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| Before the great race |
Her run at Churchill Downs during the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic on 06 November was for a horsetoric 20-0 retirement record. But she lost by a head to a male. "Blame the winner!," the papers screamed; that's his name, Blame.
We rang up our horse racing aficionado friends, Wednesday denizens of beer joints cum OTB's, and a good friend who owns a number of racing horses, to check if they are familiar with Zenyatta. Yes, they do, in the same way they know of the legendary Seabiscuit, whose burial ground is still a secret, and the last movie about him had Tobey McGuire as the jockey.
Here's Joe Drape of the New York Times (06 Nov) describing Zenyatta's dramatic final run in Louisville, Kentucky: "...So when jockey Mike Smith cornered the big girl and squared her shoulders toward the finish line in dead last, the more than 72,000 people here at Churchill Downs rose to their feet and held their breath. Zenyatta not only had 11 horses to pass, she also had a dozen or so lengths to make up....They were boys. She was the only girl in the bunch, and at age 6 the oldest of the lot.... When he finally got her outside and clear, Zenyatta charged. ...Smith was fanning Zenyatta, a mare he loved, with his left hand. She dug in, and Blame’s lead grew smaller with every stride. With 20 yards to go, Zenyatta was at Blame’s tail. Then hip. Then neck. There was a roar, the flash of a finish-line photo, and then silence."
Art Wilson of the Whittier Daily News said of "[t]his Breeders' Cup Classic, which included a superstar mare trying to retire undefeated, [as] the first Ali-Frazier fight, the 1960 World Series and Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal in the 2007 Wimbledon finals all rolled into one."
Zenyatta's jockey Mike Smith was reported to be in tears blaming himself for her defeat. Jerry Moss, the owner, remained proud of their girl, and graciously accepted her defeat to another great horse.
What could have been like among the crowd of 72,739 at Churchill Downs?
Could it have been folksy like how Peter, Paul and Mary sang about when Stewball raced? Listen: "Oh, the fairgrounds were crowded,/ And Stewball was there /But the betting was heavy /on the bay and the mare. /And a-way up yonder, /Ahead of them all /Came a-dancin' and a-prancin' /My noble stewball. /Oh, the hoot owl, she hollered /And the turtle dove moaned /Of a poor boy in trouble /on a long way from home. /I bet on the gray mare, /And I bet on the bay. /If I had bet on ol' Stewball, /I'd be a free man today."
Or could it have been very genteel like the fashionable polite blue-bloods at the Ascot in Loewe&Lerner's "My Fair Lady"? Listen: "Ev'ry duke and earl and peer is here /Ev'ryone who should be here is here./What a smashing, positively dashing /Spectacle: the Ascot op'ning day./At the gate are all the horses /Waiting for the cue to fly away./What a gripping, absolutely ripping/Moment at the Ascot op'ning day./Pulses rushing! Faces flushing! /Heartbeats speed up! I have never been so keyed up!/And second now They'll begin to run. Hark!/A bell is ringing, They are springing Forward Look! /It has begun...! What a frenzied moment that was!/Didn't they maintain an exhausting pace?/'Twas a thrilling, absolutely chilling /Running of the Ascot op'ning race." In this gavotte, one saw only the heads of horses flashed by so very briefly.
End Notes:
- Churchill Downs located in Louisville, KY is "the legendary home of the Kentucky Derby, has previously hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2006 and has been the site of six of the seven largest crowds in Breeders’ Cup history.
- The Breeders' Cup administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, a year-end Thoroughbred racing event comprising 14 races and $25.5-million in purses. This year's event at Churchill Downs is the 27th
References:
1. Drape, Joe. (2010, November 06). Zenyatta Misses History by a Head. New York Times Online. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/sports/07breeders.html.
2. Wilson, Art. (2010, November 06). Blame the winner: Zenyatta rallies from last place, but bid to go 20-0 thwarted in Breeders' Cup photo finish. Whittier Daily News Online. Retrieved from http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_16543323?source=rss#ixzz14kC7Grtb
3. Breeders' Cup Website: http://www.breederscup.com/
4. Churchill Downs Website: http://www.churchilldowns.com/
5. Lyrics of Stewball retrieved from http://www.elyrics.net/read/p/peter-paul-&-mary-lyrics/stewball-lyrics.html
6. Lyrics of Ascot Gavotte retrieved from http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/myfairlady/ascotgavotte.htm
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