HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS
MAY 29, 2009
by Dick Powell
Forgot about all that you have learned about horses’ “body language” as a
clue to how they will run today. Forget about watching paddock and post parade
behavior. Forget about watching horses warming up before the race to determine
how they are feeling today.
After watching ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) in Saturday’s Milady H. (G2),
you would have to question everything that you have ever learned about a horse’s
behavior before races.
Zenyatta’s antics before her races are hard to characterize since they are so
different from any other horse I have seen. She’s not headstrong or crazy, nor
does she show signs of being anxious. I think the term “quirky” might best
describe her. Okay, after Saturday’s display, “QUIRKY” might be more
appropriate.
While walking out of the paddock at Hollywood Park, she began to be
distracted by her tongue-tie. She goose-stepped with her left foreleg extended
up as far as she could and tried to lower her head enough to rub it off. She
couldn’t quite reach it but it didn’t stop her from trying.
Once on the track, she kept her neck bowed as far as she could while walking
with an over-extended stride. When the rest of the field broke off to warm up,
she continued to walk around — never even breaking into a canter. She stopped a
couple of times to watch the proceedings and when the field approached the
starting gate she pawed the ground hard as if she wanted to lay down.
The impression I got from her was that with a minute to post time she was
absolutely bored. Why bother wasting energy warming up? She has the first half-mile of the race to do that. The field is about to load into the gate? Maybe
she’ll lay down and take a nap.
Zenyatta’s pre-race antics have become the second greatest show in horse
racing today. The greatest show in horse racing today is when Mike Smith asks
her to stop fooling around and get serious.
Saturday’s Milady appeared to be a tough task for Zenyatta and her
undefeated record of nine wins in nine starts. She was supposed to make her
seasonal debut in the Louisville Distaff S. (G2) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day, but
a wet track forced her to scratch. Now she shows up in the Milady and, besides
having to concede four to 14 pounds to the field, she has to face her stablemate
Life is Sweet (Storm Cat), who was coming off three straight graded stakes wins,
including the Santa Margarita Invitational H. (G1) last time out.
Going into the race, I was questioning why trainer John Shirreffs would run
his Grade 1 stakes winners against each other. Granted, they are owned by
different people but it seemed like a foolish idea at the time.
When the gates opened for the Milady, Zenyatta took up her customary position
at the back of the pack with Life is Sweet just ahead of her. They were at least
10 lengths behind when the field turned down the backstretch but all eyes were
on the back of the pack as Garrett Gomez kept Life is Sweet way out in the
middle of the track. Mike Smith moved Zenyatta up a bit on the inside and as
they neared the half-mile pole, Gomez tightened the hole and Smith had to tap on
the brakes.
For a fleeting moment, it looked like Zenyatta was in trouble as Smith had to
drop back and go to the outside as Gomez was now on the rail. With only a half-mile to go and a lot of ground to make up, it was time for the greatest show
in horse racing today.
Smith’s hands and heels told her it was time to go and she was gone in an
instant. Zenyatta’s run around the far turn was electrifying as she went past
Life is Sweet in about four strides and suddenly closed the 10-length gap on
the leaders — all while running four paths off the rail around the turn.
Zenyatta caught up to the leaders at the top of the stretch and set sail down
Hollywood’s long homestretch. Gomez tried to keep up by saving ground and he had
Life is Sweet in a good drive but it had to be disheartening for them to see
Zenyatta and Smith cruising home. Zenyatta had her ears pricked forward and
Smith was sitting chilly as they opened up the lead inside the furlong pole and
cruised home to an easy 1 3/4-length win. Life is Sweet was a game but overmatched
second.
Within about 46 seconds, the answer to the question of why Shirreffs would
run his two females against each other was obvious. Life is Sweet was no match
for Zenyatta and Shirreffs knew it going in. If the ownes of Life is Sweet wanted to
run her against Zenyatta, Shirreffs wasn’t going to dissuade them. They knew
what they were getting themselves into.
After the race, Shirreffs indicated that Zenyatta will remain in California
for the rest of the year. As much as I would love to see her at Saratoga or
Belmont, she is the champion, her schedule has pretty much been publicized and
anyone who wants to run against her knows where they can find her.