(Edited Del Mar Thoroughbred Club report)

DEL MAR, Calif. – Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss’ unbeaten equine phenomenon Zenyatta continued her march toward Thoroughbred racing immortality Saturday as she won her 18th consecutive race with a narrow but convincing  victory in the Grade I $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes before an admiring audience of 32,536.

With regular rider Mike Smith in the saddle, the strapping six-year-old daughter of Street Cry outran the surprising 10-1 outsider Rinterval to win by a neck to continue her amazing streak of triumphs, most in modern major racing history. Princess Tudor was third, with Spring Style fourth in the small field of six older fillies and mares.

“Oh, she was looking good today. This was Zenyatta. I wanted everyone to see her and she showed up. I think I hit the front too soon with her. She started looking around. She does that sometimes in her works. She’ll make the front and then start to shut down a little bit. That mare that hooked her today (Rinterval) was game. Good for her. But we got it done. She was Zenyatta. She’s something to believe in,” Smith said.
 
Zenyatta, sent postward at 1-9 while carrying highweight of 123 pounds, was scoring her third straight success in the Hirsch, equaling the Del Mar feats of Native Diver, Flawlessly and Track Gal who also won a Del Mar stakes event three years in a row.

Typically, Zenyatta dropped off the pace to run fifth in the early stages of the mile and one-sixteenth race behind dawdling fractions of 25.41 for the first quarter and 50.61 at the half-mile for Rinterval under jockey Rafael Bejarano.

“I didn’t want to be in front. But she was comfortable. She was going OK. I tried to wait, but she (Zenyatta) came up outside me and I had to go. If I could have waited a little more, maybe it would have been different. But the winner deserved it. She was good,” Bejarano said.

The slow pace continued until midway of the stretch turn where Smith sent Zenyatta into contention on the far outside, engaged a stubborn Rinterval who proved difficult to beat in a stirring duel to the wire. Final time was 1:45.03 with a blistering final sixteenth in 5.94 seconds.

Princess Tudor was another 2 1/4 lengths back in third, with Spring Style almost four lengths farther back.

With no show wagering, Zenyatta returned $2.20 to win and $2.10 to place. Because of heavy action on the winner, there was a minus place pool of $94,675.39.

First money of  $180,000 increased the John Shirreffs-trained star’s career earnings to $6,254,580 as she jumped from 23rd to 16th on the all-time list of money-winners with at least a single start in North America.

“She came out of the gate well, got good position and fired the last part. I always like to see her settle into her stride. Then as she gets into that rhythm you know things are working right,” Shirreffs said.

About playing after making the lead: “She always does that. When she passes the last horse she thinks it’s over. I was surprised that the pace was so slow.”

About concerns about the track the morning of the race: “I talked to Joe (Harper) and (director of racing) Tom Robbins in the racing office in the morning and they told me it was going to be taken care of. After the renovation, the track was fine.”

Jerry Moss was happy the hectic week had come to a good ending.

“There was a lot of pressure this week, but she’s a great horse and we’re grateful for that. We want her to keep winning. She’s just a miracle.”

How gratifying is it to see the fans come out to see her? “She’s a great star. She’s brilliant and she has a great bunch of fans that recognize that. She hasn’t let them down yet.

“Zenyatta represents the best there is in racing. She’s a great leader to follow,” Moss said.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for Smith, but his third straight in the Clement L. Hirsch and his fifth overall in the stakes. He now has 29 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for Shirreffs, but his third straight in the Clement L. Hirsch and his fourth overall in the stakes. He now has 13 stakes wins at Del Mar.

Zenyatta becomes the first horse to win the Grade I Hirsch three times. She also joins a handful of other horses — specifically, Native Diver, Flawlessly and Track Gal — to win a single stakes at Del Mar three times.