5 Abr. USA. Apple Blossom H. G1. Oaklawn Park. 8,5f. Dirt. 500.000 $
1.- ZENYATTA (M.Smith)
2.- BROWNIE POINTS (L.Quinonez)
3.- GINGER PUNCH (R.Dominguez)


Jerry and Ann Moss’s Zenyatta continued a methodical ascent up the class ladder on Saturday at Oaklawn Park as she blew past champion Ginger Punch in early stretch for a convincing victory in the $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1).

The win was the first of two at the Hot Springs, Arkansas, track for the Mosses, who later enjoyed a victory with homebred Tiago in the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2).

A half sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Balance, Zenyatta entered the 1 1/16-mile race undefeated in three career starts, all on synthetic surfaces in Southern California. She performed brilliantly on Oaklawn’s main track in her transition to a conventional dirt surface.

Jockey Mike Smith settled Zenyatta in fifth as 2-to-5 favorite Ginger Punch spurted to the lead and laid down a solid tempo through six furlongs in 1:11.61 while pressed by Lemon Drop Mom.

Eight lengths behind Ginger Punch, who appeared poised to earn her fourth Grade 1 win, Zenyatta lengthened her stride midway through the second turn. She swung four wide into the stretch and easily dispatched that opponent and Lemon Drop Mom to gain command by a head.

Brownie Points offered a mild challenge but was outrun in the final sixteenth as Zenyatta won going away by 4 ½ lengths in 1:42.64 on a track rated as fast.

Brownie Points held on for second, 3 ½ lengths in front of Ginger Punch.

Trained by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta earned her second graded stakes victory after capturing the El Encino Stakes (G3) on the all-weather synthetic surface at Santa Anita Park on January 13. Unraced as a juvenile, Zenyatta debuted on November 22 on the Cushion Track surface at Hollywood Park and scored by three lengths. She subsequently won an allowance race by 3½ lengths at Santa Anita on December 15 to close her three-year-old season.

Bred in Kentucky by Maverick Productions Ltd., Zenyatta is out of the Kris S. mare Vertigineux. She increased her lifetime bankroll to $444,000 with the $300,000 winner’s share of the Apple Blossom purse.