Zenyatta will walk onto Santa Anita’s track this Saturday and find herself passing a firing squad ready to blow away her unbeaten record. After her last start, where she narrowly defeated Anabaa’s Creation in the final breath of the race, Zenyatta has been scaring away less and less competition; her last start before the Breeders’ Cup is proving to be her toughest group of challengers this year.
The Grade I Lady’s Secret, at 1 1/16-miles, will feature a list of capable foes, including Cocoa Beach, Lethal Heat, Anabaa’s Creation, and stablemate Life is Sweet. While Cocoa Beach hasn’t proven to have an illustrious 2009 as her 2008 record, the filly should find a likable spot on Santa Anita’s main track, where she last finished second to Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic last October. Life is Sweet, while having the most tested record, hasn’t won in her past few starts and will be trying to bounce back on the surface that gave her three back-to-back wins early this year. Anabaa’s Creation, surely not to be underestimated this time around, now has the added bonus of being ridden by top California jockey Rafael Bejarano. Lethal Heat most recently finished second in the Cal Cup Classic and will likely set up the speed scenario.
The pace should be an honest one in the Lady’s Secret, a far cry from the Clement Hirsch Stakes, where the leaders tried to put Zenyatta to sleep and ended up getting goosed by the dragon in the final leaps of the race. Her trainer, John Shirreffs, says the decision on whether or not Zenyatta will run in the Ladies’ Classic or against males in the Classic will be made after Saturday’s race; he also hinted that the champion mare may have another race or two after the Breeders’ Cup, which goes back on the announced plans earlier this year. One of the reasons Zenyatta may stick around for another bout is to set up a race between her and the shoe-in for Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, who will not be running in the Breeders’ Cup this year in protest of the championships being run over a synthetic surface.
While this keeps the dream alive that the two best horses in the country may yet face each other, the outlook is still dim, especially when considering what Zenyatta will be up against in the Breeders’ Cup. If the California Colossus goes into the Classic, she will be not only facing males for the first time, but the best males in the world, including grass horses who seem to excel on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride; consequently, she will have to run the race of her life, and I would find it unlikely she’d run another race thereafter. On the flip side, if she were to repeat in the Ladies’ Classic, the outlook is much more likely Zenyatta would stay in training to face Rachel. With Shirreffs suddenly talking about Zenyatta racing after the Breeders’ Cup, don’t be surprised if she skips what she’s been targeted toward all year, a showdown versus formidable competition.
Also this Saturday at Santa Anita, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird will take on older males for the first time in the Grade I Goodwood; the race will mark his reunion with the man who rode him to the roses, Calvin Borel. It’s interesting to note that Mine That Bird has been worked by jockey Joe Talamo his last two mornings out; perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come when the gelding tries his luck in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November. Either way, the breather since his last start, where he finished third in the West Virginia Derby, is a deserving one; Birdie will enter the Goodwood a freshened horse, and he’s going to need to be his freshest to defeat these foes.
The contenders for the Goodwood are a tested bunch of individuals, from Tiago to Colonel John, Chocolate Candy to Richard’s Kid; to the Derby winner’s advantage, Grade I darling Colonel John doesn’t seem to be a classic distance horse, despite his win in the 2008 Travers; his only victory this year has come at 1 mile on the turf in the Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar. In his most recent start, the Pacific Classic, Colonel John finished 5th to the longshot winner, Richard’s Kid, who upset Einstein and may prove to be Mine That Bird’s biggest foe.
What’s so frustrating about Mine That Bird is that now his running style has finally been figured out, he has yet to be ridden the only way he can be. Mine That Bird is a one-dimensional horse with a lot of guts; when he’s put on or near the lead, he wilts in the final stages like a lily in the desert. As his trainer, Chip Wooley, has ascertained, Mine That Bird’s best chances come when he’s far off the pace, lagging in last, and only runs one time, when it matters at the end. A patient ride is what the Birdie needs to return to the winner’s circle, and Borel is going to need nerves of steel in the Goodwood to get the job done.
The Grade I Goodwood will be broadcast live from Santa Anita on TVG. Post time is scheduled for approximately 3:30pm PT.
The Grade I Lady’s Secret Stakes will be broadcast live from Santa Anita on TVG. Post time is scheduled for approximately 4:00pm ET.