Milady Handicap
Saturday, May 31, Hollywood Park
The Low-Down: Past winners of this race include Azeri, Paseana and recently, the ill-fated filly Nashoba's Key. Those three prove the quality this race brings to the table each year. A new star on the horizon returns to California after notching her first Grade 1 victory in only her fourth career start. Her name is ZENYATTA. Her resume sounds silly when read out loud. See if you can follow this. She runs her first career race late in her 3-year-old year. The race was run at the sprint distance of 6 1/2 furlongs. After breaking last, she inhales the field in the final furlong displaying a huge stride and stopping the clock in 1:15.20. In her next start, an entry-level allowance, she gives her field a head start again. Jockey David Flores planted her in the four-path every step of the way and she won in a gallop. The next step was graded-stakes competition. Did she have the class to compete? In the El Encino, she broke slowly again. Midway around the final turn, it appeared she was not handling the Santa Anita surface very well. When she straightened out in the stretch, she was suddenly clear and won geared-down. Her next challenge was shipping out of her California comfort zone and tackling a Breeders' Cup Distaff champion, Ginger Punch, in only her fourth start lifetime. She had a new jockey on her back this time with Mike Smith. It did not matter. She answered all the questions with a resounding beat down of Oaklawn's Grade 1 Apple Blossom field. Now, she returns to California and is looking to keep her undefeated record alive. I would not call this a walkover. FOXYSOX, ROMANCE IS DIANE and DOUBLE TROUBLE all sport wins in graded events. But, to be perfectly honest, if ZENYATTA runs her race, the real race is for second money.
Our Eyes: ZENYATTA does not bounce out of her races quickly. It took a while for this monstrous girl to get back in fluid motion. On May 15, she signaled to me she was back on the beam again with a stylish breeze over the Hollywood Cushion. I had her cruising through splits of :25.00, 1:01.60, 1:13.60, 1:26.40. She wanted to do more galloping out around the turn, but the rider would not let her have any more fun. The other runner training in strong fashion is the returning filly from the Mike Mitchell barn, ROMANCE IS DIANE. 'DIANE concluded her strong series with a flashy six-furlong drill last Saturday with M.C. Baze in the irons. I had her in :36.00, 1:00.20, 1:12.60, 1:25.60 while always in hand.
The Bottom Line: ZENYATTA is a filly with ridiculous ability. Her weapon of choice is a gigantic stride that covers a cartoonish distance of ground. If she runs her race, she will win. Her possible Achilles' heel is her unwillingness to break with the rest of the field and her lack of early pace. In the "what-if" category, we have ROMANCE IS DIANE. Her big advantage over ZENYATTA is her tactical pace. She will get first jump on the run for home. If ZENYATTA loses focus and falls too far back, then maybe 'DIANE can sneak clear in the stretch and cause a major upset.
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