HORSE RACING Zenyatta wins her record 19th straightZenyatta and Blind Luck employ the same crowd-pleasing, come-from-last-place style with one major difference: Zenyatta always gets to the wire first.
In the Grade 1, $250,000 Lady's Secret Stakes on Saturday at Hollywood Park, unbeaten Zenyatta became the 1st thoroughbred ever to win 19 consecutive races and became the sport's richest female when she ran down Switch in the final yards for a victory by a half-length. The 1-to-10 favorite, Zenyatta finished 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.97 and earned $150,000 to increase her total to $6,404,580.
In the Grade 2, $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., Havre de Grace got a big enough jump on Blind Luck to hold her off by a short neck.
Both the 6-year-old mare Zenyatta and the 3-year-old filly Blind Luck will run next in the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 5-6 at Churchill Downs. Zenyatta likely will try to win the Nov. 6 Classic against male opponents for the second straight year, while Blind Luck will point for the Nov. 5 Ladies' Classic.
Blind Luck has won 9 of 14 starts with 3 seconds and two thirds, and her 5 losses have been by a total of 3 3/4 lengths. She carried 124 pounds in Saturday's 1 1/16 -mile race - 10 more than Havre de Grace and 9 more than her other 3 opponents.
The Fitz Dixon Cotillion marked the 3rd meeting between Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, with Blind Luck winning by a neck in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama Stakes at equal weights and by a nose in the 1 1/16 -mile Delaware Oaks when conceding 6 pounds.
"I knew we were taking a chance coming here and giving Havre de Grace 10 pounds at a shorter distance," Hollendorfer said when reached by cell phone after the race. "This was a prep for the Breeders' Cup, but we wanted to win it badly. We didn't, and that's just the way it goes."
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