in routes; closers going two turns.
Hmm.
* * *
It Could Have Been Much Worse
“I’ve said it before,” Todd Pletcher said. “You stay in the game long enough and you see everything happen,” referencing the controversial incident involving Ladies Classic second favorite Life At Ten, who failed to officially finish the race.
“She kind of basically had a typical ‘tie-up’ episode (severe cramping) after the race where she was just cramped up.”
This scenario was played out before a national television audience. Jockey Johnny Velazquez said in a remote interview with analyst Jerry Bailey.
“Is she warming up any better, Johnny?” Bailey asked. “Ah, no, not really.”
The speedy Life At Ten walked out of the starting gate and Velazquez immediately wrapped up on her. The industry dodged a major bullet yesterday.
06 Nov 2010 at 08:21 pm | #
Great column John--it came from the heart, just like the epic race Zenyatta and Mike Smith gave us today.
I am not a fan of Mike Smith’s riding these days, but I thought he gave Zenyatta a great trip. It’s just that this time the horse Zenyatta had to beat didn’t go along with the plan. If you watch the runout, Blame never let Zenyatta go by.....
For those skeptics who felt Zenyatta couldn’t compete on dirt against all comers, the answer is now resoundingly clear--she could, and was just a head away from perfection.
07 Nov 2010 at 05:21 am | #
JRP,
With all due respect, this story was clearly about the loser.
In 20 years Blame will be remembered like Dark Star, Jim Dandy, and Upset—the lesser horse beating the legend.
And if Goldikova gets more than the usual bonehead votes for HOY, the award is meaningless.
07 Nov 2010 at 05:23 am | #
Having watched the replay of the BC Classic several times now, I’m not sure Zenyatta ever gets by Blame. Noble for Mike Smith to focus her lost on his ride but that’s her running style. Isn’t her dramatic stretch run part of her legacy? When I realized at the top of the stretch my selection Quality Road was out of it. I began to root the mare home-hoping for history and perfection but the only perfect record today was that of Goldikova. That’s why she will earn my HOY vote. Please retire Zenyatta Mr. Moss, she’s done enough for all of us who love this game. She will be missed but will never be forgotten. How bout Uncle Mo? Is it spring yet?
07 Nov 2010 at 06:33 am | #
Let me amend my comment above.
The story was clearly about the runner-up. There was no loser.
Blame finished first. Zenyatta was the winner.
Eclipse awards should not be given to horses with one race on North America. The only exception is when US candidates are not worthy. This year there are 2 worthy candidates who raced all year in this country.
07 Nov 2010 at 07:10 am | #
Great week-end,track played like it should in the fall. Now I can take a short break until Fairgrounds opens...another money making track..
what do I do with all my ben’s???
07 Nov 2010 at 08:04 am | #
There are a million ways to lose a horse race, especially when you are a deep closer. Taking nothing away from Zenyatta, as I’ve said in the past, she never would have been 19 for 19 without Mike Smith, who each time managed to keep her out of trouble, and timed her rides perfectly; an extremely difficult thing to do. Zenyatta had nothing to prove to me before they put her in the starting gate, she had already done it all. What a tremendous end to an unbelievable career. The way she swallowed up that field of male horses in the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the second time, silenced forever any reasonable man who might have doubted her greatness (of which I was one), or her ability to run on any surface. I am sad this morning, not because of the outcome, but because her racing career is now history.
TTT
07 Nov 2010 at 08:27 am | #
Simply put,the Breeders Cup Classic was a beautiful race.Surreal under the lights.
07 Nov 2010 at 08:55 am | #
Zenyatta lost nothing in the BCC. Truthfully, she won more than just money. She won RESPECT from very doubtful naysayers that wanted to see her run on dirt and prove them wrong, and that she did. They wanted a reason a reason to give her their respect , she did. She silenced the naysayers. She won the Classic last year and she came only a few inches of repeating herself against the toughest competition out there. She may have losst, but she didnt lose by what naysayers would have thought. To me, that race garnered her a top contender and probalby winner of 2010 Horse of the year award. The BCC isnt the be all end all of year for the award. RA didnt even attend it last year, and Curlin lost his second attempt and they still were both garnered the award.
07 Nov 2010 at 10:14 am | #
Thank you, John, for such a tribute to a horse of a lifetime. She has given me joy at her dancing and kept me on the edge of my seat with her heart-stopping finishes. The way she blew by the rest of the field yesterday was amazing. I asked a question on BC’s blog that I really would like an answer for: Is there any other horse who has run 20 races and has a combined loss of 3 inches?
07 Nov 2010 at 12:26 pm | #
There was no loser yesterday. A great performance from both horses.
The big winner??
The game of horse racing. What a great great day for the sport. The best in recent memory!
07 Nov 2010 at 05:44 pm | #
Perfection Lost But Greatness Gained
Today we lost that sports moment in time we all cherish. That thing in sports we all crave for. Something to always remember. Something unforgettable. That thing you talk about as sports fans with friends and other fans that says we will always remember that, and wasn’t that great. Then the comparisons start about who was the best of all time, or what was the greatest moment. Today America had a chance to have that moment. Everything all week led up to that moment. America got a chance to catch on late with the help of magazines and Television. It was a story made from Hollywood almost Heaven sent in a time of need. A feel good story in a year of uncertain economy turmoil and tabloid gossip. The cheers, the fan fare, the dancing was all there right up to the starting gate. But when the gate opened our hearts hit our stomach’s. As the first half of the race was completed we all knew it was going to have to be a real miracle for our hearts not to be broken. Yes, this was her style but not this far back and not on this track and up against this field. You could feel the race being lost coming around the turn for home. No where to go and valuable time lost. Then a small opening to the outside that will lose more time but it’s the only chance we have. She breaks free and can run, but looking at the field in front of her there is no way no chance against the best horses out there. But then you see that stride. That familiar move we have all seen before that has greatness written all over it. One by One they all fall behind like a train just went by them. Our hearts lift out of our stomach’s because our heads say to us we have saw this before. That phenomenal stretch drive like the other horses are standing still. Unbelievable can this be the same horse that was at least 20 lengths back. The same horse that was tied up starting around the turn. One horse left but time is running short each stride a little closer. She has caught the other horse and needs just one more stride. But this time the great Zenyatta stride is too late. She passes the other horse but the finish line photo finish shows she lost by a nose. Again she gave us our money’s worth. She fought the travel, the media frenzy, the dirt track, the bad start, the 20 lengths down and still only lost by a nose. The other horse had the perfect race. No problems just had to hold on and not get tracked down. One lost stride for perfection. The other horse’s owner says we had it all the way. But the film shows different. It was just a matter of time that came a stride to late. Anything can happen in horse racing that’s what made this 19-0 run so remarkable. Any given day like today to many odds are against you. While the other side had everything go completely perfect. What we learned today is not about our hearts being broken but about the heart of a Champion we grew to love. Who had no chance at all and just about pulled it off. Her critics who said she couldn’t run on dirt saw that she did the same thing she always had done. Even with the worst of odds this time. Again one lost stride for perfection. This race will never be about how Blame won. It will always be about how Zenyatta lost. When your perfect in sports everybody remembers and never forgets. Who remembers the New England Patriots win streak because they ended up losing it in the Super Bowl a few years ago. But they all remember the 1972 Miami Dolphins. If Zenyatta would have won I can only imagine how the media frenzy would have been. You could feel the let down from Churchill downs, the TV announcers, across America at that moment in time. The winners circle seemed like a mortuary and Gomez the jockey almost apologetic. We all knew who was the best horse out there that day. Mike Smith the jockey can replay it over and over again. If we just would have done this or that because he knew already what we all know now. She is the best thing to come along in horse racing for a long time and probably the greatest filly who ever lived and he wanted her to have this sports moment so no one would ever forget. Hopefully unlike the New England Patriots we wont forget. Tonight Andrew Beyers and Jess Jackson breath a sign of relief her biggest critics. What were they thinking when Zenyatta made her charge? Again one lost stride for perfection. What excuses will they come up with now. It took all odds against her and a perfect race to beat her. Don’t you hate it when someone lucks out and doesn’t have to answer for being wrong. Today in this sports moment we lost perfection but we gained greatness. It’s about what we call in sports of having the heart to overcome impossible odds and not so much about winning but to give it your all and giving it your best. We should all remember this day for Zenyatta never giving up and giving it all she had. Again one lost stride for perfection. But the heart that made her the Greatest Filly of all Time.
07 Nov 2010 at 07:35 pm | #
It’s crystal clear what Zenyatta’s effort meant to all of you and that will be her legacy: She tried her best EVERY time she ran, a career that lasted 20 races over four long years of saving up all that energy for race day.
There are many great practioners of their craft in this business. But I just prefer to think that should could not have reached the wire of the 2010 Classic in a position to do what she did without John Shirreffs keeping her happy and sound, Mike Smith waiting for those agonizing final seconds before timing it to the split second, lest she shut down immediately once the job is done.
I agree that the great Goldikova is a more worthy Horse of the Year candidate when compared to Blame, this year’s champion older horse on a track he calls home. If that was the perceived knock on Zenyatta last year, then why wouldn’t that same logic apply to Blame this time around?
But when it comes to thinking about how Z’s connections went all in on the Classic, and to have her run a “winning race,” a winning effort, providing the sport with a magic moment it will never forget, emerging a winner even in defeat, those horses in my 40+ years of watching Thoroughbreds compete can be counted on one hand, with several digits left over.
Even those who refuse to see a bigger picture will agree on this. Her surge inside the 16th pole, when it appeared for an instant that the impossible would be accomplished, is THE moment of the year. For all intents, documentarians could have frozen the frame right there.
It’s the moment inside of every race when anything seems possible.
Thanks all, very much.
JRP
07 Nov 2010 at 09:03 pm | #
Was busy handicapping the DD at Mountaineer guys.
How’d Zenyatta do anyway?
And the beat goes on.....