June 25 - On Saturday at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California, top-rated five-year-old mare Zenyatta will attempt to defend her title in the 1 1/8 mile $300,000 Vanity Handicap (Gr 1) for three-years-old and up, in a bid to increase her impressive winning streak to 11 races.

Zenyatta is arguably one of the best mares in the U.S., after winning a slew of major races including the El Encino Stakes, the Apple Blossom Handicap, the Vanity Handicap, the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap and the Lady's Secret Stakes in 2008, as well as the Milady Handicap in 2008 and 2009.

She also won last year's coveted Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic which, along with her other victories, helped earn her the prestigious 2008 American Champion Older Female Horse title. Zenyatta - who is based in California and trained by John Shirreffs - made her racing debut at age three in 2007.

Come Saturday she'll once again line up at the starting gate and her fans at Hollywood Park will be eager to see if she can continue to dominate unchallenged. Given her current winning streak, it's unknown how many runners she'll go up against, as a few trainers will likely get 'cold feet' and pull their runners.

Of all the entrants, Zenyatta is the only runner who won her last start, the $175,000 Milady Handicap (Gr 2) at Hollywood Park, where she finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of stablemate, Life Is Sweet. Life Is Sweet will miss the Vanity Handicap in lieu of the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup (Gr 1) on July 1.

There is a big question mark over whether one Zenyatta's biggest rivals, Dawn After Dawn, will run in Saturday's race. A three-time stakes winner, Dawn After Dawn's trainer John Sadler is undecided whether to start her against the reigning Vanity champ, especially after mixed results from her previous two outings.

In the $150,000 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (Gr 2) on May 2 she crossed the line in a none-too-shabby second place. However, in her last race, the $70,000 Redondo Beach Stakes at Hollywood Park on June 6, she encountered heavy traffic which contributed to her finishing last out of nine.

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2012/04/02 06:44:09 AM