Zenyatta's Quest

[skyfire]

I feel bad for the horse, not the connections -- Mike Smith said the dirt in her face was a hinderance:
"She just wasn't leveling out like I wanted to" Smith said. "There was the dirt, of course, hitting in her face--a lot of it. She just wasn't used to that part, it just left her with too much to do."

This is the result of her connections's "protect the win streak, stay at home" campaign. If she had raced at Saratoga, not even necessarily in the Whitney, but in the filly/mare races, she likely would have had her win streak intact and gotten some dirt in the face experience. I think that was the difference for Z. With more dirt in the face experience, my guess is she wins be daylight like Goldikova.

Score board, Baby. Blame won, and is Horse of the Year.