Flashback: Zenyatta emerges in 2008 Apple Blossom Handicap

The 2008 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn Park was supposed to be yet another coronation for Ginger Punch, the champion older mare of 2007. A three-time Grade 1 winner, Ginger Punch already had demonstrated her abundant quality with a gritty victory over a sloppy track in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with this race supposed to be a walk in the park for the 2-5 favorite.

Sure, there was one other filly of note in the six-horse field — a late-running 4-year-old daughter of Street Cry, undefeated in three starts on the California circuit. But though she’d won the El Encino Stakes (G2) easily enough, she’d never run on dirt, instead plying her trade on synthetic tracks. Bettors — and even her human connections — were uncertain whether the imposing filly would handle the transition to dirt while shipping across the country to Arkansas.

This up-and-coming filly was, of course, Zenyatta, back before her name was synonymous with superstar status. And in the span of about 100 seconds, she erased any doubts about her overall talent and ability to handle dirt.

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More than 30,000 people turned out to enjoy an afternoon of high-class racing at Oaklawn, sending Zenyatta away as the 9-5 second choice in the wagering. When the gates opened at 4:58 p.m., the two favorites provided a stark contrast in running styles. Ginger Punch broke alertly from the rail, sprinting straight to the lead. Zenyatta, as would become her custom, began sluggishly, falling back to fifth place.

But Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith — guiding Zenyatta for the first time — didn’t panic. He didn’t rush the 1,200-pound behemoth beneath him, instead allowing the John Shirreffs-trained filly to settle nearly 10 lengths off the pace as Ginger Punch cruised along through fractions of :23.47, :47.30, and 1:11.61. Watching the race, there were surely racing fans who wondered: Was Zenyatta failing to handle the dirt? Was she overmatched facing a champion like Ginger Punch? Would she mount any challenge at all, or would she remain far back throughout?

All three questions were answered on the far turn, when Smith asked Zenyatta to lengthen her stride.

“I wanted to see what I had underneath me, and I urged her a little without much response, so I asked her harder and she took off,” Smith recounted in a 2008 article in The Blood-Horse. “I was about at the three-eighths pole, and I was afraid I was going to get to the front too soon.”

Full of run and charging forward with the momentum of a freight train, Zenyatta gobbled up ground with gargantuan strides. She flew past the fading longshot Clever Strike, advancing into fourth place. She rolled right by the weakening Lemon Drop Mom. At the top of the stretch she was just a few lengths behind Ginger Punch, and it was clear the upstart challenger was moving stronger than the heralded favorite.

At the eighth pole, Zenyatta collared Ginger Punch and fellow late runner Brownie Points, poking her head in front while drifting toward the rail. Smith’s only job at this point was to steer the bundle of energy beneath him, because Zenyatta was just getting started. In the final furlong she left no doubt about her superiority, powering 4 1/2 lengths clear of Brownie Points while stopping the clock for 1 1/16 miles in a quick 1:42.64.

The quality of Zenyatta’s performance was subsequently flattered — over and over again — by her beaten rivals. Brownie Points came right back to win the Ouija Board Distaff Handicap (G3). Ginger Punch rebounded with an impressive winning streak, rattling off victories in the Louisville Stakes (G2), Ogden Phipps Handicap (G1), Go for Wand Handicap (G1) and Personal Ensign Stakes (G1). Lemon Drop Mom returned to win the Winter Melody Stakes, and even Clever Strike won an allowance race in her very next start.

And Zenyatta — as we all know — become a legend in her own time, winning 19 of her 20 starts during a Hall of Fame career. In 2009, she became the first filly or mare to beat males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and in 2010 she won five Grade 1 races during a popular Horse of the Year campaign.

But though Zenyatta raced primarily in California, it was in Arkansas where she first emerged as a national star. Her runaway triumph in the Apple Blossom was breathtaking, yet pretty much par for the course for Zenyatta, foreshadowing the historic and sustained success she would later enjoy.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.