LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Put the blame on Blame for breaking Zenyatta’s magnificent winning streak — and a lot of hearts too.
Jockey Mike Smith wept. Owners Jerry and Ann Moss stood in stunned silence. Trainer John Shirreffs trudged slowly back to the barn, hands in his pockets.
Nineteen times the people behind Zenyatta led horse racing’s superstar to the track. Nineteen times they’d celebrated with her in the winner’s circle.
Not this time.
Blame beat Zenyatta by a head in a thrilling finish at the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday night, handing the 6-year-old mare her first defeat.
Zenyatta threaded her way through traffic from last place while the crowd of 72,739 urged her on as she unleashed a monstrous closing kick under the lights at Churchill Downs.
It was so close, a matter of inches, the result had to be resolved by a photo — a picture that saddened not only Zenyatta’s owners and trainer but millions of fans around the world.
It was so close, Ann Moss said she was hoping her horse had “stuck her tongue out” at the finish.
Smith blamed himself for the loss. He walked off the track with his head down, dirt stuck to his face. “It was my fault,” he said, sobbing. “She should’ve won.”
Blame went to the front in midstretch, then fought off another gutty run by the massive mare, who lagged well behind 11 rivals — all boys — in her customary style.
Sent off at 5-1 odds, Blame ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.28 and paid $12.40, $4.40 and $3.80. Zenyatta returned $3.60 and $2.80. Fly Down was another 3 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $8.60 to show. Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky finished fourth.
But the star, even in defeat, was Zenyatta, the sentimental even-money favorite.
She played to the crowd at every chance on her way to the starting gate. She high-stepped her way to the paddock, playfully pawing the ground as they roared. Ann Moss held her finger to her lips as a signal for the fans to quiet down.
“People who didn’t know anything about horse racing became fans because of her,” Blame’s jockey Garrett Gomez said.
Zenyatta proved she could beat the boys last year when she rallied from behind to win the $5 million Classic at Santa Anita. It was one of her 17 wins on synthetic surfaces in her home state of California.
This time, though, she was facing the deepest, most talented field of her career on a surface where she had limited experience. Still, Shirreffs said she preferred it to synthetic tracks.
This was the third time she ran on dirt, and in her two previous races, she beat other girls at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
“She ran an excellent race and came up a little short,” Shirreffs said. “She ran her heart out.”
J.B.’s Thunder, owned by Denver’s Andrea Pollack, finished ninth in the 10-horse Juvenile.
