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ARCADIA,
Calif.
-
Zenyatta
had
a
quiet
Friday
morning
at
Santa
Anita,
one
day
before
she
puts
her
13-race
unbeaten
streak
on
the
line
against
the
boys
in
the
US$5
million
Breeders'
Cup
Classic.
Zenyatta will bid for immortality as the first filly or mare to win the richest race in North America. It will be a demanding 1¼-mile test against a deep and talented field that includes Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and Rip Van Winkle, a top runner from Ireland.
"She is going to have to have her 'A' game and be lucky, too," exercise rider Steve Willard said after taking the mare for an easy gallop. "The distance will be right down her alley but, there are five or six really good horses in there and no slouches. I just want her to have a safe race, come home good and make babies."
This will likely be Zenyatta's final race. The five-year-old mare is headed to retirement and a new career as a broodmare.
-
YOUTH SERVED IN MARATHON: Man of Iron, a three-year-old colt, nipped veteran Cloudy's Knight by a nose in the $500,000 Marathon.
It was a brave effort by Cloudy's Knight, a nine-year-old gelding making only his third start after missing a year with a soft-tissue injury. It was also his first run over a synthetic surface at Santa Anita.
"You don't want to feel you're being greedy," trainer Jonathan Sheppard said. "His last race was only 15 days ago. But it all came together beautifully, at least until all but the last jump or two. We're very proud of him."
Rosemary Homeister Jr., aboard her first Breeders' Cup mount, urged Cloudy's Knight to the front midway through the final turn of the 1¾-mile race. It was a winning move, except for the relentless rally by Man of Iron, who closed from ninth.
"He kept trying and forging forward," Homeister said. "When we hit the wire, me and the (other) rider both looked at each other. I'm like, 'Did you get it?' and he goes, 'I don't know.' The horse gave such a gallant effort and for him not to win, it just brings you down a ...[next page]
Zenyatta will bid for immortality as the first filly or mare to win the richest race in North America. It will be a demanding 1¼-mile test against a deep and talented field that includes Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and Rip Van Winkle, a top runner from Ireland.
"She is going to have to have her 'A' game and be lucky, too," exercise rider Steve Willard said after taking the mare for an easy gallop. "The distance will be right down her alley but, there are five or six really good horses in there and no slouches. I just want her to have a safe race, come home good and make babies."
This will likely be Zenyatta's final race. The five-year-old mare is headed to retirement and a new career as a broodmare.
-
YOUTH SERVED IN MARATHON: Man of Iron, a three-year-old colt, nipped veteran Cloudy's Knight by a nose in the $500,000 Marathon.
It was a brave effort by Cloudy's Knight, a nine-year-old gelding making only his third start after missing a year with a soft-tissue injury. It was also his first run over a synthetic surface at Santa Anita.
"You don't want to feel you're being greedy," trainer Jonathan Sheppard said. "His last race was only 15 days ago. But it all came together beautifully, at least until all but the last jump or two. We're very proud of him."
Rosemary Homeister Jr., aboard her first Breeders' Cup mount, urged Cloudy's Knight to the front midway through the final turn of the 1¾-mile race. It was a winning move, except for the relentless rally by Man of Iron, who closed from ninth.
"He kept trying and forging forward," Homeister said. "When we hit the wire, me and the (other) rider both looked at each other. I'm like, 'Did you get it?' and he goes, 'I don't know.' The horse gave such a gallant effort and for him not to win, it just brings you down a ...[next page]
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