Good Morning,
It’s FRIDAY! I hope each of you had a very healthy, happy and productive week!
In our racing world, so much is taking place during the next 4 days. I really do need to get all of the details of my schedule worked out. I do not MISS one thing. TASTY agrees.
On Friday, Keeneland opens their Fall Meet. Over the next few days, they are hosting several major prep races for the Breeders’ Cup. My friend from California, SWITCH, is competing in one of them. This time, she is sprinting. Overall, Keeneland offers a lovely stakes program. All of these races will be fabulous to watch. In looking at the FORM, they have very full fields. It might be a good idea to start your handicapping early.
In general, the 2 year old racing is heating up as well. There are several graded stakes for them taking place now.
Then on Saturday and Sunday, Santa Anita and Belmont Park continue their preps for the World Championship Days. There won’t be a moment to spare with all of these contentious races taking place in our country.
I do want to mention that BLACK CAVIAR is going for #14 at Caulfield on Saturday. What a thrill! I so enjoy watching such top-quality racing.
What a ‘sporting weekend’ we have in store.
The BEST OF LUCK to all who are competing both ‘on’ and ‘off’ the track in all of these events!
With Love,
Hugs to ALL~
Z
candi carter
zenyatta is the greatest 19 times undefeated chamption of the world salute the queen.
Susan in TN
@Michelle Moore: Thank you for your answer. I am so sorry about your horse- that must have been so traumatic. I can see why you’d rather not go watch races. I haven’t been to a race since I was a child (1960’s). <3
signofthetimes
@Judy B
Thanks for the link on Lonhro; watched the Darley site race videos; amazing his is so very strong and light on his feet; even when he gallops in his paddock now. He is 16.1 hands. Amazing horse.
I bet he gets a great book of mares her in America.
Marshall (girl's name)
Zenny, you are TOO CUTE! A photo of the Thinking Horse! Beautiful! Enjoy your weekend with Tasty!
@JAG: Happy Birthday and have fun at Santa Anita!
@Allen: Congrats on adopting the two TBs! What a wonderful thing to do — thank you!
@Victoria Bailey: Happy Birthday in advance!
@Everyone: Special blessings on your holidays! All the very best everybody!
Sweet Dreams and peaceful slumber!
signofthetimes
Here is Black Caviar’s 14th win; very impressive
http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/sports/57406.html
Susan in TN
@Alex Bowdoin: Thank you!
@Abigail in Montreal: Glad to see you post and look forward to your next The Vault article, when you are ready. <3
@Terry Crow: Joke is hilarious! Another true-life redneck incident: You might be a redneck if you fix a rip in your horse's blanket with duct tape and think, "H-m-m. Not bad!"
Susan in TN
Thanks to all for the links- will check out all these great horses and races!
@Brenda S and Vic, Linda and Abigail: Happy Thanksgiving! Is it a big holiday there?
A blessed Yom Kippur to all who observe.
Trina Nagele
Good morning, Queen Z. We’re off to Santa Anita today to celebrate with JAG and cheer for Mr. Commons.
Trina Nagele
A Birthday Poem for Judy Maass Gadwood (JAG)
October 8, 2011
“““““““““““““““““““““
Our dear Judy Gadwood, nee Maass,
Finds Zenyatta a horse to treasure–
Her love for Z has no measure
And to spend time on Z’s site
Is for her such a pleasure
That she can’t stay away,
Try as she might.
She’ll even sneak minutes
Out of sight of the boss
For Zenyatta.com–
For her soul
It’s a healing balm
Without limits.
But before there was Z,
There was another “hoss,”
A superstar
Who brought fans from afar.
His attendants had found
That when in his stall
He dearly loved to pound
Right into the ground
Anything steel—
Now that should reveal
The name
Known to all
To which he brought
Even more fame—
Yes, ’twas John Henry,
Another champion he!
And Judy was soon in his thrall.
He won his first Arlington Mile
Beating The Bart,
And that was the start
Of a career
That year after year
Brought Judy many a smile—
And she in turn gave him her heart.
To this day his name
Encircles her wrist
On a bracelet she wears
As if keeping a tryst
With him whom she so admired.
And when John Henry retired
To Kentucky Horse Park,
Judy was lucky enough
To visit him more than once–
For sure he had no better pal
Than this gal from SoCal.
And she was blessed
To give him a final kiss
And tell him goodbye
As it came his turn to die
–on her birthday, no less.
Oh, how he would be missed!
But before he departed
To race cross the sky,
His heart to her alone spoke
What no other could hear.
Soul to soul he imparted,
“My time now is near,
My race has been run,
My work here is done.
But have no fear—
Though she is still young,
Another already has come
That you’ll love
As you have me,
Just wait patiently
And you’ll see.
From above
To her my spirit I’ll send,
To her my soul I’ll lend,
And her with my fire
I’ll inspire
To be a great filly and mare.
Of her I’ll take good care
So no matter how fast
She flies round the track
And charges from last
To be first at the wire,
She’ll always come back
Safe and sound.”
Then he was gone.
Judy cried many a tear
When she lost her old friend,
And was bound to fear
That her sadness would never end.
But she at last found relief
From that deep grief
When she finally met
The promised Zenyatta—
To her, a gift of new-found joy
From her beloved boy.
That first encounter with Z
Was some three years ago–
Z’s now relaxing in Kentuck’
And preparing to be a mother,
So Judy now cheers for Mo,
Black Caviar, the sweet Blind Luck,
And today certainly Mr. Commons.
And since in this world of saints and sinners,
It’s true
That her whole life through
Judy has been on the side of the good,
We would, if we could,
Make her every wager a winner.
And another wish we would grant her:
These days
She fervently prays
That the stars may align
For March 9
To be the day that Z gives birth–
The same day that in ’75
John Henry first set hoof on earth.
For her ’twould be a splendid sign
That to be alive
Is to be truly
In a circle never broken.
Meantime
Let our love for dear Judy
Be joyously spoken.
We say hoof, hoof, hoof ray,
And may joy with you always stay!
Brenda S..
Good Morning Zenny. I’m sure you are outside enjoying a snack as I’m drinking my tea. You and Tasty are going to enjoy some great racing – the weekend began well with Black Caviar’s win so we’ll hope it continues. I just wish for everyone, four legs and two to come home safely.
@ Trina – After another masterpiece you deserve a break so have a ball at SA. It sounds as if October is going to be a busy month for you.
@ Susan in Tn – Thanks for your good wishes. Most people get together with family to eat turkey and all the trimmings. I’m fortunate to have been invited out for turkey dinner otherwise I wouldn’t celebrate. Vic is very finicky about food and doesn’t eat turkey or veggies, or much else for that matter, so I don’t bother doing it for myself.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Shari Voltz
Dear Zenyatta good morning. I had a nice run and now will get ready for the day. You look beautiful and healthy. I am so glad about that. A lot of races going on today. Tim Ice has NO SPIN in race 9 at Belmont today. I hope he does well. GO NO SPIN. NO SPIN is a horse at Mistletoe’s stable. My children are again horse crazy. It must be all my horse pictures. I have one little girl who keeps making me Zenyatta pictures. TOO CUTE! Zenny I have many of your pictures on my wall in back of my desk. I would say I have more of you than anyone else. I love you sweet girl. Have a GREAT DAY!!! Hugs and many Kisses, Shari XXXOOO
@ Dawn getting those emails again. But thank you for calming my fears about Mo :) You know so much about the racing world. You can be MY teaher ;)
Abigail from Montreal
@ Sign. YOU BEAT ME TO IT!!! But thanks so much for the video link. Wow! What a race, eh? My hat goes off to Karuta Queen, who has battled so gamely with Black Caviar in many races & obviously has the great heart of a champion!
Gloria Jeanne
http://www.facebook.com/ZenyattaOfficial#!/breederscup?sk=app_193407750704675
Gloria Jeanne
check out the link above …. it’s a lot about Zenyatta. Exciting!!!!!
Max
@signofthetimes. Great win by Black Caviar. Also thank you and judy b for the interesting information about Lonhro.
As for Zenyatta, I always had the impression that she was kind of oblivious to the competition from the other horses. She ran her races the way in which she wanted to run and did it always with great style. The excitement of those races was not to be believed unless you experienced for yourself. It even shines through on video.
tony
@Max, I agree. To experience one of her races live was unbelievable…in the greatest way.
Suzanne G
@Trina Nagele–great poem for Judy–thanks for letting us share in her birthday in such a lovely way.
Barbara Grimaldi
If you can help our Texas horses who are suffering from a long, long drought that is supposed to last a much longer time, please consider donating a few dollars to Habitat for Horses or any horse rescue group in TX. This will help owners keep their horses and not abandon them. The ASPCA is helping, Straight from a Horse’s Heart is helping, and now there is a petition that we are urged to sign that will ask Gov. Perry to get hay (and hopefully alfalfa) to horses starving everywhere in his state. The petition was created by Ranchhand Rescue.com. Here it is:
http://www.change.org/petitions/governor-perry-please-use-state-resources-to-bring-hay-to-texas
Even if you cannot donate, please sign this. Things are bad in TX now, but the winter will bring greater need and starvation. Please help. Thank you.
M. Kern
Lovely picture Queen Z. You look fabulous as usual. Good luck to Switch and Mr. Commons. I am rooting for them to win! I love you Zenny! Have fun outside with Tasty.
Abigail from Montreal
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET JUDY!
As it turns out, Zenny & Company, Black Caviar also has her own website!!!!
http://www.blackcaviar.net.au/
signofthetimes
@Trina N
What a wonderful B-day poem for JAG and her
Love for the equines in “the sport of kings”
Have a great time at SA today in a great celebration!!!
signofthetimes
@Max
Oh yes, Zenny always ran her own race and
Knew where the wire was. She only expended
Enough to get there and a little more to make
Sure. That is the quality of a veteran that she
Had as a young filly. HDG has that same quality
To run her own race. Hope she gets a good
Post position and not to much dirt in her face in
BCC. Since she is not a closer dirt may not be
An issue.
Your welcome for posts on Lonhro. He is a very
Interesting equine, with a gentle personality.
Edie Dickenson
Hi Zenny, I played Liza’s Zenyatta song yesterday for my grandkids. Have a great weekend. I love you VERY much! Edie
Sue Fredrick
BARBARA GRIMALDI I signed your petition, though I don’t know if I count being from Wisconsin. I’ll send what I can and I did send an email out to our Governor asking if he could get the word out via media to our farmers requesting their help. We are a large agricultural state, lots of cows, so if our farmers could help (they have sent hay to states in the past) it would be great!!
Barbara Grimaldi
THANK YOU SUE! Anyone from any state should sign, not just Texans. And asking YOUR governor to notify your farmers is a great move–so appreciated! If anyone else lives in an AG state, please consider doing what Sue has done–Texas looks like a barren wasteland in so many places. Think Dustbowl. Absolutely NO grazing land. Our horses are hungry and only hay/alfalfa will get they through a long winter. Prayers are needed for Texas.
Barbara Grimaldi
I keep going back to Trina’s birthday poem for Judy and to back diaries for other poems…I am amazed at her storytelling…because her poetry does tell a story while it also captures the personality of the person…I would not know where to start…thank you, Trina, for this tribute and the many others you have created for dumplings…with your poetry and DJ’s prayers, our Zenyatta garden here is always heartwarming and beautiful
Delrene
Trina – wow – your poem for Judy was truly amazing. What a gift and talen to share with all of us.
have a wonderful birthday Judy and a wonderful time at Santa Anita today. I’m sorry I was unable to attend. Hopefully another week before the meet ends.
Have a wonderful day. The weather is beyond gorgeous. I can see the mountains and the electricity and excitement brought to the racetrack by all the “Dumplings”
Love to you all.
Alex Bowdoin
signofthetimes, I just watched the video on Lonhor. What a nice horse he is. It’s great they are bringing him here to stand.
Go Black Caviar…She is so beautiful, Go Girl….
Joan Pitt
You look so thoughtful Z!!! Love ya Z
Texas thanks all who will sign the petition to Gov. Perry. State doesn’t matter, he is runing for Pres, so any one signing from another state will get his attention, it’s called good PR, which he is looking for. Thank you for signing. It is anticipated without help the number of horses lost to starvation will triple if not more this winter. In a case last week horses were found on government property abandoned. Horses have been turned loose to wonder on their own. The situation is dire for our horse friends.
Joan from Texas
Deborah Richman
@Trina Nagele…your poems are just amazing. With every single one I say, “She has outdone herself!” Love them all! Thank you for sharing your wonderful talent here.
@Black Caviar…Congratulations and YOU GO GIRL!! Thanks to Sign and JAG for the video links and to Abigail in Montreal for the link to BC’s Website.
Michelle Moore…I’m so sorry to hear about your horse. Z hugs coming to you from accross the pond.
@Susan in TN…Good luck to Chester and Chopper in their new home today! With you to look after them, I am sure they will be very happy :)
@Barbara Grimaldi…thank you for the link to the petition. I signed it. Thanks to you and the “team of Dumplings” who are working with you :)
@Delrene…you are right, the weather is beyond gorgeous today!
@Shari Voltz…will root for No Spin today. How fun that the students are all horse crazy now :)
@Barbara Wood…since you mentioned the racing on TV yesterday, I noticed that it is on again today! Double Thanks!
@Everyone…hope you all have a fun weekend watching all the races, and that horses and riders stay safe :)