Zenyatta, unbeaten in 13 starts, takes on the boys for the first time in her career in the $5,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Santa Anita. The Classic is a 2000-metre race and will be run on the pro-ride surface. There are 12 horses opposing Zenyatta, the 5-2 morning line favourite, and many of them have credentials that make them worthy rivals. If Zenyatta wins, she will become the first female to win the BC Classic. Mine That Bird, the winner of the Kentucky Derby is in the field. Summer Bird, winner of three Grade I races in a row and the top sophomore in America at the moment, lines up. Quality Road, the Florida Derby winner early this year, will take his chances. Rip Van Winkle, an Aidan O’Brien pupil, takes a leap of faith by choosing to run for the first time over the pro ride surface. Winner of the Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Rip Van Winkle has been performing with distinction at the highest level in Europe. Gio Ponti, America’s top grass horse and winner of the Arlington Million, is in the Classic field. Twice Over, victorious in Newmarket’s Champion Stakes in October, is finding his best stride and there is no trainer better than Sir Henry Cecil in getting horses ready for big races.

The Classic is the last and eighth BC race on Saturday. Post time is 3 45 PM Pacific time. Winner of $2,774,580, Zenyatta’s preparation has gone according to schedule and trainer John Shirreffs has expressed complete satisfaction.

Jerry Moss, the filly’s owner, spoke. “She deserves a shot here. She has done everything we have asked.”

Rip Van Winkle and the rest of the O’Brien team from Ireland went through their paces at Santa Anita on Wednesday. O’Brien was aboard a companion horse and was able to watch every move that Rip Van Winkle made. John Murtagh will ride on Saturday.

O’Brien thought aloud. “Everything went well. He has not lost the movement. His off hind was giving him a little bit of trouble couple of weeks back but it has been fine the last week. It’s amazing that he has raced at all. I have never seen a horse go through what he has gone through and he kept doing it. He will be competitive if he runs to the level he showed during the season in Europe. We will not use any anti-bleeding medication.”

Summer Bird is seeking his fourth consecutive Grade I win. His win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup suggested that there’s a lot more to come. Trainer Tim Ice has expressed confidence and the Jayaramans, who I am looking forward to seeing, own the Birdstone colt. Summer Bird is the 9-2 third choice in the morning line.

A paragraph on Zensational who heads the BC Sprint field is a ‘must.’ The son of Unbridled’s Song is going for his fourth successive G I win. Zensational is the 14-10 favourite and comes out of post one. Zensational’s principal opponent is Gayego, a Godolphin runner, who comes off an impressive win in the G I Ancient Title at Santa Anita in early October. Gayego is the 5-2 second favorite.

Bob Baffert trains Zensational. He spoke about the draw. “Drawing one, the break is important. He (jockey Victor Espinoza) is going to have to use him up a little bit more. There may be a speed duel that may hurt us. I am not unduly worried. Zensational is doing well.”

Ventura won the 2008 Filly-Mare Sprint (1,400 metres) going away. She was held up and thundered down the lane when let loose by Garrett Gomez. The five year-old Chester House mare, trained by Robert Frankel, comes off a strong come-from-behind win in the Woodbine Mile in late September. Ventura has post nine in the nine-horse field. She is the 16-10 favourite. Informed Decision, to be ridden by Julien Leparoux, holds the distinction of beating Ventura (in a photo) in Keeneland’s Vinery Madison Stakes (G I) in April. The Godolphin-owned Seventh Street will have Rajiv Maragh in the irons. Winner of the G I April Blossom at Oaklawn Park and the G I Go For Wand at Belmont Park, Seventh Street is in terrific form and has to be respected.

Conduit returns to defend his title in the BC Turf over 2,400 metres. Red Rocks, the 2006 winner of this race, is in the eight-horse field. Conduit, a son of Dalakhani, won the King George at Ascot in late July. His last race was in the Arc and he was fourth behind Sea The Stars, Youmzain and Cavalryman. The incomparable Ryan Moore rides the Michael Stoute-trained Conduit. Stoute is double handed in the BC Turf. Spanish Moon has won two G I races in France and will be handled by Kieren Fallon. Spanish Moon is owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah and had to go to France after being banned in the UK for unruly gate behaviour. On French soil, Spanish Moon has been behaving himself. In the Prix la Foy, Spanish Moon beat Vision d’Etat in September at Longchamp. The leading American hope is the front-running Presious Passion who has won two G I races this year. He is a 4-1 chance.

Goldikova drew post 11 in the 11-runner BC Mile Turf. The French filly ran away with this race last year. She is the favorite despite the demanding post and her loss in the Prix la Foret on October 3. The Foret was over 1400 metres and Goldikova, Olivier Peslier up, finished third. Freddie Head, trainer of Goldikova, has laid the blame at Peslier’s door saying that an overconfident Peslier chased the speed and that took much out of the filly.

A runner I will keep an eye on in the BC Mile Turf is Zacinto. The sparingly raced Zacinto gave Rip Van Winkle a scare in the Q E II Cup in September. Reports suggest that Zacinto, from Michael Stoute’s yard, has been training forwardly. Ryan Moore will ride.

Santa Anita is dry. The track will be fast and firm, a fact that has some Europeans worried. The success that the Europeans enjoyed in 2008 has encouraged them to return in bigger numbers.

Here is other racing news. Jockey Julia Brimo, a lady rider, was hurt in a fall when her mount clipped the heels of another runner at Keeneland on October 30. Brimo is in critical condition in the University of Kentucky Medical Centre. Jockey Brimo was the top apprentice in Canada in 2003. She rode 75 winners. Life is not easy for riders. It is a hazardous occupation.

Medaglia d’Oro is Rachel Alexandra’s father. The Darley group, Godolphin;s breeding arm, has announced that Medaglia d’Oro’s fee will go up from $60,000 to $100,000 in 2010 despite hard times. Street Cry is the most expensive commanding a $150,000 fee. Elusive Quality is third in the list with $75,000. Let me remind you that Sea The Stars will be available for 85,000 euros.

On Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse, the G I Tenne Sho (Autumn) was run. It was a 2000-metre grass race. Tokyo has a left-handed course. Company, an eight year-old and a 10-1 chance, got the job done. Screen Hero, the 2008 Japan Cup champion, was the bridesmaid. Finishing third was Vodka who was seeking her seventh G I victory. The race was worth 1.7 million pounds to the winner. The winning jockey was Norihiro Yokoyama.

Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi commented. “I have been working with Company from the time he was two years old. I have been dreaming of this day. He had talent but we have not had the result for one reason or another. It feels nice to be finally rewarded.”

Yeats ran third in the Prix du Cadran on Arc day last month. That was his last race. Years will stand at the Coolmore Stud in Ireland. The eight year-old son of Saddler’s Wells won 15 times from 26 starts and earned 2,530,210 US dollars.

The Melbourne Cup is generating a controversy. I had mentioned that Ramzan Kadyrov, the dictator of Chechenya, owned Mourilyan, a Melbourne Cup runner, in one of my reports. Mourilya ran third and earned 420,000 Australian dollars. Bob Brown, head of the Green Party in Australia, has said, “There should be no flow of profit out of Australia to this brutal character. Money can be released only after knowing where it is going. You don’t want this dictator to buy another Lamborghini or a gold-plated revolver.”

Ramzan Kadyrov watched the Melbourne Cup (run on Tuesday) at Grozny, the Chechenyan capital through a simulcast feed.

I am finishing this story at 2 AM on Thursday in Chicago. My plane for Los Angeles leaves at 7 15 AM. My wife will drive me to the airport. It is a four-hour flight. Los Angekes is two hours behind Chicago. I will reach Los Angeles about 9 15 AM Pacific time. Then, it is about an hour by shuttle (minivan) to the hotel. The jockey-trainer press conference is on Thursday. I will miss it. I will not get to the hotel before 11 30 AM.

There is a party on Thusday late afternoon hosted by Grey Goose, the Vodka company. I will be there. From the hotel, there are shuttles all day long to and from the track. It is a great set up.

If you have a pick in the BC races, send a posting to Horse Talk. I will respond. Please check the TV listings. If you can, I strongly suggest you watch the BC races. In my last report, I had given the starting time for the BC races on Friday and Saturday.