LOUISVILLE, (Reuters) – Blame held off a furious late charge by Zenyatta to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a head yesterday and deliver the previously unbeaten mare the only blemish on her illustrious record.
With the crowd screaming furiously and snapping pictures as the horses raced toward the finish line, Blame, the Whitney Handicap winner, foiled the previously unbeaten Zenyatta.
Blame, ridden by Garrett Gomez, covered the mile-and-a-quarter in 2:02.28. The Kentucky-bred bay returned $12.40, $4.40 and $3.80
for a $2 ticket.
“She’s an amazing race horse,” Gomez said of Zenyatta. “Awesome.”
Zenyatta, a six-year-old mare and one of the most popular horses of her generation, trailed the field badly before making a late charge on the final turn.
“I was just having a rough time of it going underneath the white wire the first time,” said Zenyatta’s jockey Mike Smith.
“She just wasn’t levelling out like I wanted to — the combination of the dirt, of course, hitting in her face was a lot of it. She just wasn’t used to that part. Just left her with too much to do. I truly believe I was on the best horse today. If I had to blame anybody, it would be me.”
Zenyatta, the 4-5 favourite, paid $3.60 and $2.80. Fly Down finished third in the field of 12 in America’s richest race.
The victory was the ninth in 13 career starts for Blame, who has never finished out of the money. The horse’s connections announced after the race the colt was retiring.
“My hat’s off to Blame,” said Smith, who broke down in tears talking with reporters after the race. “He ran an incredible race.
“He didn’t fold and I needed him to fold just a little bit but he didn’t. He hung in tough.”
