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 Martin Garcia aboard Love and Pride after winning the 2012 Zenyatta Stakes Part 1 - Awesome Again, Chandelier, and FrontRunner Stakes |
The premier race for older fillies and mares during the Santa Anita fall meet is the $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes (G1), formerly the Lady's Secret, a 1 1/16 mile main track trip with the winner earning automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. Amani was sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the field of 9, sixth in the Pacific Classic (G1) against males after winning he Clement Hirsch Stakes (G1), both at Del Mar. In to challenge her included 5-2 second choice Include Me Out, winner of the Clement Hirsch last out, and 4-1 third choice Love and Pride, shipping in from Saratoga where she won the Personal Ensign Handicap (G1).
 Love and Pride draws off in the stretch |
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 7 Love and Pride Garcia 10.20 5.20 4.00 4 Joyful Victory Napravnik 8.20 5.00 6 Include Me Out Talamo 2.60 Winning Time: 1:43.09 $1 Exacta 7-4 35.00 $1 Trifecta 7-4-6 146.90 $1 Superfecta 7-4-6-8 1,562.20Results Chart |
Left: Love and Pride in the winner's circle. Mike McCarthy, assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher said, "Turning up the backside I thought (Via Villaggio) might come up and give her a little company, but he was nice enough to go ahead and sit right off of her. This filly, when she gets a chance to settle into a rhythm, she's obviously able to finish off her races. I think you saw that today. Provided everything goes well, I believe this filly will stick around (Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup)."
Right: Love and Pride in the paddock before the race. Winning jockey Martin Garcia said, "The instructions were to let her break and not fight her, just let her be happy. That's exactly how the race turned out. I let her break, sat, then when it was time to go she just finished the job. I'm very lucky to ride this beautiful horse and I will pray to see if I can stay with her."
Left: Second place finisher Joyful Victory in the post parade. Jockey Rosie Napravnik said, "She's a filly I've never ridden before, but Larry (Jones) made it clear she doesn't really like to be down on the inside. Unfortunately, we were stuck there for three-quarters of the race. But I eased my way out and the only chance I had was coming around the turn and she finished very well and she kept on very gamely. I think this is her preferred surface, based on her form. I've never ridden her. I never was on her, even in the morning."
Right: Third place finisher Include Me Out in the post parade. Jockey Joe Talamo said, "We had a perfect trip – I thought she ran really well. Just like Ron (Ellis) said, you just can't win if you're not in front on this track. It feels real good, but it's definitely favoring frontrunners today. We had a pretty good trip – I was able to get over and didn't want to move too early and she put the brakes on. I thought we had a good trip today. We're still high on her."
 Marketing Mix wins the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G1) |
Let's Go Cheyenne was sent to the lead down the chute by jockey Rafael Bejarano and she set fractions of 23.69, 45.78, 1:09.62, and 1:35.00 over the firm course while stalked by 43-1 Vivo Per Lei, in turn 10 lengths ahead of the rest of the field. On the far turn, the pacesetters tired as Marketing Mix, who was 6th early, moved up to take over the lead. 15-1 Nereid tried to rally late but Marketing Mix easily held her off by 2 1/4 lengths, completing the trip in 1:59.20. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to 14-1 Stormy Lucy third.
Left: Marketing Mix in the winner's circle. Trainer Tom Proctor said, "She makes you high on her. She's easy to train. She's handled everything we've ever done to her. Last year, we hauled her back and forth to Canada four times, I think. When we discussed after the Beverly D. what to do, I told Craig (Bernick, Glen Hill racing manager), 'It don't matter what you do. She makes you look good.' I'd have been disappointed if she got beat. That's not a good way to go into the race, but you've have to be the way she's run good all year."
Right: Marketing Mix returns after the race. Jockey Garrett Gomez said, "You never know how things are actually going to set up in a race. I know this mare; she's really handy about what needs to be done at certain parts of the race. She's just pure class. She was able to listen to what I was asking of her. I saw the two leaders hook up early on. They opened up 6 or 7 on us, and I was using the next two horses as my cover but they just couldn't keep up. I enjoy using my cover to pull me to the leader but I ended being the one that was starting to pull the rest of them along. I don't like to do that too much, but you can do that when you have a quality horse, and she's a quality horse. She proved it today."
Left: Second place finisher Nereid in the paddock before the race. Jockey Rosie Napravnik said, "She was just a very, very nice filly to ride. I came from a little bit of a challenging post position on the outside and she was very easy to maneuver into a good spot. She responded when I needed to wait and when I needed to go, and she pushed her way through the horses and finished excellent."
Right: Third place finisher Stormy Lucy in the paddock before the race. The 14-1 shot was 8th early under jockey Martin Pedroza, then rallied late to get third beaten 4 1/2 lengths. The Frank Lucarelli trainee improved her record to 4 wins, 1 second, and 2 thirds in 12 starts, earning $206,045 for owner Frank Gaunt.
Closing out the race card on Saturday was the $70,000 Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf. Byrama was sent off as the 5-2 favorite in the field of 12 over 3-1 Starry Skies and 7-1 Killer Graces.
Jockey Edwin Maldonado sent 20-1 Coup de Coeur to the lead immediately and she set fractions of 21.28 and 43.19 while stalked by 8-1 Madoffwiththemoney. In the stretch, 11-1 Charm the Maker charged to the lead from 9th, but Byrama, 7th early, closed on the far outside to win by 1/2 length in 1:12.53. It was another 1/2 length back to Starry Skies third. The win gave jockey Rafael Bejarano his fourth stakes win on the afternoon.
The new life-sized bronze statue of Zenyatta was unveiled on Saturday afternoon, with her owners Jerry and Ann Moss on hand. The statue, over 17 hands high and weighing 1200 pounds, just like the racemare, was sculpted by Nina Kaiser and is located in front of the Kingsbury Fountain near the entrance. Jerry Moss said, "It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful. We're knocked out." Ann Moss added, "She looks fantastic. Such a wonderful honor." trainer John Shirreffs, the couple's racing manager and Shirreffs' wife Dottie, exercise rider Steve Willard and jockey David Flores, who rode the mare in her first race, were on hand, while regular rider Mike Smith was unable to attend as he was riding at Belmont Park this weekend.
Left: Ann Moss gives the statue's nose a kiss.
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