True enough.
I would have voted for Goldikova. FWIW.
Blame BARELY beat Zenyatta. If Jerry Smith hadn’t waited so long, she would have gone 21 for 21. Overall, she is the superior horse.
Winning matters, it’s how you win. Most people do not blame Zenyatta on her only loss, they blame jockey Mike Smith. He himself said the same and it tore him up. I witnessed Zenyatta race twice in person. I have a friend who manages a race track and allowed me near her stall as she was being saddled up for a race. I called out her name and she literally, turned a 180 looked me in the eye, and bowed! I swear it’s true. Hundreds of people witnessed it. She’s a ham!
BTW, recall Eight Belles two years ago at the Kentucky Derby. A renowned racetrack expert warned her owners to no send her into a “meatgrinder” where she was the only mare. It would overwhelm her. It did. She came in second and died of a heart attack just across the finish line. It was borderline animal cruelty. So sad. Bottom line, for a mare to beat a gelding when both are at the pinnacle of their sports is very unusual and a thing to behold.