LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Horse racing’s queen is taking one more shot at the boys, the critics and history too.
Watch out fellas, Zenyatta is coming. Again.
The unbeaten 6-year-old mare will try to make it a perfect 20-for-20 with a second straight victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6 in what could be the final act of an almost unparalleled career that has breathed life into a flagging industry.
The muscular champion is horse racing’s “It” girl. Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine placed her on its annual power list last month. There’s a spread on Zenyatta and her connections in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated and a lengthy profile slated to run on “60 Minutes” this weekend.
Zenyatta’s quest for perfection is giving the Breeders’ Cup a healthy dose of buzz.
Organizers are expecting record ticket revenue, and the Classic will be run under the recently installed lights at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli acknowledges the image of racing’s superstar running into the record books with one of her patented dashes to the wire is the kind of made-for-TV moment of which legends are made.
“Whether she gets there or not, I think it’s going to be a spectacle that everyone is going to remember for the rest of their lives,” Avioli said.
The competition, however, isn’t exactly cowering in fear.
Preakness champion Lookin At Lucky, Woodward winner Quality Road and surging Whitney Handicap champ Blame are expected to line up with Zenyatta in the starting gate for the 1 1/4-mile Classic, one of 14 races spread over two days that have drawn a record 184 horses vying for a slice of the $26 million in purses.
The return to the dirt at Churchill Downs played a major role in the record number of entries. While there was a healthy turnout — particularly from Europe — the last two years at Santa Anita, some American owners and trainers opted to skip the Breeders’ Cup because of the track’s synthetic surface.
“I think it being on a natural surface is huge,” said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will saddle 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Dirt Mile. “The central location I think helps too.” So does the venue. Churchill Downs has long been a popular spot for the Breeders’ Cup, hosting six of the event’s top seven one-day attendance figures.
This is the first time the track will host a two-day Breeders’ Cup, and while the spotlight will be on Zenyatta, she’s not the only horse chasing history.
Goldikova will attempt an unprecedented third win in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf, while British import Workforce will look to become the first horse to capture both the Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year.
Zenyatta’s bid to join Tiznow as the only repeat Classic winners hardly seemed likely a year ago. She chased down Gio Ponti in the final strides to win the Classic in front of her hometown fans last November, a thrilling victory that appeared to be the capper of a singular career.
Yet she stayed in shape during the winter, growing so antsy around the barn that trainer John Shirreffs kept her in training just to calm her down. She ran so well that owners Jerry and Ann Moss opted to run a full campaign, promising to send the California- based star across the country and take on all comers.
Didn’t happen. She did make one trip to Arkansas, where she romped in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn for the second straight year, before returning home and extending her streak to 19 with victories in the Vanity, Clement L. Hirsch and Lady’s Secret Stakes.
All the wins came against fillies and mares. And 17 of her 19 career wins have come on California’s synthetic surfaces.
Shirreffs insists Zenyatta hasn’t been ducking the boys.
“She’s a dainty little girl you know,” Shirreffs said with a laugh.
