Zenyatta: maintained her unbeaten record in style at Santa Anita

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker/ racingpostpix.com  

Awesome Zenyatta caps stellar year in Classic

WORLD CLASS: an analysis of the best performances of last week according to Racing Post Ratings

TOP OF THE CLASS: Zenyatta 128+

Trainer: John Shirreffs (US)

Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita, 1m2f, November 7

OVER a decade has passed since the Spice Girls tried to conquer the world with 'girl power', but the mantra has found new life in Zenyatta, who became the first filly or mare to win the Breeders' Cup Classic with a thrilling performance at Santa Anita on Saturday night.

The 'Go Zenyatta' and 'Girl Power' placards could be viewed all over the packed Santa Anita stands, as the California public eagerly awaited the run of an unbeaten mare whose connections had promised something special; something amazing.

Her fan base had grown steadily throughout the year, but this weekend was to be the pinnacle of her career; her first run against the colts, on the biggest stage of all, and now even the unbelievers were willing the five-year-old to succeed.

In a location this close to Hollywood, the story was always fated to have a beautiful, glossy ending, where the heroine could overcome adversity to become a superstar, and the performance was as suspenseful and perfect as if masterminded by Hitchcock himself.

The first trial of the shooting starlet came at the gates, and it was the usual suspects causing trouble. Zenyatta herself wasn't too keen to enter the stalls, but the real problem was Quality Road, who delayed the start after causing havoc with his best impression of a rodeo bull. He was soon withdrawn.

Once the gates opened, Zenyatta did just as she always does. It's the old 'wait and pounce' routine which has seen her cosily defeat everything she has ever run against.

Slowly away, she was settled last in the early stages, a good 12 lengths off the pace-making Regal Ransom.

Always cool and confident, jockey Mike Smith gradually edged the mare into contention, but she was still second last going into the final bend.

Smith had been asked before the race if he thought Zenyatta could win by going wide . He thought it best to wait and see how the race panned out, but with this unanswered question fresh in his mind, he decided to take the inside route as he moved to phase two – the pounce.

This inside move saw Zenyatta move up to sixth entering the straight. Smith switched her outside, but she was still sixth with a furlong to go, though, crucially, just a couple of lengths off the leader with a clear path to the line.

Once she hit full stride it was more a case of 'when' rather than 'if' and the giant daughter of Street Cry motored past her remaining five rivals to score quite comfortably.

This was a mechanical performance from the great mare. Though taking on the colts was a step into the unknown, she managed to apply the same running style which had seen her demolish her oppostition on each of her 13 previous starts with metronomic consistency.

The word machine is too often allocated to horses, but if it were ever truly deserved it is by Zenyatta, who, as long as she is oiled up and switched on, will give you the exact same performance every time she hits the track. And that has always been good enough to win.

Having been eased near the line on Saturday, the bare form of her latest victory once again failed to shed light on the true level of her ability.

She had just a length to spare over America's turf leader Gio Ponti (127), with the Henry Cecil-trained Champion Stakes winner Twice Over (124) a further length-and-a-quarter away in third.

Extra yardage has been factored into her rating, as she had to switch around Twice Over early in the straight, and Smith eased her off near the line, and she has been assigned a career best RPR of 128+.

Such a figure ranks this as an average renewal of the Classic, and puts the John Shirreffs-trained mare on the same mark as last year's winner Raven's Pass.

It was the first time in its 25-year history that a filly or mare has won the great race and if you couple that with her unbeaten record, Zenyatta will now cause a headache for the Eclipse Horse of the Year voters, who had been, quite understandably, all over Rachel Alexandra.

The decision on Horse of the Year seldom comes down to two such outstanding and deserving candidates.

The fact she has had the last laugh is in Zenyatta's favour, as voters, like all people, are often swayed by the recency effect, but the three-year-old is no forlorn hope for the honour.

Rachel Alexandra (129+) went eight races unbeaten in 2009, winning five Grade 1s, breaking three Stakes records, two Stakes winning-distance records, beating the colts three times and becoming the first filly in over 50 years to land the all-age Woodward Stakes.

With two such amazing distaffers adding to the outstanding exploits of Sea The Stars and Goldikova in Europe, this has been a season the like of which will be hard to replicate.

The only disappointment in such an stellar year is that no corner of that quartet has ever come into contact with another.

The Breeders' Cup undercard also saw Goldikova (123+) and Conduit (123+) repeat their 2008 victories in the Mile and Turf events, but neither had to be at their best against inferior opposition.