MIKE Smith pulled off his flak jacket, then his custom-made boots, then his leggings. One-by-one, his equipment fell to the floor of the Saratoga jocks’ room. Asked about pressure – specifically the pressure of riding an undefeated filly – the Hall of Famer rubbed his left hand across his bald pate and smiled.

“You just don’t want to get beat, now, it’s the fans, it’s everybody now. Before it was you and the outfit, now, man, it’s the fans, everybody who’s expecting it, the more they keep doing it the more they expect it, you just don’t want to let anyone down,” Smith said.

“I’ve been there before, the last time with Zenyatta, I just felt like I let the world down. If it happens, I’ll be a gracious loser, it is what it is, but you worry about everybody else.

“I guess it’s who I am, I never really cared much for myself, I like what I do, it’s fun, I get more kick out of winning races because my family and everyone else gets such a kick out of it, it’s all I got to offer. I ain’t got much else, three years in sixth grade, what the hell am I going to offer?”

Smith was talking about Songbird that day, as she rode an undefeated streak that was eventually cracked in the Breeders’ Cup. Months later, Smith is back riding another filly with the world at her hooves. Unique Bella isn’t undefeated, she lost her first race, but certainly looks as dynamic as Songbird, Zenyatta or any other rockstar Smith has ridden over the past four decades.

Trained by Songbird’s trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Don Alberto Stable, the daughter of Tapit decimated four rivals in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez at Santa Anita last Sunday.

“Each one takes you somewhere higher and higher,” Smith said. “It’s funny, you ride a horse and think, ‘God, I’ll never see another like that.’ Then the next thing you know, here comes another one. You think, ‘God, there will never be another Azeri.’ Then here comes a Zenyatta, you think, ‘Oh, my God, there will never be another like her.’ And then here comes Songbird.”

Songbird will be back for her four-year-old season – without her only vanquisher Beholder waiting in the shadows – while Unique Bella takes aim at the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in May.

In the Santa Ynez, the Pennsylvania-bred took a new approach, sitting off the pace in fourth before easing to second and then sauntering free to score by seven and a half lengths under Smith’s long, low and loose hold.

ALL-TIME GREATS

It’s early days, but Smith might have another filly to add to the list that includes the all-time greats in our game – Sky Beauty, Inside Information, Azeri, Zenyatta, Songbird…

“It’s crazy,” Smith said, back in August.

Little did he know it would get crazier.

“Now, it’s more reasonable to compare her (to Songbird). Again, she’s very, very talented but with room to grow. Hopefully with each step, she’ll get smarter about certain things. I’m just blessed, that’s all I can say,” Smith said.

“When I saw everyone else send, I thought it was a good time to take a hold of her and see what happens. It didn’t seem to bother her. When we hit the far turn, it was like she was breathing different air.”

Well, different air for most, but familiar to Smith.