Zenyatta vs Mighty Mouse

The grade one Lady's Secret just got a whole lot more interesting when Jerry Hollendorfer announced that leading 3 year old filly, Blind Luck, was nominated to the event. The unbeaten Zenyatta, who has been training like the champion she is, has also been pointed to this race for some time.

The Lady's Secret had seemed to be another foregone conclusion. Zenyatta would be entered, she'd drop to the tail of the field the majority of the race, start her run on the far turn, then canter by her hopelessly outclassed opponents. With the possible addition of Blind Luck, things look a whole lot more interesting.

Both Blind Luck and Zenyatta have the exact same running style. Both like to drop to the tail of the field before unleashing a furious rally that leaves their rivals dizzy. After that the similarities stop. Zenyatta is a giant of a mare with the stride the size of Texas. It may take her a while to get that big caboose of her's in gear, but when she does she comes flying down that stretch like a freight train. Over her three year career, Zenyatta has been kept in the cozy confines of her home state California for all but two starts. She only ventured outside her female division once, and that was the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic, where she became the first filly in the history of the race, to win.

Blind Luck is by no means a giant. She is a small but agile filly. She may not be the quickest at the start of the race, but she has plenty of boom boom pow when she makes her run. Just watch the 2009 Hollywood Scarlet or this years Kentucky Oaks. Explosive is an understatement when the term is applied to the plucky little filly. Unlike Zenyatta, she has had her fair share of traveling. This year alone she went from California to Arkansas to Kentucky, before shipping back to California, then shipping to Delaware then New York. You could say she's been around the block a time or two. What she does lack is a win over males, but other than that, it is hard to fault such a full schedule.

If the two do in fact meet in the Lady's Secret we can all expect a stretch run for the ages. The distance of 8.5 furlongs favors neither one, since both seem to prefer going longer. It will have to be a race of strategy by the jockey before the two closers hit the stretch.

As mentioned earlier, Blind Luck is much smaller, but her small size makes it so much easier to go from 5th to 1st gear in the blink of an eye, where as Zenyatta's massive proportions may need some more time to unwind into that big ground, ground eating stride. Chances are Blind Luck will get the jump on her elder and will try to as hard as she can to fend her off. With the distance being only 8.5 furlongs, Blind Luck may just be able to hold off the big mare, if Mike Smith waits a second too long before giving his mare the green light.

Either way, we can all expect a race to the finish. So, who will it be, if the connections of Blind Luck decide to take a chance? Will it we the princess in waiting, Blind Luck or will be Queen Zenyatta, whose nose crosses the wire first?