Zenyatta canters home in the Hirsch making it 18 straight wins

Zenyatta sure is on a roll. On Saturday she made her 18th win look easy, with a romp home in the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar. It was a hand ride for Mike Smith and Zenyatta looked like she had a few more gears that didn’t get called into play.

This is the second year in a row that Zenyatta has won this race.

On Saturday, the field didn’t give her much of a challenge and Zenyatta didn’t make a huge effort. She won by half a length but not because she couldn’t run faster; she seemed to know that she didn’t have to. Her ears were forward the whole time and she looked full of energy as she made her way into the winner’s circle.