Zenyatta stretched her 100% record to 18 with a neck victory in the $300,000 Clement L Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar.
The six-year-old was winning the Grade One contest for the third year running as he chalked up her 12th success at the highest level.
Her regular partner Mike Smith felt Zenyatta was toying with her rivals as she cheekily defeated the pace-setting Rinterval.
‘She literally was playing,’ he said.
‘I hit the front too soon, and when she gets to the front she wants to salute the fans.
‘She started looking around. She does that sometimes in her works. She'll make the front and then start to shut down a little bit.’
Zenyatta has now equalled Bayakoa for the most Grade One wins by a mare.
‘This is such a great moment for Zenyatta,’ said winning trainer John Shirreffs.
‘She's in such rarefied air; I just can't describe it.’
Zenyatta has now earned $6,254,580 in prize money and is within one win of Peppers Pride's modern North American record of 19 consecutive victories.
