"She's extremely intelligent - she's really, really a smart filly," Smith said. Smith doesn't have a difficult time discussing what makes Songbird so good. I mean, how many times have we done that? Over and over again." "You get a little sentimental about this or that, and the next thing you know, you've taken off the wrong horse. "Just because I've been on them doesn't mean I'm going to pick the right one," Smith said. Smith himself brought up how difficult a decision it would be if, in their prime, that group met in a race. They were just all that good in their time." No one was going to beat Azeri, and no one was definitely going to beat Zenyatta. No one was going to beat Jersey Girl when she was good - people forget about her. No one was going to beat Inside Information in her time. I mean, no one was going to beat Sky Beauty in her time. ![]() I've ridden some fillies that in their time, they were just unbeatable as far as fillies are concerned. "I've been that blessed to have ridden that many good fillies. "She still has a lot to prove to get to not just one of them but several of them," Smith said. Since Songbird is just midway through her 3-year-old season, it's understandable that Smith stops short of putting her in the elite category. "I had Pat Day call me out of the blue one day and say, 'Is she really that good?' Chris McCarron has come out and said, 'She might be better than any of them you've ridden.'" "I had the best of the best riders call me after she's run, a lot of them retired, saying she might be the best filly they've ever seen," Smith said in a recent interview. Smith said he's heard from retired jockeys Pat Day, Chris McCarron, Jerry Bailey, and Jacinto Vasquez - the regular rider of the brilliant Ruffian - to talk Songbird. The comparisons, however, are coming from other Hall of Fame riders. That list includes champions and Hall of Famers Azeri, an 11-time Grade 1 winner Inside Information, a six-time Grade 1 winner Sky Beauty, a nine-time Grade 1 winner and Zenyatta, a 13-time Grade 1 winner. She's done it with breathtaking ease, eliciting comparisons to some of the best Smith has ridden. Songbird has won her eight starts by a combined 42 1/2 lengths. ![]() She will put that streak on the line Sunday in the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, where she will meet four rivals, including Grade 1 winners Carina Mia and Weep No More. Smith, a Hall of Famer himself and still going strong at age 50, has found another fabulous filly in Songbird, who is undefeated in eight career starts. Mike Smith has ridden some of the best female horses of all time - four, in fact, who are in the Hall of Fame, including Zenyatta, whose induction takes place in less than three weeks. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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