Unbeaten mare Zenyatta stretched her perfect record to 18 in the second closest finish of her career in the Clement L Hircsh Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday.But jockey Mike Smith said he was confident Zenyatta could overhaul Rinterval in the 1700m Group One."She had it pretty much under control. She ran big," Smith said."The way she did it was really impressive."The pair staged a two-horse duel in the straight with Zenyatta the winner by a neck."It's a lot of pressure every time she runs because s

Unbeaten mare Zenyatta stretched her perfect record to 18 in the second closest finish of her career in the Clement L Hircsh Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday.

But jockey Mike Smith said he was confident Zenyatta could overhaul Rinterval in the 1700m Group One.

"She had it pretty much under control. She ran big," Smith said.

"The way she did it was really impressive."

The pair staged a two-horse duel in the straight with Zenyatta the winner by a neck.

"It's a lot of pressure every time she runs because she is who she is - a great horse," said Jerry Moss, who owns Zenyatta with his wife, Ann.

"She's a miracle."

Zenyatta won the Hirsch for the third consecutive year over the synthetic Polytrack surface. She was first by a head last year in the tightest finish of her career, and won by a length in 2008.

"She only does what she has to do," Smith said. "She'll just run until she passes the last one."

It was her fourth Group One win of the year, to go with victories in the Vanity Handicap, the Apple Blossom on dirt at Arkansas' Oaklawn Park, and the Santa Margarita Handicap.

After the race, Smith guided Zenyatta along the grandstand so the 32,536 fans could get a close-up view, although with cotton in her ears to blunt noise she may not have heard all the cheers.

"She's a great star," Moss said. "It's wonderful to see people celebrate that. She's really got the fans and she hasn't let them down yet."

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert came to the paddock to see Zenyatta even though he wasn't saddling a horse.

Her other supporters included Bo Derek, composer Burt Bacharach, Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone and Hall of Fame golfer Amy Alcott.

"I'm a fan along with these people," Smith said. "I just happen to be sitting on top of her."

Zenyatta lingered next-to-last in the early stages with Rinterval leading the way under Rafael Bejarano.

She kicked into gear approaching the stretch turn, when David Flores aboard Dance to My Tune floated Zenyatta four-wide.

"There were a lot of tricks," winning trainer John Shirreffs said, grinning.

Smith said he considered splitting horses, but erred on the side of caution and guided Zenyatta outside to find clear running room.

"I'll save all the daredevil stuff for that last one," he said, referring to the Breeders' Cup Classic in November.

She came up to Rinterval, who didn't give way easily, keeping the pressure on Zenyatta through the stretch. Smith waved his whip at her, but didn't use it.

Rinterval led most of the way under a slow pace.

"I didn't want to be in front, but she was comfortable," Bejarano said.

"She was going OK. I tried to wait, but she (Zenyatta) came up outside me and I had to go. If I could have waited a little more, maybe it would have been different. But the winner deserved it. She was good."

Zenyatta is being pointed towards a defence of her title in the Breeders Cup Classic on November 6 at Churchill Downs.