Zenyatta works five furlongs in bullet time

Zenyatta zipped five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Hollywood Park on Thursday, her second workout since she extended her unbeaten streak to 18 races in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 7.

Regular rider Mike Smith was aboard Zenyatta for Thursday’s workout, which was the fastest of 11 recorded works at the distance.

“She was ready to do something,” Smith said. “She was on her toes. I just let her go along.”

Trained by John Shirreffs for Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta is being prepared for the $250,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes at the Oak Tree at Hollywood Park meeting on Oct. 2. The Lady’s Secret Stakes will be Zenyatta’s final start in California before she attempts to defend her title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6. Zenyatta won the 2008 and 2009 Lady’s Secret Stakes as a prep to wins in the 2008 BC Ladies’ Classic and 2009 Classic.

The champion older female of 2008 and 2009, Zenyatta has won four races this year, all in Grade 1 stakes – the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita in March, the Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park in April, the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park in June and the Clement Hirsch.

Smith said Zenyatta’s win in the Vanity has left the 6-year-old mare in better form this summer.

“For a while there she was lackadaisical, but she seems on her game,” Smith said on Thursday.