Filed under: Horse Racing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Mike Smith held the tears back until the fifth question asked of him. Which was a monumental feat, because he had begun taking responsibility for Zenyatta's first loss, in the most brutally competitive race she'd run, after the first question.
But the jockey who had ridden her for all but three of her career starts lost the fight with his emotions about a half-hour after that other loss Saturday, in possibly the most-anticipated Breeders' Cup Classic.
"It hurts more than I can explain,'' he said, hesitatingly, pressing his hands against his eyes, then choking up. "Just because it was my fault.'' He paused again, then continued, his voice cracking, "She should have won, and it hurts.''
In the silence that followed, a woman called from the back of the interview room at Churchill Downs, "You're still amazing, Mike. Don't worry.''
So is a lifetime 19-1 record, but the "1'' will be remembered long after the 19, and Smith -- it's impossible under the circumstances to say "no pun intended'' -- took the blame. It's what jockeys do, along with crediting the horse and his trainers and owners and fans when they win. As well as literally bouncing back from injuries on the track, and girding up to mount another ride after the last one broke down and had to be humanely destroyed.
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