ARCADIA, Calif. -- Mike Smith knows plenty about riding undefeated female horses. He was aboard superstar mare Zenyatta for most of her 19-race winning streak.
Now he's on Songbird, who takes an 11-0 record into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff, Friday's headline race on the opening day of the two-day world championships at Santa Anita Park, which is hosting the event for a record ninth time.
The Distaff, one of four Breeders' Cup races on the 10-race card, has an estimated post time of 6:35 p.m. Central. NBC Sportsnetwork will provide the TV coverage.
Songbird is the 6-5 morning-line favorite, with Beholder and Stellar Wind as the co-second choices at 5-2 among the eight fillies and mares chasing the prize in the 1 1/8-mile race.
Smith won the 2008 Distaff aboard Zenyatta, and later guided her to a victory against males in the 2009 BC Classic at Santa Anita. Her winning streak ended in the 2010 Classic at Churchill Downs, where Zenyatta ended her career losing by a head to Blame.
Smith, a 51-year-old Hall of Famer, said he doesn't feel as much pressure riding Songbird as he did Zenyatta.
"You learn little things," Smith said. "She has to do her job; I have to do mine. If given the opportunity to do that, I think we're going to see something special."
Songbird and Land Over Sea are two 3-year-olds challenging older horses in the Distaff.
"She's always been above average about everything," Smith said. "The way she thinks, she gets it. She's smart. Mentally, she's ready for it. You hope physically she is. She looks like it."
Songbird runs at or near the lead, a much different style than Zenyatta, who spotted rivals huge leads before rallying in the stretch.
"We know she can go to the front or sit off the pace; we're comfortable with her versatility," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. "This really becomes a riders' race so you need to have confidence in your jockey."
Beholder won the 2013 Distaff at Santa Anita. She has never won outside of her Southern California base, losing both times she traveled to New York and Kentucky, and last year she failed to make her scheduled start in the BC Classic at Keeneland after spiking a fever.
"Everything is right, right now, so my job is to see if there is anything wrong between here and there," Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella said. "Hopefully, I am not going to find it or there is nothing to find."
Beholder, a 6-year-old, three-time Eclipse Award winner, will be making her 26th and final career start Friday.
Stellar Wind has won 7 of 11 career starts and is trained by John Sadler. Stellar Wind beat Beholder in her previous two starts under Victor Espinoza.
"She needs a good trip," Sadler said. "I don't know what that trip is, but just a nice, smooth one and she should do well."
Oaklawn connections
• Eleven Oaklawn-raced horses are entered in this weekend's Breeders' Cup races. Three are scheduled to race in one of four races scheduled for today:
FOREVER UNBRIDLED, winner of the Grade I $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap, is entered in the $2 million Distaff.
POINT PIPER, third-place finisher in the Oaklawn Handicap, is entered in the Dirt Mile.
TEXAS CHROME, third-place finisher in the April 15 Bachelor Stakes, is also entered in the Dirt Mile.
Sports on 11/04/2016