Zensational is scary good ... so far
How impressive was Zensational's summer campaign at Del Mar? Well, consider this: He swept both Grade 1 sprint stakes -- the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien -- without hardly breaking a sweat. He became only the fifth 3-year-old to win the Bing Crosby in its 64 runnings and then, for good measure, became the first sophomore to win both races when he swept to victory in Sunday's Pat O'Brien. He's only the third 3-year-old to win that stake since its inception in 1986.
He's fast ... very, very, very fast. Trainer Bob Baffert, who's won the past two Breeders' Cup Sprints with Midnight Lute, says he's the fastest horse he's ever trained. Jockey Victor Espinoza knows just how quick the Unbridled's Song colt is first-hand.
"He's fast. He's REALLY fast," Espinoza said after the Pat O'Brien. "I've ridden some very good, very fast horses. But I've never ridden one like him. If you're talking sprinters, he's the fastest horse I've ever ridden. I wanted him to break quiet today. I didn't want him to come busting out of there. He came away easy and I had a hold in the first part. He ran :23 and something (:23.10) and I knew I was getting away with it right there. I thought we'd be going at least :22 and change. Twenty-three for this horse is just for fun. From there I just eased him on out. I let him run a little bit down the lane, but that was it. Never drew my whip. No reason to. Like I said, he's fast. And when we pulled up, he wasn't breathing hard at all. Not at all."
Baffert says he'll skip the Ancient Title Stakes at Oak Tree and head right into the Breeders' Cup Sprint on works alone. To be fair, he hasn't faced much in his career. No horse has been talented or fast enough to hook him so we could see what he's made of, how he reacts if a horse looks him right in the eye and says, "Let's see what ya got."
We'll know just how good Zensational is after the Breeders' Cup, but for now, we can just go by what we see as he beats overmatched opponent after overmatched opponent. What I see is a colt who's going to be mighty tough to beat in his own backyard on Nov. 7.
The problem with Zensational is that he is not a good gate horse. He rarely pops from the gate in good order and in the Breeders Cup Sprint breaking well for a horse like him is a must. Ton of ability yes, bettable in the Breeders Cup maybe not!
Well, Baffert's got two months to work on that problem. Correctable? Who knows. After what he accomplished with Midnight Lute last year, I wouldn't rule it out. And, of course, he's yet to hook anything yet. I do know that Baffert likes him a lot.