2009 Breeders' Cup Classic

Last updated
26th Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
Final turn 2009 Breeders Cup Classic (4087751332).jpg
Zenyatta (rider with turquoise cap) saves ground around the far turn
Location Santa Anita Park
DateNovember 7, 2009 (2009-11-07)
Winning horse Zenyatta
Jockey Mike E. Smith
Trainer John Shirreffs
Owner Jerry and Ann Moss
Conditions fast [1]
Surface Synthetic dirt
Attendance58,825 [2]
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2010  →

The 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 26th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2009 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 7, 2009, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $5,000,000.

Contents

For the first time in the race's history, a mare won when Zenyatta closed from last place to win by a length. The race was named the NTRA Moment of the Year.

The Classic is run at a distance of one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m). It is normally run on a dirt surface but in 2009 was run on a synthetic surface. It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: [1]

Contenders

In 2008, European-based horses finished one-two in the Classic, a result that many attributed to the synthetic surface used at Santa Anita. [3] California had adopted synthetic surfaces starting in 2007 due to safety concerns [4] but many horsemen and bettors felt that the synthetics performed more like turf than dirt. As a result, a few East Coast racehorses who had only raced on natural dirt surfaces did not ship to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup. Most notably, the connections of the outstanding filly Rachel Alexandra announced that she would not race on "plastic". [5]

Zenyatta in the post parade Zenyatta 2009 Breeders Cup Classic (4086992195).jpg
Zenyatta in the post parade

Instead, the favorite for the race was Zenyatta, who in 2008 had won the Ladies Classic and was named the Champion Older Female Horse. Zenyatta came into the Classic undefeated in thirteen career starts and was, with Rachel Alexandra, one of the most popular horses in recent memory. However, some handicappers questioned her credentials. As a California-based horse, she had demonstrated her ability to win on synthetic but was viewed as having faced inferior competition to that on the East Coast. She also had never raced against male horses, had never run at 1+1⁄4 miles, and the Beyer Speed Figures that she had recorded in previous races were unexceptional for a Grade I winner. [6]

She was part of a thirteen horse field that included eight other Grade I/Group One winners from three countries. The most highly regarded contenders were: [6] [7] [8]

Race Description

Start of 2009 Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita Start of 2009 Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita (4087750496).jpg
Start of 2009 Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita

In post position four, Zenyatta was initially reluctant to enter the starting gate. Then Quality Road in post position twelve started acting up, delaying the start of the race by five minutes when he refused to load even after being blindfolded. When he injured himself kicking the gate, he was scratched. The rest of the field was unloaded due to the delay and then reloaded. [9]

When the race finally began, Zenyatta broke poorly and got off on the wrong lead. As was her custom, she dropped to the back of the field and trailed by as much as fifteen lengths. Down the backstretch, she had passed only one horse and was still about a dozen lengths behind. She started her move around the final turn, with jockey Mike Smith keeping her close to the rail to save ground. Track announcer Trevor Denman had kept an eye on the mare throughout the race, noting she had a lot of work to do at the top of the stretch, and saying "If she wins this, she'll be a superhorse!"

Turning into the stretch, Zenyatta faced a wall of horses in front of her, so Smith angled her away from the rail. When she finally had running room in mid-stretch, she was still in sixth place but closed ground rapidly. As she moved to the lead, announcer Trevor Denman exclaimed, "Zenyatta is flying on the grandstand side! This. Is. Un-be-liev-ABLE! What a performance! We will never see another like this!"[52][53][54]

Zenyatta eventually won by a length. Gio Ponti, who had received an excellent trip on the rail, finished second while Twice Over was third. [1] [2] [9] [3]

After moderate opening fractions, the time for the race was a solid 2:00.62. Nearly seven lengths behind with a quarter-mile remaining, Zenyatta ran the final quarter-mile in 23 seconds flat. [2] It was the first time that a female horse had "beat the boys" in the Classic. [3] Zenyatta was given a hero's welcome on her return to the winner's circle, with many fans holding signs honoring 'Queen Z.'

After the race, Smith described the run. "I had to hit her out of the stall," he said. "Then she was on her left lead and you want to be on your right down the straight. Then she gathered herself up... At the half-mile (pole), they were stacked up... but then it was like the parting of the sea as it opened up down there. She won it well within herself, believe it or not." [10] He also said, "I believe if there was another horse ahead of Gio Ponti, she would have caught him, too. She still had run left."[50] "She is all heart," said trainer John Shirreffs. "The way the crowd took to her was just amazing. They cheered for her, they clapped for her. They love her. What a wonderful relationship." [11]

Even veteran horsemen were moved by Zenyatta's performance and the crowd's reaction. "I switched camps at the eighth pole," said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Richard's Kid. "When I saw my horse wasn't going to win, I started yelling for Zenyatta... I have never seen a grandstand like that; nobody wanted to leave. The crowd was captivated. It felt like a horse had just won the Triple Crown." [2] "She's a freak, what can I say?" said Gio Ponti's trainer Christophe Clement. "My horse ran a great race but he couldn't beat her." [3]

The race was named the NTRA Moment of the Year. [12]

Results

FinishProgram
Number		Margin
(lengths)		HorseJockeyTrainerFinal
Odds		Winnings
1st41 length Zenyatta Mike Smith John Shirreffs 2.802,700,000
2nd71+1⁄4 lengths Gio Ponti Ramon Dominguez Christophe Clement12.00900,000
3rd53⁄4 lengths Twice Over (GB)Thomas QueallyHenry Cecil9.20495,000
4th31+1⁄2 lengths Summer Bird Kent DesormeauxTim Ice6.80300,000
5th21 length Colonel John Garrett GomezEoin Harty11.90150,000
6th61 lengthRichard's KidAlex SolisBob Baffert11.40
7th133+1⁄2 lengthsAwesome GemDavid FloresCraig Dollase52.10
8th113⁄4 lengthsRegal RansomRichard MiglioreSaeed bin Suroor39.10
9th16+1⁄4 lengthsMine That BirdCalvin BorelBennie Wooley Jr.14.40
10th102 lengthsRip Van Winkle (IRE)John MurtaghAidan O'Brien3.40
11th89+3⁄4 lengthsEinstein (BRZ)Julien LeparouxHelen Pitts10.40
12th9GirolamoAlan GarciaSaeed bin Suroor25.20

Quality Road was scratched

Source: Equibase [1]

Times:1⁄4 – 0:24.16; 1⁄2 – 0:47.88; 3⁄4 – 1:11.88; mile – 1:36.16; final – 2:00.62
Fractional Splits: (:24.16) (:23.72) (:24.00) (:24.28) (:24.46)

Payout

Payout Schedule: [1]

Program
Number		HorseWinPlaceShow
4Zenyatta7.605.603.80
7Gio Ponti9.206.60
5Twice Over (GB)7.00

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chart of the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic". Equibase. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Haskin, Steve. "Haskin's BC Wrapup: Z One and Only". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Drape, Joe (25 October 2008). "Raven's Pass Leaves Curlin Behind in the Breeders' Cup Classic". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Board Mandates Synthetic Surfaces" (PDF). California Horse Racing Board. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "No Breeders' Cup for Rachel Alexandra". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 Beyer, Andrew (6 November 2009). "Zenyatta will be lacking in horsepower in Breeders' Cup Classic". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Privman, Jay. "Zenyatta likely to test males in Classic". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "Zenyatta Heads Top-class Classic Field". www.indiarace.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  9. 1 2 "It's All Zenyatta in the BC Classic". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  10. ↑ Wood, Greg (7 November 2009). "Zenyatta joins the immortals with sensational Breeders' Cup win". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Privman, Jay (8 November 2009). "Zenyatta wins 14th in a row in BC Classic". ESPN.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Zenyatta captures NTRA's 'Moment of the Year'". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
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