Sunday, May 24, 2009

Zenyatta Stays Undefeated

Zenyatta pulled away in deep stretch for a 1 3/4 length win over stablemate Life Is Sweet in Saturday's Grade II Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park. Sent off as the 1/5 favorite the victory improved Zenyatta's record to a perfect 10-0.

Zenyatta broke her usual last in the field and trailed by as much as 14 lengths on the backstretch. She was still 10 lengths back with 3 furlongs to run when Mike Smith tried to move her inside Life Is Sweet but had to check when that one moved left toward the rail. Smith then moved her to the outside and after asking her to run she made the typical Zenyatta huge move to take the lead in mid stretch. At the same time stablemate Life Is Sweet moved to the inside to challenge but Zenyatta simply ran away from her for the 1 3/4 length win.

After the race, jockey Smith was asked for a comparison with Rachel Alexandra and he said he did not want to take anything away from what she had accomplished but that is a matchup for another time. Assuming Stardom Bound returns from her break in good form, a possible matchup between Stardom Bound, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic this fall is something to look forward to.