ZENYATTA returns on Saturday in the Santa Margarita.   Benoit Photo 

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 10, 2010) – Zenyatta, racing’s paragon of perfection, returns to action Saturday in the 73rd running of the Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita, where last seen on Nov. 7 she was scoring an unprecedented victory over males in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic that extended her unbeaten streak to 14, led to a repeat as champion older female, and emblazoned her enormous popularity. If you listen to her Hall of Fame jockey, Zenyatta’s 2010 campaign as a 6-year-old will only buttress her brilliance. “I know it sounds funny,” Mike Smith said following a recent workout, “but I really think she’s getting better.”   Zenyatta will carry high weight of 127 pounds against eight opponents in the mile-and-one-eighth Santa Margarita as she prepares for her greatly anticipated showdown with 4-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, in the $5 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on April 9.   more...