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This is the year of the filly in horse racing.

But which one will be horse of the year?

Time and again the females have out-run the males, and Zenyatta became the grandest dame of all by winning the $5-million (all currency U.S.) Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday. With her ears pricked, Zenyatta overcame a starting gate incident when Quality Road had to be scratched for refusing to load, then ran from dead last against a group of male horses with world-class credentials.

The victory and the manner in which Zenyatta accomplished it – rolling wide from the rail at Santa Anita Park to overtake Gio Ponti as a crowd of 58,845 roared – brought tears to the eyes of trainer John Shirreffs and owner Jerry Moss, while enlivening the horse of the year debate.

Earlier this season, many had already figured the top award belonged to three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra, which had made history by defeating the boys in the Preakness and the Woodward Stakes.

Rachel Alexandra bypassed the Breeders' Cup because owner Jess Jackson didn't want to race his filly over the artificial surface at Santa Anita.

“I wish they would have brought her, so we could prove what Zenyatta is really about,” Zenyatta's jockey Mike Smith said of Rachel Alexandra.

Before the race, Smith said he had never reached the bottom of Zenyatta's capacity even though the California-based filly entered the Breeders' undefeated, with 13 consecutive wins. Zenyatta had never faced male horses though, and she passed the test with seeming ease.

“That's the amazing thing,” Smith said afterward. “She still had run left. She's incredible. She's sent from heaven. She's God's horse.”

Zenyatta defeated an international field that included top Irish-bred Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over, winner of the prestigious Champion Stakes in England.

“I think it would be a crying shame if [Zenyatta] wasn't horse of the year,” her jockey said.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert sent out Richard's Kid to run against her, and the four-year-old colt finished sixth.

“It was the only time in horse racing that I didn't mind getting beat in a big race,” he said. “If they don't reward her with horse of the year, it would be a travesty. … Zenyatta made the Breeders' Cup. And the way she won. I've never seen a crowd so captivated. It felt like a horse winning the third leg of the Triple Crown.”

Back home in California, fans have developed a relationship with Zenyatta. Before a race, she prances, throws out her legs like a dressage horse, does half-passes and one-tempi changes without being taught. Shirreffs said when the crowd yells at her, she goes into “a little dance.” She received the loudest ovation during the post parade.

She's an imposing spectacle, big and dark and strong. The 5-to-2 favourite doubled her earnings in one afternoon, winning first prize of $2.7-million. It might be the end of the road for the five-year-old mare. “I think she deserves to go out with her record intact,” Moss said.

Zenyatta could have had many reasons to have lost this race, but she didn't use any of them. When Quality Road was scratched, all of the other horses had to be reloaded into the gate. Smith said Zenyatta became a little agitated. When she did go into the gate, he was worried that she'd get confused about her task, and then forget to break from it. He had to hit her leaving. When Zenyatta did break, she came out on her left lead, when she should have been on her right. Smith had to let her run along, and eventually switch to the right lead. By then, she was well behind the rest of the field.

He cut inside around the final turn and saved ground, but then to avoid hassle, he swung the mare six horses wide and let her run.

“And the crowd started screaming,” he said. “She thought, 'Maybe I should stop and pose again.' She started pricking her ears and looking at the crowd and I got after her a little bit and she went on. … She was still pricking her ears and galloped out. She didn't even take a breath after the race was over.”

The social significance of her win? “Women are as good as men, if not better on some occasions,” Moss said. “That's it. Go for it.”