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All Photos Copyright © John Livzey 2009
The
2009 Breeder's Cup was held at
Santa Anita Race Track in
Pasadena,
California on Noverber 6th & 7th, 2009. Announced in April of 1982 by leading Thoroughbred owner and breeder
John R. Gaines, the
Breeders' Cup has served as a positive step toward not only promoting racing, but uniting the industry itself.
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On the Way!
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The first
Breeder’s Cup was held at
Hollywood Park 25 years ago. Now established as the season-ending championship of Thoroughbred racing.
Zenyatta, a big beauty of a girl, was racing against all males (including
Kentucky Derby winners,
Belmont Stakes champions) and winners from around the globe. She was riled up and she was not going into the starting gate easily. Then
Quality Road starting acting up and broke through the gate. He was scratched and Zenyatta and the other 11 horses were backed out and the riders were all told to dismount.
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Zenyatta was way behind the horse in the very back!
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It was the last race of the Breeder's Cup, and would be bringing home a $5 million dollar purse. Zenyatta had already won all 13 of the 13 races she ran,but this was different----she had never run a mile-and-a-quarter race before---and like her, these males were all champs and Zenyatta was not only in last place, she wasn't even close to the rest of the horses, and she was even way behind the second to last horse. Zenyatta stayed in dead last place for most of the race, how could she ever even catch up to the pack, let alone move close to the front? Then on one of the turns and in a Zen moment, the girl rode to the widest part of the curve and just opened up that indefinable spirit that winners have inside and riding like she was loving the glory---simply left all of those champions in her dust. Mike Smith didn’t even have to push her—it was like he was along to escort her on her record-breaking ride as she galloped into history.
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Working Her Way Up!
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Moving In!
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Almost There!
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Zenyatta’s appearance and victory in the Breeders Cup earned her votes for
Horse of the Year. Ridden by
Mike Smith, she was cheered on by her owners
Jerry and Ann Moss as she raced
to her 14th victory in a row. Watching her race to this dramatic
finish was like a once in a lifetime event that those lucky enough to
witness would never forget. If this were a movie one would think it
was pure fiction.
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Riding Into History!
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With a broad smile on his face Smith said, “I believe if there was another horse ahead of him,” referring to
Gio Ponti, “she would have caught him, too. She still had run left.”
Zenyatta is the first mare to ever win the Breeders Cup Classic in it’s 26 year history and take her record to a perfect 14; 14 wins from 14 starts.
As the sun went down someone placed a winner’s garland on the statue of
Seabiscuit---the same wreath worn by Zenyatta an hour earlier. Seabiscuit became a symbol of hope for people during the time of the Great Depression, and now with so many having the hardest times of their lives by being in the back of the pack---it is a symbol of hope that somewhere there is an unseen force that can transcend any circumstance and still propel one into the arms of victory.
Jerry Moss said “I believe that this is probably Zenyatta’s last race, I think she deserves to go out with her record intact.”
“She’s our horse of the year,” he said as he swelled with pride. “We like to play in the biggest spots, and you can’t get any bigger than this.”
Fourteen times she left the gate and ended up in the winner’s circle every time. Smith maintained that he could get on Zenyatta’s back for another 14 or 1,400 starts and the result would always be the same. He says that Zenyatta was made so perfectly she would never be beaten.
“She’s sent from God,” he said. “It’s his filly. I think he wanted a horse and brought her down here to race against everyone.”
Not quietly, not with a whisper but with the roar of a crowd with tear-stained faces; a crowd who just witnessed something extraordinary that comes along so rarely in life, there is a new reality. In a race against the big boys, in a race against champions, even with the odds against her in the beginning of the race----it is the mare Zenyatta who is the Champion amongst champions!
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