The Santa Margarita, at Santa Anita on March 13, was Zenyatta's first start since winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic - the first start of the 2010 campaign that had been so eagerly anticipated ever since Jerry and Ann Moss reversed the decision to retire their superstar. Giving between 11 to 16 pounds to her seven rivals, Zenyatta was in fifth and bottled up toward the inside in deep stretch. A disappointing result loomed - for a split second, I thought, "Geez, she went out on such a high note in the Classic - and now this. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she doesn't have it in her for one more year." But like a linebacker, Zenyatta opened her own hole between horses and bulled her way through to win going away, stretching her win streak to 15. A mere mortal would have been excused for losing that race. Zenyatta needed no excuses.

Each day for the rest of 2010, Nicole Russo is counting down her top 10 most memorable races of 2010. What are yours? E-mail sports@saratogian.com or leave a comment below!