Figures Show Zenyatta, Blame In Dead Lock
Posted on November 13th, 2010 in Horseracing | No Comments »
On the racetrack, they were separated by a few feet. Yet under the microscope of Ragozin speed figures, the epic stretch duel between Blame and Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Saturday at Churchill Downs amounted to virtually a dead heat.horse racing
Both the victorious colt and the now once-beaten mare came out of the Classic with rounded off Ragozin speed figures of 2 for their courageous efforts in the Classic.
While Zenyatta’s figure was boosted by the ground lost with her wide late rally, Blame received credit for carrying three more pounds than the runner-up (126-123).
For each, the Classic also represented something other than their top figure of the season.
Zenyatta moved forward after registering a 3¼ in the Lady’s Secret Stakes (G1) on October 2 at the Oak Tree meet at Hollywood Park and a 5 before that in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) on August 7 at Del Mar. One race prior to the Hirsch, the six-year-old Street Cry (Ire) mare posted her 2010 top of 1¼ in the Vanity Stakes (G1) on June 13 at Hollywood.
While slightly slower than her 1½ in last year’s Classic on Santa Anita’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface, the 2 marked a substantial leap forward from the 5 she notched in her other 2010 start on dirt, the Apple Blossom Invitational Stakes (G1) on April 9, which she won by 4 ¼ lengths.
With a 1½ in her only other start on dirt (the 2008 Apple Blossom), Zenyatta proved to be nearly as fast on dirt as she was on synthetics. Her career top was a minus-3/4 in the ’08 Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar, which was also one of three figures she registered on a synthetic surface that surpassed a 1½.
Blame, who won by a head after covering 1 ¼ miles in 2:02.28, also improved. He put up a 5¼ in his runner-up finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) on October 2 at Belmont Park, a 2 ¼ in the Whitney Handicap (G1) on August 7 at Churchill and a career top of 1 ½ in the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) on June 12 at the Louisville track.
After those two, Fly Down also rebounded from a clunker in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to grab third in Classic, 3½ lengths behind the winner. The three-year-old son of Mineshaft bounced off a 2½-point new top of 2½ in the Travers Stakes (G1) on August 28 to check in with a lackluster 7¼ in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but was much sharper with a 4 in the Classic.
Lookin At Lucky settled for fourth as the combination of reacting to a 2½-point career top and drawing post 12 were too much for him to overcome. The Preakness Stakes (G1) winner came into the Classic after a 1¼ in the Indiana Derby (G2) on October 2 and exited it with a 3 based on a four-wide rally that left him a neck behind Fly Down for the show spot.horseracing
While the Classic was the career finale for both Zenyatta and Blame, Lookin At Lucky and Fly Down could each race next year. Though it’s unlikely that next year’s Breeders’ Cup will feature anything as spellbinding as Zenyatta’s bid for a perfect, 20-for-20 career, the three-year-olds’ speed figures and potential to improve at four bode well for the future. There might not be a battle of the sexes in 2011 when the Breeders’ Cup returns to Churchill, but there could be another dazzling finish in which even speed figures will be hard-pressed to separate the winner from the loser.
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