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THOROUGHBRED BEAT NOVEMBER 12, 2009 by James Scully Z glory: ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) concluded her unbeaten racing career with an outstanding win in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), thrilling Thoroughbred racing fans one last time with her thunderous rally through the stretch. The John Shirreffs pupil was trying both males and the 1 1/4-mile distance for the first time, and the ease of her victory was striking -- she didn't even appear to be breathing hard after blowing past her top-class rivals. Zenyatta became the first distaffer to win in the 26-year history of the Classic, but this year's Breeders' Cup, as well as the 2008 edition at Santa Anita, will always be remembered for the Pro-Ride. There's been plenty of anomalies over the controversial surface -- synthetic specialist and Dirt Mile (G1) hero FURTHEST LAND (Smart Strike) would have had no chance of winning on actual dirt -- but Zenyatta is as legitimate as they come. Anybody who watched her sensational 4 1/2-length victory in the 2008 Apple Blossom H. (G1) at Oaklawn Park knows that she's the real deal on dirt or synthetics. Her 107 BRIS Speed rating that afternoon was eclipsed only by the 109 figure she earned in the Classic. The five-year-old mare capped off the Breeders' Cup weekend in grand fashion. Horse of the Year toss-up: The debate heated up the moment Zenyatta finished humbling her male rivals in the Classic, and her supporters will have every reason to bemoan the outcome if Zenyatta loses the Horse of the Year race to RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro). Zenyatta showed up in Thoroughbred racing's championship event, and the connections of Rachel Alexandra, who defeated males in the Preakness (G1), Haskell Invitational (G1) and Woodward (G1) during her remarkable eight-for-eight campaign this season, elected to stay at home. "If they don't reward her with Horse of the Year, it would be a travesty, or at least co-Horses of the Year (with Rachel Alexandra)," trainer Bob Baffert said. "Zenyatta made the Breeders' Cup. And the way she won! I've never seen a crowd so captivated. It felt like a horse winning the third leg of the Triple Crown." Rachel Alexandra will have every opportunity to win Horse of the Year honors in 2010, but Saturday's Classic was Zenyatta's swan song and she delivered one the greatest performances in Breeders' Cup history. Her connections deserve all the credit in the world for bringing her back this season -- they could've easily retired her unbeaten following last year's smashing victory in the Ladies' Classic (G1) -- and their decision-making provided so much enjoyment to fans of Thoroughbred racing. It could go either way, but I think Eclipse Award voters who give Zenyatta the nod will be recognizing the contributions of trainer John Shirreffs and owners Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss. She'll be a deserving winner, just like Curlin and Jess Jackson were last year following the colt's subpar effort in the Breeders' Cup. No more Pro-Ride: There would be no Horse of the Year debate without synthetic tracks, but we're stuck with this lamentable situation because of the undesirable effect that they've brought to the sport domestically. Synthetic tracks are a third surface, and they're not going to be installed at any major venues in the future. Enthusiasm has already began to wane in California as trainers have become disillusioned with all the unforeseen drawbacks; the artificial concoctions aren't what distributors and proponents promised us. Dirt is the backbone of the racing industry in America, and synthetic tracks play as much like turf as they do a traditional surface. Some horses excel on any kind of ground, but many don't. As a result, Rachel Alexandra didn't compete at Santa Anita, and I don't blame her connections. Next year will be her opportunity to shine, and they weren't about to let Rachel show up and perform well below standards like D' FUNNYBONE (D'wildcat) or DEVIL MAY CARE (Malibu Moon), who established themselves as the top two-year-olds on the East Coast in their respective divisions. D' Funnybone finished last in the Juvenile (G1), and Devil May Care beat only one horse in the Juvenile Fillies (G1). These horses had never raced over a synthetic track and were predictably out of their element over foreign ground. It's basically a waste of time and money to run a horse without synthetic or turf experience in a Breeders' Cup race on Pro-Ride. For the second straight year, every winner on the Pro-Ride was proven on either surface. The most common misconception in the Breeders' Cup aftermath is that synthetic tracks are essential to attracting European contestants. The Pro-Ride didn't benefit RIP VAN WINKLE (Ire) (Galileo [Ire]) or MASTERCRAFTSMAN (Ire). These European standouts (Rip Van Winkle was the second best horse in Europe this year behind Sea the Stars; Mastercraftsman was a multiple Group1 winner this season) probably would've run better over the dirt at Churchill Downs than Pro-Ride. They failed to show up with their best on the synthetic track, as did well-regarded Europeans like RAINBOW VIEW (Dynaformer), MASTERY (GB) (Sulamani [Ire]), FATHER TIME (GB) (Dansili [GB]), FLEETING SPIRIT (Ire) (Invincible Spirit) and RADIOHEAD (GB) (Johannesburg). The Euros that did succeed on Pro-Ride, MAN OF IRON (Giant's Causeway) and VALE OF YORK (Ire) (Invincible Spirit), both recorded big upsets and those can happen on any surface. The top European performers this year, CONDUIT (Ire) (Dalakhani), GOLDIKOVA (Ire) (Anabaa) and MIDDAY (GB) (Oasis Dream [GB]), won on grass, and horses like them show up every year for the Breeders' Cup turf races. The Pro-Ride at Santa Anita had nothing to do with their participation. And the fact is that European-based horses will compete on the main track no matter where the Breeders' Cup is held, with international raiders like Arcangues, Giant's Causeway, Sakhee and Ibn Bey (GB) all leaving an indelible mark upon previous Classics on dirt. Regardless of the site, the Breeders' Cup isn't going to be the target for every top-class runner overseas. For the second straight year, the highest-ranked horse in Europe (Zarkava in 2008 and Sea the Stars this year) bypassed shipping to the warm Southern Californian climate. And I think the connections of Sea the Stars were probably smiling in appreciation of their decision following the 10th-place flop of Rip Van Winkle. Tough beats: Troubled trips are a daily part of Thoroughbred racing, and I'll highlight a trio of tough beats from Breeders' Cup weekend. LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike) is bred to handle dirt and established himself as the early Kentucky Derby (G1) favorite based upon his stellar two-year-old form in California. Unbeaten in his first four starts, including the Norfolk (G1) and Del Mar Futurity (G1), the Baffert-trained colt drew post 13 in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile and was carried extremely wide into the first turn after being bumped repeatedly. He lost more valuable ground on the far turn, circling five wide into contention for the stretch drive, and raced valiantly to the wire, falling a head short to a longshot who was able to save ground the entire way. "He showed today what a good horse he is," Baffert said. "It's just frustrating to know you have much the best horse and to come up short like that. I didn't give him any chance at all at the half-mile pole. At least you know that you can look forward to the Derby." Zenyatta was the only winner Saturday to go last-to-first on Pro-Ride, but READY'S ECHO (More Than Ready) was in position to mow down his rivals after turning for home in the Dirt Mile. However, in the midst of his furious rally, the four-year-old colt was interfered with by Mambo Meister (King Cugat), who veered out and bumped his rival twice in midstretch, knocking Ready's Echo off stride momentarily. The late runner regained his momentum, but it was too late as Ready's Echo fell less than a length short in second. "I just wish we'd had a longer stretch to run in," jockey Calvin Borel said. "We came a little wide and, as a matter of fact, the six horse (Mambo Meister) cost me the race; he came out to me and I had to steady." In the Juvenile Fillies, BIOFUEL (Stormin Fever) started from the extreme outside post (12) and dropped to the back of the pack after the gates opened. She circled at least six paths wide on the far turn and began to go after the leaders with earnest in the stretch when Negligee (Northern Afleet) came out and slammed into her left front leg, nearly knocking Biofuel to the ground. The Reade Baker-trained lass never appeared to fully recover from the traumatic incident, but she continued to make up ground on the far outside and was beaten less than two lengths for it all in fourth. "She got mugged," Baker told Daily Racing Form. "I thought she was the best horse; she should have won the race." Irish woes: Man of Iron saved Coolmore and trainer Aidan O'Brien from being blanked for the sixth consecutive year, but it still wound up being a very disappointing Breeders' Cup for the Irish outfit. In 2008, O'Brien saddled losing favorites in Soldier of Fortune (Ire), Halfway to Heaven (Ire) and Westphalia (Ire), and Duke of Marmalade (Ire) faltered as the third choice in the Classic. Henrythenavigator's runner-up effort at 19-1 offered a ray of sunshine at the end of the long weekend, but they weren't able to get out town on an encouraging note this year. Coolmore sold Man of Iron prior to his Marathon victory, so his next start will come with new connections. The remaining O'Brien runners all performed well below standards in 2009. I won't heap all the blame on Johnny Murtagh, but he's proving to be a disservice to some of his mounts with perplexing rides in the Breeders' Cup. His lack of pace awareness aboard Rip Van Winkle was unbelievable -- the horse was chasing the pacesetter in second early before folding his tent like all the other front runners -- and he delivered a similar ride aboard Duke of Marmalade last year. O'Brien could elect to go with competent American jockeys in the 2010 Breeders' Cup, and the proof was in the pudding last year when John Velazquez got the most out of Henrythenavigator, but that probably won't happen. We can only speculate on how much more the Coolmore horses would offer with a rider like Velazquez on their major contenders in the Breeders' Cup.
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