Why does Zenyatta keep winning? I’ve no idea says John Shirreffs
The rest of us have watched in awe, including those trying to beat her, as Zenyatta has galloped herself into the record books and her rivals into submission.
The inside track, not the path closest to the rail, but the information from those closest to a horse is always a prized knowledge so if any man knows just how Zenyatta has managed her amazing unbeaten streak of 19 careers wins, with 13 of them coming in Grade One races, then it has to be John Shirreffs.
He has looked at Zenyatta in her stall at his barn most days since she arrived four years ago. He has seen the highs – those withering last-furlong bursts as she cuts down the opposition - and somehow managed to avoid the lows of defeat that brought down the likes of Citation and Cigar, whose winning streaks (neither of them covering their racing career from the start) broke after 16 victories.
Yet ask Shirreffs just what is it that has made his mare the stand-out in the history of American racing as he prepares her for a possible 20th consecutive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on November 6th and there is no straight answer.
It is not that Shirreffs is trying to shroud his response in any mystic psychobabble about the art of training racehorses. That is not the man’s style; quite simply he is as much in the dark about what makes Zenyatta tick as the rest of us.
"How she does it,” he said, pondering the question, "I have no idea. The unique thing about her is that she comes from last. She's at the mercy of the pace. She has to go wide. She has to cut the corner. She has to get a break. So far, she's done whatever is necessary to win."
One certainty in Shirreff’s mind is just what effect Zenyatta has had on the sport in America. “She’s changed the perception of how fans engage with racehorses. They really get behind her and she plays to the crowd. She’s brought a lot of people into racing who now enjoy the sport, even though they never really knew much about racing.”
The Zenyatta story – if the movie moguls down the road from Shirreff’s barn at Hollywood Park are not already working on the script they must be half asleep – now needs the great ending. The trainer is not about to start making any bellicose statements but he is happy enough. “At age six, she looks terrific,” he said. “Her races haven’t taken anything out of her. Her coat is good, her weight is good, and her attitude is perfect. She’s just handling everything very well. She handles noise and crowds and she seems to get a kick out of it, so I don’t anticipate any problems at all.”
Those who are looking for chinks in the mare’s formidable armour point to the fact that her career has been built on synthetic surfaces, with only two victories at Oaklawn Park on the dirt surface she will encounter at Churchill. "As for the dirt, she liked the surface at Oaklawn - she's been on so many different surfaces that I don't expect it will be a problem whatsoever,” Shirreffs said.
Bob Baffert is hoping that his colt Lookin At Lucky will be the one posing the problems. But even Baffert, a man who usually meets the opposition head on, tips his hat to this lady. “I’ve been fortunate enough to watch Zenyatta run in her races here in California,” he said. “She’s such a smart mare. She knows where the wire is. It’s almost like a game to her. She’s like a killer whale playing with the seals. I get goosebumps just watching her run. Once she passes you in the stretch you start rooting for her. She means that much to everybody.”
Winning his first Classic would mean a fair bit too for Baffert and Lookin At Lucky, who came back from a nightmare run in the Kentucky Derby to win both the Preakness and Haskell Invitational. "He's happy, he's sound, he's enjoying his work and his energy levels are fantastic," Baffert said, warming to his task. "He's very deceptive - he doesn't look like he's going too fast but then you look at your watch and you're like 'wow'!" he exclaimed.
"It's very rare that you see the two-year-old form carried through to three but that's the sort of horse he is. He's the kind of horse that even though he had a horrible trip [in the Kentucky Derby] it never affected him mentally."
The mentality of Baffert is to relish a race that looks capable of living up to its title this year. "I'm hoping to get a nice chance turning for home - hope we have something to root for,” Baffert said. “I think he's up for it and we'll find out what he's made of.”
And perhaps find if Zenyatta can be beaten.
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