HAPPY THURSDAY TO ALL!
Yesterday was such a fun day! As I mentioned, Isabelle wanted to RIDE ME ONE MORE TIME for her Birthday. Here is the picture of us out ‘playing and exercising’ together. We look GREAT!
John took lots of photos for Isabelle and put them on a disc for her to keep. We hope she enjoys them…all of them.
Then, notice my saddle towel. When we were at Oaklawn Park for the Apple Blossom this year, the track made a pretty pink saddle towel for Mario to keep. The last few days, he has brought it out to the barn and has put it on me. I do look good in PINK…if I say so myself. (Of course, I also look good in PINK/GREEN as well.) This saddle towel is going to be something Mario will cherish forever.
I have continued to have so many visitors. I just think it is amazing the way people love to come and see me. I must say, I am quite flattered by this!
60 Minutes has been working with Dottie on filming my trip to Kentucky on Monday. They are getting security clearances now to film my leaving the barn and traveling to the airport in CA. This is so special.
I must say, I also love reading all of YOUR comments on the Diary. I will ask if they are going to show my ZENYATTA APPRECIATION DAY on TV. I believe TVG will show lots of it. Not sure about any other channel. I will try and find out for you.
The schedule for the day seems to be staying as we reviewed in an earlier Diary. After the horses leave the paddock to go to the track for the 6th race, I will go there. Then when the 6th race finishes, I will go to the front part of the race track. Too cute!
I also saw that some of you wanted Steve to wear the Jockey Cam one more time…so we could all have one more joyous ride together. John said he’d get the batteries charged up…and see if it will work! Oh, technology! Let’s see how it turns out!
It is all getting so exciting. I am one lucky girl!
With love,
Hugs~
Z
Ira in Toronto
Z, I’ve got it all figured out. The flight from Toronto is booked! Now I’m just trying to find a nice hotel. The Turf Club has kindly given me a wonderful box. It will be my first time at Hollywood Park. I am so excited to come. Movies on Air Canada, and a fun day checking out the beach on Saturday… a good sleep and then off to see you. We will both be flying “home” on Monday. I’ll have to make a point of getting on the right plane or I may end up in Kentucky. You’ll recognize me by my shouts: “Zenyatta is the greatest eh!!”
See you soon.
Cheryl Hurley
I believe that you demonstrate grace and joy to mankind in a way that could never be communicated from person to person. Your heart and courage and kindness are so magnificent. How lucky am I to experience this and have these kind of feelings kindled inside me. Thank you Zenyatta!
Quarterhossgal
Zen and Dottie…thanks for all the posts. Can’t wait to see the new video cam of Seve on Z. I have many pictures of Z plus the special edition by Blood Horse but I was wondering if a book is in the works with pictures of Z starting when she became a part of the Moss family throughout her racing career? Please let us know when the story will be on 60 minutes. Rest up big Z sounds like a busy week end.
Cheri JAckson
I hope we will be able to come visit you in Kentucky, Zenyatta! Will you be on their farm tours there? I am assuming they have tours!
We love ya ..safe travels!
Elena Erdman
Zenyatta, you are like a comet that came over us and lasted three years and we are all glowing because of you… You and Isabelle look fantastic, you have not lost that lovely body of yours and oh, your walk, is that snazzy? or what? the pink saddle towel is great… you look good in pink for sure… in any color… I am so glad your team has shared so much wih us and I thank them from the bottom of my heart…. you know we need to form a club with all the ones that have written you notes and we all need to keep in touch, what a great club, Club Zenyatta and we could have get togethers too…and raise money for whatever you think we should, retired horses? wouldn’t that be nice… I feel I know you so well and all the ones that send the great messages are my friends now too… I look forward to seeing you on the 5th and 60 minutes and TVG.. so this will be a new chapter for you and it is going to be great and different… finally some time to just horse around.. I am sure the Mosses will keep you in the news a lot… and we will keep them close to our hearts… and when I race a horse guess who I am going to have train the horse, yup John… what an experience you have given us and enriched our lives so much.. we are learning from you every day because you are so positive and the way the world is now, it is a pleasure to have a special place where we can go and write to you… by the way do you like chocolate covered donuts? I used to give them to John Henry when we saw him at the Kentucky Horse Park… you are having so much fun… I love it!!!! and so are we!! I adore you my sweet and gorgeous horse…
Terri Crookham
Zenny I can’t wait till Sunday, I’m going to come by the barn and say “hi” I was by there a few months ago to talk to John about something and saw you outside with Mario eating grass, I just took a quick pic of you two and didn’t bother you. But Sunday is my birthday so the husband is taking me there to visit, we have a different trainer for our horse there, and to see you. Diane, from the office, set up a great day for me and said that John is still letting you have visitors. Want anything from Vegas? :-)
Elena Erdman
Hi Zenyatta… love… since you are going to Lane’s End does that mean that the Mosses no longer own you?
Jane in Seattle
Hello Beautiful!
I just saw the sweetest picture of you and a little orange kitten on Mike Smith’s Facebook page. Made me think, why don’t you ask the Mosses if you could have your own kitten in your stall at Lane’s End? I know they want you to lead a quieter life as a mommy, but a kitten might be good company for a Lady who is used to adoring fans…
Why I wouldn’t give to come and say goodbye this weekend!
Your loving fan (one of many thousands) in Seattle
Elena Erdman
Hi Team Zenyatta… Can you make temporary tatoos of Zenyatta? that would be cool…
Jackie
Queen Z, I am so happy and excited for you, but sad as I am sure all your fans are about your retirement. That’s exciting news about 60 minutes filming your departure from LA. I hope Lane’s End is prepared for all the excitement when you arrive. I am looking forward to seeing you on Sunday and taking lot’s of pictures as I have in the past. All I know is I am going to bring lot’s of tissue. The tears are already flowing.
Love and kisses.
Julie DuVall
I will be at the paddock on Sunday taking LOTS of photos, so start practicing your poses :) Are you flying out of Ontario Airport? I drive right past where the equine transport planes are loaded on my way to work every day; if I see a Tex Sutton plane on Monday, I’ll know it’s you! If you’re there around 6:30 – 6:45 am, I’ll send you a mental kiss as I go by!
Jennifer
Zenyatta! Your picture galloping with Isabelle tore at my heart! You still look SO awesome it is hard to let you go although I am so grateful that you are retiring sound. Thank you so much again Team Zenyatta….all of you… for realizing what an amazing gift Zenyatta is to so many people. For eveyone who will be at HP on Sunday, I read on their website that Mike will be doing autographs from 11:30 to 12:30 before racing starts. YAYYY!!
Kathleen Marsh
I am so thankful that you are retiring sound and healthy—and I pray that you will be happy and have many fine foals. But the light is definately about to go out in racing. If I feel this way, I just can’t imagine how your human family feels.
Carrie
Will Zenyatta have someone as wonderful as Steve or Isabelle to excersise her? I don’t know if she will be happy not having something to do…I know that motherhood is her future..but she is such a young horse not to let her enjoy a good romp! Love you Z.
Julia B
Oooo Lady Z you are so stunning! What a great pic of you & Isabelle! Looks like it was an exciting ride! Have fun Sunday party girl and get ready, you will have oodles of fans to greet you at Keeneland on Monday! I took the day off just to be there for you! Enjoy your travels! Love to all!
Julia B
P.S. YOU do look great in pink !!! Thanks Team Z for sharing your gift of Zenyatta with us !!!
Kbuckeye
Zenyatta, sweet mare……Don’t be nervous about your new life in Kentucky. The people in KY are so nice and kind…..Lane’s End is a wonderful farm. You will have plenty of people who love you. Not only are you one in a million, Zennie…….so is your whole team. We fans cannot thank them enough for letting us be so close to you. The Mosses, and Mario, and Dottie and John, and Steve, and Frank…..everyone…….have been so very kind and accomodating to the fans. I hope we continue to hear from you, Zennie. Travel safely.
Debbie Bassett
Zenyatta- You have touched my heart in more ways than you’ll ever know. I was fortunate to see you race at Del Mar twice. I’ve followed your races, read articles, watched 60 minutes and relished clips of your greatness. You are not just horse of the year– but horse of a lifetime.
This week I was fortunate enough to go to barn 55 at Hollywood Park. (my birthday wish come true) I got to meet John, Steve, Mario and You! You even allowed me to kiss your sweet face as we took endless pictures. There will never be a horse like you!! I will follow your diary to hear how you are doing. We will all miss you beyond measure!!!
Paula Higgins
Barbara Livingston did a wonderful tribute to Zenny. Google it under the news section. It is a fitting tribute to the greatest horse I will ever see in my lifetime.
To Team Zenyatta, I want to thank all of you for being the people you are. There is so much love for this horse because you allowed us to get close to her, even though many of us live hundreds of miles away. If ever there was a road map for how to treat the public in horse racing, this is it. Absolute perfection. One other thing, the love you all have for Zenyatta is a beautiful thing to see and obvious to the whole world. It gladdens the heart to see how much she is loved and how well she has been cared for and trained.
Cathy P
Hello miss Z. I love reading our daily posts and yes you do look GREAT in PINK. I got to meet you today and how awesome was that, (my Christmas present to me) thank you for letting us (the public) come see you. I hope you and your team enjoyed you care package I brought to you, your favorite sweet potatoes along with some carrots and apples. I also hope your team enjoyed goodies like the peanut butter balls and the rocky road. Mario had one of the peanut butter balls and he said that they were good (they are home made). I really hope you keep writing your posts after you move to Ky. and we all will miss you dearly. P. S. Today was my Christmas gift to me, Thanks again, BIG BIG HUGS and love you sweet girl.
Jan Glover
Hello again, Big Girl!!
Yes, you do look Pretty in Pink!! I’ve seen you in blue, and I must say any color looks great on you, Beautiful One!!
Glad that you and Isabelle had a great time on her Birthday, I know she will treasure her last ride on you always.
Yippee!! Hope TVG televises your party and cannot wait for the 60 minute episode of your departure from California to your arrival to Kentucky!! I think the television crew from 60 minutes loves you, too!!
Hope we will get to ride with you again thanks to the jockey cam!!
Wow, the time is drawing near, I know you are excited!! Hugs and Kisses for you!!
Richard Cope
Zenyatta, I know I share the feeling of many of your fans of being sad that you are being retired but that is the selfish part of me that hates to let go of something I love. I am so glad that you are getting to retire in the best of health to a beautiful farm where you will be well cared for for many years. Much as I will miss seeing you run my heart would be broken beyond words if you ever got injured racing just to satisfy the fans who will never want to see you go. We will always miss you, but knowing that you are alive and doing well is a great reward and I just hope that I will someday have a chance to visit you at Lane’s End. I never got to see Secretariat and in my mind you come the closest to his level of perfection as any horse in history. Love you big girl.
Irene Caty
Hi Z, you are so loved and with that comes popularity. You are so beautiful. Every time I see new pictures of you I see you to be even more beautiful. Glad you had a good ride with Isabelle yesterday. I’m sure that was lots of fun. I’m excited about sixty minutes filming you again. See how much everyone loves you so much. You deserve it all Queen Zenyatta. The tears keep flowing every day and I have to try hard not to think of your leaving. I will see you Sunday and will be looking through the flowing tears.Enjoy yhe rest of the week my Zenny.
neenie
What a WONDERFUL picture of you and Isabelle with your pretty pink saddle towel and your blue socks . . . absolutely love it!!!! I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I read the posts. . . they are so touching! I wish I could be there for your special day; however, NE is a far distance from CA. I do hope that one day I will be lucky enough to have an opportunity to see you in KY. Enjoy your weekend Oh Beautiful One and safe travels to KY! Looking forward to seeing the ’60 Minutes’ segment and the Jockey Cam footage (can’t wait!!). Wishing Zenny and her family a lifetime of happiness and good health!! Love you all!!
marsha roliardi
dearest zenyatta you are killing me with your sweet blogs. i am there on sunday and monday with tvg. i am so thankful that we have dish network and can watch you on both days. i too will need a box of kleenex when i watch your farewell tour adventures. i can’t even watch you prance without crying. you are so sweet and so beautiful. your innocent and pure demeanor has taken over me and so many others. we only wish you the best and we hope that you will enjoy what is to come for you. we’re sure that your suitors are waiting for you, and we hope that you will have a good experience being a mom and not a baby machine. you deserve to raise your babies on your own and not by someone else. we hope that the integrity of zenyatta lives on and not the greed. you are so special!!! sincerely we hope to meet you one day in person. we hope that your new home will allow visitors. we love you zenyatta and everything about you. marsha & joe
Marilyn
Dear Team Zenyatta, Thank you for your beautiful and gracious sharing of so much of Zenyatta’s life. Her beauty and grace will be with us forever. We hope that the updates and photos will continue. In a world with so much negative news, the love and hope and kindness that her family and Zenyatta share is a priceless gift.
Maryann
Please continue all the updates when you move to Kentucky. I have not been this moved and inspired by any horse since Secretariat. You would have been a wonderful match for him. Take care, and much hugs and love from Oregon.
Snoprinz
Z, when you run, you not only show your talent and athleticism but also your beauty, grace and class. Isabelle was one lucky birthday girl.
I will miss you Z. I will always pray for your happiness and well-being as you begin a new chapter in your life. When you are truly retired and not having babies anymore, do come back to CA and bask in the sun again.
Dolores Pshsnychniak
Cannot wait to see you on Sunday! Will we be able to give you a last good-bye pat? We love you so much! I sure love your daily posts! What a lovely group Team Zenyatta is!! You are a Special One Zenyatta~
Ellie Hamblen
‘m so confused- Z’s appreciation day was advertised 10:30-1:30, but the sixth race isn’t until 3:00! What happened to 10:30-1:30???