BY the time dusk descended on Santa Anita and the 26th -- and from a European point of view, most successful -- Breeders' Cup, someone had placed a winner's garland of yellow and purple flowers on the statue of Seabiscuit.

It was the same floral display which, an hour earlier, had adorned Zenyatta, the 17-hands tall five-year-old mare who had come from a seemingly impossible position to become the first female Classic winner and take her record to a perfect 14 wins from 14 starts.

The garland of a modern-day racing heroine was now keeping warm, for the fast approaching Californian night, the monument to the horse that became a symbol of hope for so many American citizens during the Great Depression.

Like Seabiscuit, Zenyatta has shown that, in a nation which largely knows its horses by the start numbers on which they wager, greatness in a horse -- part ability, part character -- can transcend more than just the economic, political or personal problems of a nation or the sport.

They came, 60,000 of them, many carrying 'Go Zenyatta' placards, in expectation.

After dwelling in the stalls, passing the post first time three lengths adrift of the field and then weaving her way to a position where she could overtake five horses up the straight with her enormous, relentless, raking stride to pass Gio Ponti with her ears pricked, she delivered. They raised the roof with a noise that made the roar that greets a well-backed Irish winner at the Cheltenham Festival seem like the hoarse whisper of someone who has lost his voice.

With Rachel Alexander, another great filly who dodged this contest, Zenyatta may not even be the best filly in America. And when the handicappers sit down with their slide rules and work out that she beat Henry Cecil's gallant Twice Over, running the race of his life back in third, by only two and a quarter lengths, they will almost certainly conclude that she is not a patch on Sea The Stars.

But that is to miss the point. Unlike Sea The Stars, she succeeded in capturing a nation's hearts and reaching out beyond the close-knit community that inhabits the backstretch barns of Santa Anita.

hardened

When the course announcer said, in that rather cheesey American way, 'thank you for coming and witnessing one of the greatest races in American history,' a large percentage of the crowd, among them some hardened American racing hacks, concurred, many not collecting their winnings in order to frame the ticket.

Until that point, European horses had had the run of this year's Breeders' Cup supplying a record six winners; 40pc of the winners from 20pc of the runners including a first for Henry Cecil with Midday, the highlight of Friday's racing.

It seemed inconceivable going into the Classic that anything could match, let alone better, the back-to-back victories of Goldikova, who passed nine horses up the straight in the Mile, and Conduit who had the fight of his life to catch the trail-blazing Precious Passion in the Turf.

I would shortlist both contests for the race of 2009 and yet Zenyatta somehow managed to relegate them to second-rate achievements with her devastating burst.

The synthetic surface of Santa Anita presents the Europeans with the most level playing field in this annual away game. It returns to a chilly Churchill Downs and the dirt next year when the European challenge will be down on strength and winners. After 26 Breeders' Cups the Americans are just warming to the idea that this could be racing's Ryder Cup.

To expand that idea on our side of the Pond they would do well to keep the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita annually.

The use of medication also alters the slope of the playing field. Most European trainers took the pragmatic 'when in Rome' approach.

All six European winners ran on Lasix. As eloquently explained by Freddie Head he gave it to Goldikova 'out of respect to the filly.'

disadvantage

Put simply he did not want to disadvantage her in a race in which every other horse was on it.

Aidan O'Brien took the view that, being nowhere near Rome, he would run his horses "clean".

That commendable, but ultimately futile, stance is sure to be revisited at the next Coolmore boardroom meeting.

Nothing would have helped Rip Van Winkle but it might, conceivably, have aided Mastercraftsman, beaten less than two lengths in the Dirt Mile. Both horses were the solitary runners in their respective races not on Lasix.

Ironically, Ballydoyle's single winner, Man of Iron, was the only horse they did run on medication.

This is, of course, not conclusive scientific proof that Lasix aids performance but, like Zenyatta's historic victory in the Classic, it tells its own story. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

- Marcus Armytage

Irish Independent