Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Ask The Experts

Ask The Experts #26

Coz with John Shirreffs, June 2014. Photo by Kyle Acebo.
Coz with John Shirreffs, June 2014. Photo by Kyle Acebo.

Q:

How do you decide which horses will work in company?

Meredith Ramirez

Sacramento, California

A:There are several factors to consider: age, fitness, and length of stride. You want the horses to be compatible as workmates and you do not want one horse more stressed than the other. Consider it like dancing and both horses are “in-step” when working.

Expert: John Shirreffs

Q:

What are the indicators or signs that let you know a horse is 100% ready to race for the first time?

Lisa Myers

Hopkins, Minnesota

A: When a horse has trained hard enough to run and off of that training he shows you he wants to do more, this is a good sign. The feed tub is also a great indicator as to how the horse is handling and internalizing his work load. When the feed tub is “licked clean” each morning, a horse is ready to run.

Expert: John Shirreffs

Q:

Has Coz had the pleasure of drinking Guinness? Does he like certain foods?

Judy Gadwood

Burbank, CA

A: Coz is not “old” enough yet for beer (ha-ha). He has fresh carrot juice three to four times a week. John makes this for Coz at the barn and he drinks it out of a large salad bowl (this was one of Giacomo’s favorites as well). Coz also enjoys the Horse Apple Cookies that Mrs. Moss sends to the barn for him and his pals.

Expert: Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs

Our Experts

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John Shirreffs

Trainer

John Shirreffs has been around horses all of his life and has always felt it was important to help a horse become significant, to make history. Zenyatta’s Breeders Cup wins helped his dreams come true. Read John’s complete bio.

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Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs

Racing Manager

As the Moss’ Racing Manager for the last 29 years, Dottie has actively been a part of each Moss horse’s life. It’s a family affair, as her husband John trains many of the horses that she manages. Read Dottie’s complete bio.

Reader Interactions

463 Comments

  2. / Reply

    OMG, Brings tears to my eyes to see Wise Dan in Bloodhorse tonight. Oh Wow it is so good to see you Dan. Whatever Mr Fink and Charlie think is right for you I hope it happens. If your retired that’s alright or if you come back to work. Love you, Love You Always Dan. Dan, may God just take care of you. Love You always.

  3. / Reply

    Huge Congratulations to The Big Beast on his win yesterday.

    Dortmund races this Saturday. Go Dortmund.
    Wow what a lot of great races this Saturday.
    Go Night Prowler. Heard you worked today at Palm Meadows. Be safe my boy.
    Safety to All

  4. / Reply

    Dan, I was just thinking. I remember I think it was Sheena telling us about one of the Queen’s horses. Breaking out of his stall and wondering into the Gift Shop. Well Dan, Keeneland has a fabulous Gift Shop. Better not give you any ideas should I. Ha Ha.
    It sounded like in the Bloodhorse article you were glad to be back there. I’m getting a little silly but so happy your back. Dan, during the Keeneland race meet they have wonderful Bread Pudding and a Little Bourbon on top. But, I guess we better leave you with the mints and Carrots.. But you know Zenyatta likes Guinnes. Love Ya Dan.

  6. / Reply

    Dear Carol,
    Hope everything went well with your surgery today. Look forward to hearing from you! Get well wishes coming your way and hopes for a speedy recovery, too.
    Take care!
    Hugs and Love

  7. / Reply

    Good morning, Zenny and to your family here on Zenyatta’s website. Love reading the questions and answers. Also browsed some of the much older pics and posts. What an encourager you are, Queen Z! Thanks again Team Z and fan family for these inspirational posts. Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday! with love, Elizabeth.

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    March 3 Cherokee Devotional

    Some mysteries have never been explained: how a firefly lights up its tail, how a bumblebee flies, and how a hummingbird can hover and dart.
    Even deeper mysteries surround us personally. How did we get to this place to do this thing? We know little more about ourselves than we do about the firefly and the bumblebee.
    To think and ponder and question is a part of our nature-but if we were to put to work what we already know we would be financial geniuses and spiritual giants. No mystery stands out here, but think what we could do were we to work like the ant-and with no overseer.

    He did not depend altogether on his eyes for information.
    Said About Pontiac
    Ottawa
    1700s

    • / Reply

      Thank you, I’ve been enjoying the devotionals you share for each day. Everyone here has great contributions to a beautiful Z family!

  9. / Reply

    Muchie (Mucho Macho Man) has gotten his first mare in foal. That big boy just does everything right.

  10. / Reply

    Big races coming up this weekend! For those interested Honor Code is back and will be running in the Gulfstream HDCP on March 7th, can’t wait to see what he does!!

    So happy the beautiful Wise Dan is back and working out, sure hope he does well, so love this wonderful guy.

    Has anyone heard anything about our beautiful Ebby yet. Is she safely if England or still in quarrantine somewhere? I hope they bring her back here to Kentucky to have her baby.

    Kisses to Mama Zen, CoZ, Zi, and angel Princess and my Indy.

    • / Reply

      Dear Sue:

      Was thinking of Ebby too. Safe and healthy beautiful girl. Love and Hugs, JB

  11. / Reply

    @Carol in AR–Prayers for your rapid recovery. Knee replacement is a bear, but you can be Mama Bear! Hugs.

  12. / Reply

    Dear Kathy.Mysteries are best left alone.I have never cared for scientist’s explanations.Good news from the Dyfi about a tracked bird Blue 7H they assumed she had perished when her tracker stopped sending data back but some DOP volunteers were on holiday in Morocco trying out a new camera and there she was!Who knows maybe some of the 2011 birds could be still alive!It’s Boo’s birthday month he’s hoping to raise $9000 for the children’s hospital and is taking gifts there!News of Fubu from his sisfur Brittany he is fine and Kimberly is ok they are having trouble with their internet.Mango has had a lot of visitors!Abby got a lovely blankie from Shortie.Was’nt it great to see all the ratties granulating yesterday from the school of bizness plus mum and grandma there to see the ceremony!!Loki and Haven haven’t posted yet today but it’s MoMo’s 3rd birthday and her boyfurfriend made a video for her. Did you see those pets visiting the vet on Joey’s page?!That was too precious!Have a wonderful day.Love and hugs,Kisses for Holly,Nikko and Sugar.Sheena.

  13. / Reply

    Dear Sheena,

    That’s wonderful that Blue 7H is still with us. Can’t wait ’til we see Glesni and Monty again. I’m sure Boo will raise a lot of money. He’s so insanely popular. That’s good news about Fubu and his mom. We always fear the worst! Mango’s house must be getting pretty crowded! She’s probably pretty happy, though. Probably thinks the visitors are there to see HER! That’s nice of Shortie to send Abby the blanket. LOVED the granulation pics from the ratties. Hello to Loki and Haven, and happy birthday to MoMo! The pics of pets visiting the vet were hilarious…especially the cats hiding. lol You have a wonderful day, too. Love and hugs from me, kisses from Holly, Nikko and Sugar. Kathy.

  14. / Reply

    not joyfull news about boy by War Front, The Great War out of derby, The Big Beast have good rest, safe travels to Dortmund, Night Prowler and all horses and jockeys in coming races, Coz, i walked sport horses near 60 hours, i liked when big powerfull horses lightly carryed me by rush by themselves, they lil turned head to left or to right and looked, how i like quick moving, i allowed them to be leader of herd for some time, Coz follow usual routine, lil decrease distance, and see that course is clean from branches and stones and is soft, beautyfull Zenny Ziconic Coz kiss your soft noses

      • / Reply

        Your Muchie descends from the Plaudit sire line, not from Man o’ War. There are some great horses in P’s line. Giacomo is another like Muchie, whose family traces back to Plaudit.

    • / Reply

      Thank you, Judy, for this wonderful article link. I think Janet Hickman is a great reporter/story teller. Will have to start reading more of her writings. Many blessings today, with love – Elizabeth

      • / Reply

        Dear Max, Sheena and Elizabeth:

        Glad you enjoyed the article and photos. There’s no guarantee; as they say, “Breed to the Best and Hope for the Best”. Love and Hugs, JB

  17. / Reply

    Great news for UK racing the Juddmonte International has been confirmed as the best race in the world.I will never forget the mighty Frankel’s win in 2012 and Dahlia back in the early 70’s when it was known as the Benson and Hedges gold cup.The only race the Brigadier lost beaten by Roberto in 1972.Sheena.

    • / Reply

      That’s a matter of opinion, but not really a surprising result as the vote structure is stacked against North American races. In my opinion, any race that Zenyatta was in is the best in the world.

  18. / Reply

    Dear Carol,

    Hope everything goes perfectly with your recovery. You are in my prayers.

    Any information on Mr. Commons? I hope they retire him safely. I couldn’t bear to see him fall through the claiming ranks. Please keep my family in your prayers. All three of my brothers are suffering with health issues. I am the oldest and they are all the family I have left. I’m afraid they lack a passion for life and a compelling interest in the world around us.

    • / Reply

      Vicki,
      Hope your brothers improve soon. It is very hard to keep yourself upbeat during the horrible winter days. May the warm sun bring them energy and good health.

      Would they enjoy the Z Blog? It has helped me through some hard times along with my kitty babies.

    • / Reply

      Dear Vicki,
      So sorry about your brothers. Hope they will feel better soon. Will keep you and them in thoughts and prayers.
      Hugs and Love

  20. / Reply

    RIP.The ever-popular grey Nacarat who suffered a fatal injury at his home on monday.Aged 14yrs and now retired he was well known for his love of Kempton.He won the Totesport bowl at Aintree and the Charlie Hall at Wetherby.Sleep tight sweetheart.Hugs Sheena.

  21. / Reply

    In my opinion, the trainers do not really have a handle on how to qualify their horses for the KD. I do not doubt that there will be a lot of problems with horses who do not have enough points to qualify. The problem is especially acute this year because of all of the bad weather. There will probably be a mad scramble at the end and a lot of deserving horses will be left out and some pretenders will make it. I’m not sure. Who determines what amount of points is assigned to the qualifying races? Maybe it should be returned to the old criteria-Amount of money won.

    • / Reply

      Terry, Those are interesting observations you made. It certainly seemed easier when earnings were the criteria. So many owners have already put up the early nomination fees. I wonder if they are returned if their horse doesn’t qualify. I know the KD is a big deal, but it scares me every year with so many horses in one race.

      • / Reply

        Dear TC GP and Marty:

        Agree with you; it was simpler and easier to qualify by amount of money won. Marty, It is scary with such a large field. Love and Hugs, JB

        • I agree with all of you. Wish they would cut the field down to no more than 15. With that big field, the best doesn’t always win. And looked what happened to Vicar last year out of that one post.

          Really worried about Texas Red making it. He is still doing his water treadmill and needs some points. Next year when I get high on a Derby horse in January, please all of you remind me of how the imp of injury strikes. Or just say Violence and Archarcharch and Texas Red.

    • / Reply

      Texas Red is a prime example of the points I was trying to make. Money wise, he would be in. As it is now, he had better run huge in his next race.

    • / Reply

      @Terry, Churchill Downs Incorporated determines the point values for the Derby qualifying races, as is their right. The race is run at one of their tracks; therefore they get to set the race conditions, including qualifications for entry. IIRC, part of the rationale for the points system was to improve the quality of the field. The current scheme isn’t perfect by any means, but at least it ensures that the horses who qualify will have run in some major, two-turn dirt races. There have always been pretenders that make it, and deserving horses that get left out. There are 20 slots in the starting gate, and way more than 20 owners who would like to put a horse in one.

      @Marty, Triple Crown nomination fees are not refundable. The nominations contribute to the purse; that’s why it’s a “stakes” race. Recall that the nomination fee is a three-for-one: it applies to the Preakness and the Belmont as well. Compared to the supplemental nomination fee, it’s dirt cheap. The owners of the nominated horses know perfectly well that it’s unlikely that they’ll have a TC qualifier, but hope springs eternal. And if lightning should strike, well, its a whole lot cheaper than paying the supplemental nomination fee.

      As for limiting the starting field, history says it’s unnecessary. Churchill Downs has a wide track and a long stretch before the first turn–there’s room for 20 horses. (The head-on view that one sees on TV creates an illusion of more crowding than there is.) The very first Kentucky Derby was contested with 15, a number that would require a supplemental starting gate nowadays. One hundred years ago this coming May, Regret (1915) won against a field of 16. The first time the field topped 20 was in 1923 (Zev won from a field of 21)–over 9 decades ago. Field size has varied throughout the years, and was actually limited to 20 horses after 1981. In the last 100 years, fields have numbered 15 or greater–such that a supplemental starting gate was (or would have been) needed–53 times. And large fields have produced many worthy victors, including Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Assault, and Seattle Slew.

      While it’s true that “the best doesn’t always win,” as @Shirlee says, that is potentially the case with any horse race that’s not a walkover. That’s why people talk about racing luck. All sorts of factors go into a race: weather, track conditions, track bias, jockey, pace, how the horse is feeling on race day, injury, and so forth. The race has to be run to determine who wins; otherwise we’d declare winners on the basis of Beyer figures or morning line odds. And if one looks at the actual winners of the Derby, one finds that they are by and large worthy horses–many qualify as great.

      A few years back I did a rough analysis of Derby winners since Secretariat to determine whether there were a lot of fluke winners (fluke being defined by me as a long-shot that failed to demonstrate quality in successive races). There weren’t. Although it is true that the betting favorite didn’t usually win, more often than not the winner went off at fairly short odds. And Derby winners have generally gone on to have good careers. They frequently hit the board in one or both of the other Triple Crown races, and have performed well in other top contests in both the three-year-old and handicap divisions.

      As for safety, there’s only been one fatal injury in the history of the race. That was Eight Belles, and her death had nothing to do with field size.

      • / Reply

        LauraJ-I respect your racing knowledge and you are correct, CD does have the right to name the value of the races leading up to the Derby, to a point. CD has a feud going with Hawthorne and failed to give that track’s big race any value. My point is that some of the trainers whom have derby hopefuls are not handling their schedules correctly. I lost all respect for Churchill Downs management when they cut that deal with Yum and added that name to the description of the race.

  23. / Reply

    Dear Judy.I really enjoyed your link about the best horses do they make the best sires.Who knows?Some do, of course, but I remember the Brigadier didn’t have much success STS has had a good start to his career we shall see with Frankel.One I always recall is Red Rum .They said he was bred to be of little consequence and look what happened!!As in our lives luck plays a big part.Goodnight God bless you LM PC HT Cap Hercules Frank Boo and all the Sweeties.Love and hugs.SheenaX

    • / Reply

      Thank you BG for this wonderful pic of AH-1! They all look safe, and almost looks like a horse slumber party. I know it’s serious business, though, transporting them all. So glad AH-1 has such a good ‘track’ record getting them to where they need to go. Many blessings, with love – Elizabeth

    • / Reply

      Dear BGG:

      That’s incredible. Never realized they flew so many at one time. Love and Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Dear BGG,
      Thanks for this. Air Horse 1 — I love the name! Love the passengers, too.
      Hugs and Love

    • / Reply

      What a great picture. Also had no idea that so many horses (I can’t believe that it’s the entire 15,000) might be on one plane!

  26. / Reply

    March 4 Cherokee Devotional

    An amusing story is told about Tecumseh to show how kindly tolerant he was. One evening on entering the home of a white man with whom he was friends, he saw a gigantic stranger there who was badly frightened at the sight of Tecumseh. The man for all his size took cover behind others in the room. Tecumseh stood a moment sternly watching the great fellow, and then he went up and patted the cowering giant and said good naturedly, “Big baby; big baby!”

    The Great Spirit told me to tell the Indians that he had made them, and made the world-and he had placed them on it to do good and not evil.
    Tenskwatawa
    1808

  27. / Reply

    Dear Sheena,

    My Miss Kitty Face has been losing weight and they don’t know why. She’ll need tests to find out the reason. Hope she’ll be okay! Poor little Sprout of My Pom Pals had to have 4 of his baby teeth pulled so the permanent teeth will come in straight. Poor little guy! He was neutered recently, too. Cute closeup of a couple of dog noses over on Ray’s page. Steve is probably going to work from home today, so my routine will be interrupted. I hope you have a great day. Love and hugs from me, kisses from Holly, Nikko and Sugar. Kathy.

  28. / Reply

    The Tampa Bay Derby is going to be loaded. Among others, Stonestreet has Ocean Knight and Carpe Diem. Ocean Knight was supposed to go in the Gotham but they decided based on weather and the long trip to keep him in Florida.

    This weekend is going to have a lot of interesting races. Just hope the weather on the East Coast will allow the Gotham to go off.

  29. / Reply

    Dear Kathy.Oh,you mustn’t let Steve interrupt your routine!!!Yes,I have just visited Miss Kitty’s page the money has been raised over$1000 .I do hope she will be alright.Loki’s vet visited yesterday and he was pretty calm.He had a good report.Did you see the sad story about Huck,he and his mum live on the streets I think it’s in your part of the world Riverside CA.He’s getting a cart from Mango!Enjoy your day.Love and hugs to you,Kisses for Holly Nikko and Sugar.Sheena.

  30. / Reply

    Dear Sheena,

    I’ll tell him what you said! Fabulous that My Miss Kitty has raised that much! Glad Loki was calm. Read the story about Huck and his mom. Riverside is my town. That’s wonderful he will be getting a cart. Today is Zoe’s mommy’s birthday! Have a good day and take care. Love, Kathy, Holly, Nikko and Sugar.

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