Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Z's Diary

Diary Post #365

The history of our sport is so special! Photo by John Shirreffs

Happy Wednesday!

This morning, the fields will be announced for the 2011 World Championships. I’ve just heard that 193 horses did pre-enter for this year’s events! 29 of them will be coming from overseas!

In our sport, so many wonderful horses…so accomplished, so talented, so dedicated…have paved the way for ALL OF US who followed. MY JOHN saw this collage and couldn’t resist taking the photo. He absolutely loves and respects the history of our sport. It is so important to take the time and honor horses who have done so much for our industry.

When you trace pedigree lines so many of these names appear. These horses and their accomplishments truly did impact our sport….not just on a racing level…but to the breeding sheds for decades and decades.

I wonder…as they announce the fields this morning….which horses will be etching his / her names into the historical journals for our sport in the generations to come?

Goldikova has already made such an impressive mark as she returns to defend her title for the 4th year in a row. This is truly something to be honored. My pal, Gio Ponti, is cross-entered in both the MILE and the CLASSIC. Hmmm…I wonder which race his connections will select? This will be his third straight year of Breeders’ Cup participation…on a such a high level. What an outstanding achievement this is!

Several other very talented horses as Switch, Courageous Cat, Midday and Shared Account (to name a few) who have very prominently participated in prior CUP RACES are returning to the event this year. Anytime an athlete can remain at such a high performance level for so many seasons…it is noteworthy on so many levels. I must say, I am SO PROUD of ALL OF THESE HORSES and THEIR CONNECTIONS!

All the best to the 193 pre-entered horses as they continue to prepare for their respective races. We will have so much FUN following them during the next several days!

With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z

Countdown to MY PARTY…10 days! I’m getting SO EXCITED! Buy Tickets

Reader Interactions

208 Comments

  1. / Reply

    @Happy Harriet—Thanks for the news of Terry Crow. I hope you told him we were all thinking of him and missing him?
    @Delrene—-Thanks for the info about the LA Equestrian Center show for the Rose Parade horses. And how nice that your son flew the B-2 over the Rose Parade. He’s in Afghanistan now, isn’t he?
    @Barbara Wood, Judy Berube, JAG, Abigail in Montreal, Delrene, Vicki B and Laura J—Thanks for the links.
    @Kelly in Allentown, PA—You picked the perfect horse name for the stray kitty you take care of—Street Sense! Too cute! High hoof to you! Have you managed to get kitty spayed/neutered?
    @cerb—I’m rooting for Goldi too. What state are you in? JAG is encouraging us to put our states, just because it’s fun to know.
    @Joyce in Vegas—Great post. High hoof!
    @Allie—Great research on the burial sites. Thanks for sharing. Would you post which state you are in next time? (See note to cerb above.) Thank you in advance.
    @Cathy D— Enjoyed your post. Hope you’ll include your state next time (see notes to cerb and Allie above).
    @Ann Maree—I enjoyed your posts so much. It was very touching to get the back story of your love for Z and how your lives crossed—call it Chance or Fate or Destiny, it has led you down a beautiful path indeed! Your enthusiasm is contagious, and you are always making valuable contributions to Z’s fb page as well as posting here. Thanks for sharing. Have a great time at Z’s party!

  2. / Reply

    @Sally B (Wi) — Just about 5 minutes ago, I sent an e-mail to the Investigations Department of Nebraska. Hopefully we will get a response…and yes it certainly sounds like they built the Clubhouse over his remains. There is a gizmo called a radiological surveyor, brainchild of Ray Jones, that could possibly locate Omaha. If only we could get the NTRA or some other group interested in this project. So sad to lose this great horse, especially since there were only 10 other thoroughbreds to accomplish what Omaha did. I am more interested in correcting the situation than finding blame. Every year we hear their stories, but nobody mentions that Omaha has gone missing.

  3. / Reply

    @Saint Abigail: I love my computer, and I love my digital camera, BUT – I so love more the old glossy photos! Your collection is amazing! I hope for the benefit of future generations of horse history lovers that you have made provisions for your archives to be donated to the racing museum (when you’ve finished your last sip of tea, of course)! Thank you so much for doing what you do.
    diastu in tempe (It’s still Arizona, JAG)

  4. / Reply

    I love this collage. Wonderful photos of Majestic Prince and Citation (off Man O’ War’s nose). Love Dr. Fager #9 in the upper left corner – maybe the greatest race horse to date.
    I wish I could come to your party, Z Girl. Setting up to work a second job now so I can pay for my 7 equine girls. Would love to sneek out to Cal-Cup this Saturday (the CA Breeder’s Cup).

  5. / Reply

    @Sue Fredrick: Oh, sweetie, it takes way more than that! Don’t worry a bit about it, I was having fun poking back at ya. :-)
    diastu in tempe (New Mexico)

  8. / Reply

    Great collage of champions that John photographed, Zenny! Of course, you belong with the champions, also! Sweet dreams beautiful girl!
    @Joyce in Vegas and Allie: Good luck to you in your endeavor to find Omaha! He certainly should have a place of honor at the Kentucky Horse Park or at one of several locations where people can visit and learn about this great horse. Thank you for caring! Hugs!

  9. / Reply

    Z fans are so great and resoursceful. I was looking at the collage like all of you and could not read all the names and lo and behold several of you gave links and information that filled in all the gaps. Thanks so much for being great fans of Z and for making this site so informative and pleasurable to spend time at. Thanks Dottie, and all Zenyatta fans-you are all awesome!

  10. / Reply

    @All: There appears to be an abyss, so I shall step in. Um – – – stop clapping!
    You might be an Arizona Redneck if your pet coyote is house broken but your kids aren’t.
    You might be a California Redneck if you show up at Knott’s Berry Farm and are disappointed it isn’t a “You-Pick-It”.
    diastu in Texas (stop quivering, I ain’t goin’ any further east than that!)

  11. / Reply

    Hi and hugs to all the Zennyata fans. Thought you might enjoy Steve Haskins’ comment on his video, “And They’re Off: Halloween Edition” on Bloodhorse. He and Lenny Shulman were joking and commenting about the Breeders Cup races and entries. Steve Haskin said that Zen, being seven months pregnant, will enter herself into the Fillies and Mares event. And she will win.LOL
    Zenny is so competetive, one can just imagine her doing that. Would she have Tasty Temptation commendeering the get-away van from Lane’s End?
    What we are experiencing is a world wide phenomen of Girl Power as represented by the fillies and mares beating the boys. I wonder what the horses think about this?

  12. / Reply

    Hi Zenyatta. It is 4:30 a.m. in Texas and it is so nice to sit down and read your diary after this terribly hectic day. You always make me smile. Love you big girl. Wow, John’s picture is awesome. All of the greats – but Zenyatta, you are the greatest of them all. Today, Rapid Redux goes for 19 – good luck to him for a winning, safe trip. Can’t wait to see all of the babies run in the Breeder’s Cup – three of my favorites – Scat Daddy, Teuflesberg and Lawyer Ron have babies running – Finale, Daddy Long Legs and Daddy Nose Best; Trinniberg and Drill. What a wonderful two days of racing it will be. Can’t wait to see photos of your party. So sorry to be missing it. Stay comfy, eat well for two and have fun with your friends. Love you, Angel.

  13. / Reply

    OMAHA: I have some info on him and will go back and see what I can find and post it be patient it may or may not help.
    PS Yes I noticed the photo tucked in the cornor above. Naturally Tee Hee

  14. / Reply

    Dear Zenny,
    Love the photo of all the great equines.
    YOUR JOHN is so thoughtful. Where is this located and can we get one. Hope you had a great day yesterday. Goldi is in great form according to her trainer Freddy Head. Hooves Crossed for her fourth BC Mile win.
    Would love to see this beautiful mare.
    Hope you enjoy eating for two and running the paddock today with TT.

  15. / Reply

    @Abigail
    Thanks so much for all the information about the photos in the picture. We are so lucky to have you on this site and writing THE VAULT.

  19. / Reply

    @Ann Maree
    I agree JAG should be the QUEEN of ZENNY FANS. She truely has been so involved in the sport of kings and is quite the leader of the “track” in CA. Have a great weekend at SA to JAG and all the CA Dumplings.

  20. / Reply

    @ Terry Crow
    Hope your computer gets better soon.
    You might be a Texas redneck if you go the the Blue Bell ice cream factory and
    request Hagen Daz

  23. / Reply

    Trina Nagle in So CAl- Yes we had him neutered & micro-chipped. I’m sure he made some fine kitties in his time! I bet the female strays were happy that he was clipped! He was a big boy! ^-^

  25. / Reply

    GIRL POWER!!!! USA Today articlehttp://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/story/2011-10-26/BC-pres-entries/50932584/1

  30. / Reply

    Dear Queen Zenyatta, Tasty Temptation, and the Buns in the Oven –
    .
    I woke up to this headline from DRF: “Rapid Redux Aims to Tie Zenyatta” referring to the Sixth Race at Laurel today, where Rapid Redux will be aiming for his 19th straight win, as reference by others here. My first reaction was: I hope his success is great but you CANNOT EVER “tie” Zenyatta, no matter how many wins in a row you have, since Zenyatta is, as Jerry Moss quoted, transcendental. And I interpret that personally to mean in a class by yourself. :))
    .
    To add to comments/inquiries about Terry Crow, he was appreciative to know folks were concerned about him and was his sweet, kind, thoughtful self, reflecting the best compassionate qualities of our Queen and Her Team that are often reflected here as well. He didn’t tell me an estimated return to the Land of Zenyatta but hopefully it will be soon.
    .
    Carrots & Peppermints to All ~~HH

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