Zenyatta

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Zenyatta News

Celebration Recap

Ann admires Zenyatta's growing bump. Photo by Kyle Acebo
Ann admires Zenyatta’s growing bump, Nov 6.
Z watches Jerry as he unwraps peppermints.
Z watches Jerry as he unwraps peppermints. Photos by Kyle Acebo

Happy Wednesday!

November has been quite the month for Team Z. We’ve been busy finalizing the Celebration results, stuffing envelopes, and planning a product launch for the Shop just in time for the holidays (hint, hint).

We’re proud to announce that the first ever Zenyatta.com Celebration raised over $10,000 for Thoroughbred Rehab Center, Inc. We couldn’t be happier with Zenyatta’s fans that contributed by purchasing the event’s signature Celebration Sticker or by bidding in our online auction. All of the stickers were mailed yesterday, and auction items will be shipped by end of the week. Look for yours soon!

As we previously mentioned, we decided to pick five winners for our Grand Prize, An Invitation to Meet Zenyatta. A complete list of winners is below.

Our next post will be all about Coz, with photos and video from our trip to Mayberry Farm.

Enjoy!
-Team Z

Celebration Stickers were mailed yesterday. Photo by Tyler Matson
Celebration Stickers were mailed yesterday. Is one on it’s way to you? Photo by Tyler Matson

2013 Zenyatta.com Celebration: List of Winners

Invitation To Meet Zenyatta
Geri Whalen
Linda Daly
Kathleen Carson
Lisa Myers
Adrienne Ady

Auction: Zenyatta’s Halter
Sandra—Huntington, NY

Auction: Signed Zenyatta Breyers
Debbie—Eagle Point, OR
Mary—Ellensburg, WA
Janet—Edgerton, WI
Cathleen—Lake Worth, FL
Maureen—Warwick, RI

Auction: Limited Edition “Z” Mugs
Debbie—Eagle Point, OR
Lisa—Westerville, OH
Terence—Arlington Heights, IL
Bonnie—West Islip, NY
Beverly—Woodbury, MN

Auction: Signed Prints
Jennifer—Duluth, GA
Ann—Raleigh, NC
Brian—Dubuque, IA
Julie—Redwood City, CA
Linda—Lancaster, PA

Reader Interactions

434 Comments

  1. / Reply

    To All Z’sters:
    There is an article by Don Agriss, The SportsNetwork, about Royal Delta’s retirement to broodmare duties. I enjoy his “Up the BackStretch” articles. I couldn’t get the link to work, but if you enter: sportsnetwork.com, and then go to Horseracing under More Sports, you can click on his Up the Back Stretch link.
    Good luck, Royal Delta!

  4. / Reply

    Dear Max,

    What do you think about the lineup for the GoldCup. Looks impressive doesn’t it.
    I had not realized that Joshua Tree was running also,

    • / Reply

      Peggy. Hoping for Gentildonna. Joshua Tree seems to like only Woodbine, but he’s got a chance. Should be exciting. Good and safe trips to them all.

    • / Reply

      Congratulations, Hovis, for putting one over on you Mum and Aunties! I must say, you look very handsome and yes, smug, in your head shot! Teabiscuit…lol. As an aside, my parents saw Seabiscuit run at Santa Anita back in the 40s. Happy weekend everyone. Many thanks to you, Max. We love our Hovis!

    • / Reply

      Well our boy has had quite the week – I just hope he isn’t into one of those famous “animal coverups” when they really aren’t feeling up to par. At least he escaped needles for now. Thanks, as always, to Sheena via Max for our Friday treat :-)

    • / Reply

      I think Hovis has the cutest face I’ve seen on a horse in a very long time… he just exudes personality.

      And I don’t mean to laugh at an almost accident but the thought of him freaking out over a dog at the side of the road makes me giggle.

      Question: This may have been asked and answered in the past but if so, I missed it… what does “swede” mean in Hovis-speak?

      • / Reply

        Randy – I’m just repeating what some of our more knowledgeable friends said last week in case they don’t see your question. Turns out it some sort of “root vegetable” (like a turnip or something). Not the “horse treat” that I was imagining :-)

        • Sandy
          Did a little research. swede means Swedish turnip which is a rutabaga.
          Wonder when I first read it if that was what it meant.
          Short version of the earlier answer.
          Hugs, BGG

        • Thank you Sandy and BGG. I was thinking some sort of horse treat too. I love Hovis’ expressions, just don’t know what half of them mean.

    • / Reply

      Dear Max:

      Thank you. Tea Biscuit; love it. I’m presently reading Hovis’ first Diary Book. Really enjoying it. Love and Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Thanks, Max! Hovis, you rock! Teabiscuit, indeed! LOL
      I needed this cute, joyful and slightly mischievous message, Hovis.
      Cheers and Hugs

  7. / Reply

    Is it unreasonable to ask that she gets a beak between foals next year? As a mother, your body does need a bit of time to recover….

    • / Reply

      Not when you’re a horse ….. especially when you’re Zenyatta and receiving the very best of care. She is doing what comes naturally.

    • / Reply

      She will likely get a break soon, either next year or the year after. This will be done not because her body needs a break (it doesn’t) but to reset her foaling calendar. Generally, each birth is successively later than the year before, and most owners prefer to avoid late foals. Her War Front foal is due mid-April 2014, and a hypothetical 2015 foal would probably arrive early May, and that’s assuming a maintained pregnancy on the first cover. A hypothetical 2016 foal would arrive mid-May. I think the Mosses will hold her open following the birth of the War Front foal and breed her in February 2015 for an early 2016 foal. If they don’t, then they almost certainly will the following year.

      I also think Zenyatta will be unhappy about it. She sems to love having a foal at her side.

  8. / Reply

    Dear Max Diolch yn calon Poor Hovis he shouldn’t be punished for his mum’s erring ways,he is a tea biscuit after all.Foxy could have thanked him for the swede by now!!!Many memories of this day back in 1963.Lest we forget.byddwych yn cael dydd gwener hapus.hugs Sheena

    • / Reply

      Sheena. Isn’t this Sunday the date for the all Clydesdale race at Exeter? Hovis mentioned it in his diary, and I think that it’s November 24. Let us know how it goes.

  9. / Reply

    Thank you, Sheena, Max, JB, Sandy, Marshall, Peggy, Vicki B. , and TC for your kind remarks. Y’all make the win even sweeter and will always think of of Z buddies when I look at my new print of, Z and the wee chestnut, 13.
    Hope everyone has a great weekend.
    Safe trips for all. Love and many hugs, Ann
    Power to Annie Power!

  10. / Reply

    November 22 Cherokee Devotional

    Ten Bears was an influential Comanche chieftain right after the Civil War. He was intelligent about a great many things and spoke fully about his people and their background. He said, “You…want to put us on a reservation and to build houses and Medicine lodges. I don’t want them.” He was born where there were no enclosures and everything drew a free breath. He wanted to die there, and not within walls.
    What makes other people think they know what is best for us? The desire to live simply and happily is in most of our hearts. Human beings are not so complicated as today’s conditions make them seem. If we crave things so much, why do we so easily discard them? Indians never had garage sales and they had no junk shops to sell their castoffs. They lived simple and uncluttered lives where they had time to think and ponder life.

    We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, the winding streams with tangled growth, as “wild.”
    -Chief Luther Standing Bear, Lakota

  12. / Reply

    Dear Kathy The bear is back !Seriously if only we could back to a simpler way of life and enjoy the best things which,of course, are free. Tank dog that was such a cute video of Ray trying to get his bruddahs to play with him! Hugs to you and kisses to Holly, Sugar and Nikko Sheena

    • / Reply

      Dear Sheena,

      Yes, the Native Americans certainly have their priorities straight! The rest of us take a really long time to learn. Not too smart!

      I love Ray’s videos. He’s such a great dog.

      Sad day of remembrance for us today. 50 years…unbelievable.

      Have a wonderful weekend.

      Hugs from me, kisses from The Pack.

  13. / Reply

    Remembering this fateful day back in 1963. I was a schoolgirl watching the hospital soap opera of the day Emergency Ward !0, when the news flash came through(it was 7pm. with us) The President and Governer Connelly had been critically injured we waited for further news and it came at 7 30pm, John Kennedy was dead ,our hopes and dreams gone in a flash, so senseless and brutal. John and Jackie brought such glamour to politics something I’d never seen before.Today we remember the man and the politician and all what he stood for at the beginning of the sixties.May he always rest in peace Hugs Sheena

    • / Reply

      Thanks for your beautiful words Sheena. It helps to know that our friends across the pond joined us in our disbelief and grief. I was sitting in my dorm room at college – had just started nursing school – when the news came on the radio. We had only one TV in the lounge so it was hard to follow what was happening. We will never forget.

    • / Reply

      Dear Sheena

      Thank You so much for remembering with us. I was sitting at my 5th grade desk when they told us. Just devastated.

  14. / Reply

    I was in my junior high school social studies class. School closed, our parents had to come pick us up. We had pretty much round-the-clock television coverage the next 3 days, the first I ever remember. Our country came together in our grief, much the same as we did on 9/11. We lost our innocence on both of those occasions. And yes, we will never forget.

  15. / Reply

    Zen looks big already and she still has five months to go with this pregnancy. I wonder if this means it’s going to be a girl, modeled after herself.

    I do think she’ll get a break, too, after this baby is delivered. Mucho Macho Man was foaled in May and it’s taken him years to catch up. Best to reset the birthing calendar at this point. If Zenny’s determined to have baby company during this waiting time, maybe she can be a foster mom, or just hang out with the other mothers and their foals.

    Congratulations to everyone who won a visit to Zenyatta. I hope everyone will write about their visit. Can’t wait to see the new pictures of Coz!

    • / Reply

      Yes, Moochie was foaled on June 15th. There’s a nice article about his birth, and his breeder’s John abd Carole Rio in the Blood-Horse issue 45, page 38. It always gives me goosebumps every time I read how he was NOT breathing (lifeless) but he popped his head up! Jumped up and TOOK FOR RUNNING!! Incredible story. He and Kathy Ritivo’s relationship was Heaven sent ♥ I voted for him on the Vox Populi without hesitation! All due respect to the other entries, Mucho Macho Man stole my ♥ He EARNED this peoples’ award IMO.

  16. / Reply

    ♥ Eblouissante (4-Year-Old Filly)
    Date: November 22, 2013
    Track: BETFAIR HOLLYWOOD PARK
    Distance: Three Furlongs
    Time: 39:60 Breezing
    Track Condition: Fast
    Surface: All Weather Track
    Rank: 12/14 Nice easy breeze for Zen’s sis :-)
    Welcome back to Barn 55, Ebby!
    ♥ Auntie Judy will be by the barn soon to say ‘hello”! XO

  17. / Reply

    Congratulations to Brian Zipse for being added to the Vox Populi Committee!
    Read article for full details.
    Getting the Vox Populi Call
    Zipse at the Track Horse Racing Nation November 22 2013
    When I first learned that Penny Chenery had created something called the Secretariat Vox Populi Award three years ago, I was thrilled. As a fan myself, I know that horse racing is a sport that can sometimes leave the fan feeling disconnected. I saw this as an excellent opportunity for true fans of the sport to have something tangible to be a part of, and feel pride knowing that they played a role in an important industry decision. Through the respect Chenery has earned in racing, and the power in the name Secretariat, I expected the Vox Populi Award to be an instant success, and it was.
    Zenyatta was a popular and deserving winner of the inaugural Secretariat Vox Populi Award in 2010. Although she was also Horse of the Year that same year, there was little doubt that Zenyatta represented the ‘Horse of the People’. In recent years, though, the choice has not come so easy.
    http://www.horseracingnation.com/blogs/zatt/Getting_the_Vox_Populi_Call_123

  19. / Reply

    I’m still in shock that I get to meet sweet Z and 13Z! As a person who never wins anything, it’s just been like a dream. Really looking forward to seeing them both, as is my daughter (she’ll be 6 in February). :)

    • / Reply

      Great news! I’m thrilled for you…take lots of pics and tell our Queen there are thousands who would gladly stand in line to meet her.

    • / Reply

      Congratulations I’m so very happy for you and the other four. Especially for someone who doesn’t win anything. I’m in your camp, I’m glad one of us seemingly “unlucky” ones got picked. Give Z a big hug from all her fans!

    • / Reply

      That’s great, Adrienne, congratulations! I’m sure you and your daughter will have a wonderful time. Lots of us would love to be there.

    • / Reply

      Congrats! Wow, you and your daughter will have an experience of lifetime! What memories for a Mom and daughter to have. I am so happy for you!

      • / Reply

        Dear Judy B.,
        Yes, such memories. I was in 5th period General Science class (9th grade) when we got the word of that horrific event. Our world, our idealism, was severely wounded — we would never be the same. So sad even to this day; the pain is still there. “Oh lost, . .”
        Love to all the dear Z’sters and extra special hugs & kisses to Zenny and the boys.
        Have a lovely weekend!

        • Dear Marshall:

          Walter Cronkite said something to the effect, “truly innocents lost”. I was out of high school two years and working at my first job. I was looking forward to voting for the first time in 1964 to reelect the President, as I wasn’t old enough to vote in 1960.

          It was so hard to believe, even as we watched the funeral procession on TV. I still find it hard to watch the TV docs and the Zapruder film. Can’t believe it’s 50 years. Love and Hugs, JB

  23. / Reply

    I read the names of the winners to meet Z. I hoped my name would be there, oh well maybe next time. I love seeing Z and her children. You all are the luckiest people in the world to have Zenyatta all to yourselves!! I can’t wait til the next time!

  24. / Reply

    Vicki, thank-you so much for the story of Black Jack; I love stories like this, and will probably get the book. I remember watching him during the funeral procession for John Kennedy; at the time, I, like others, admired his beauty and spirit. I never knew the story about him, and that there was a book. Thank-you so much!!

    • / Reply

      You are so welcome, Roberta. I may get the book, too. I liked his spunk, and how he was admired for it by the families of those who he “rode for”.

  25. / Reply

    November 23 Cherokee Devotional

    Start out in faith, but know the very act of faith brings challenges. No one cares when we sit in silence and do nothing. When actually doing something, taking a step forward, stirs the heart of envy.
    Opposition is the first sign that we are doing something that should be done. No one else has had the courage to do it, but criticism doesn’t take courage. Action takes courage.
    If you want to move mountains, go move them. Don’t let anything stop your good thoughts and constructive words. Even if you have to speak them to yourself quietly, do it. Not once, not twice-speak them over and over, and watch the thing happen. Listen intently and learn to discern what is there to help you-and what is meant to destroy.

    I am glad that I have come here, and that we understand one another.
    -Red Cloud, Sioux

  26. / Reply

    Dear Kathy Yet more wise words from the Native Americans..Looks as if Ray got the cookie that got away from Boo!!!Another cute pic of Boo.Have you heard of Joey the garden cat ,lives in Little Rock Arkansas,lovely boy and a cancer survivor.Hugs to you and kisses for the pack. Sheena

  27. / Reply

    Hi Sheena,

    Boo looks so cute in that portable dog carrier! Ray is charming as ever. You’re right, he does look like he got Boo’s cookie. I will definitely check out Joey. Have a fantastic weekend, Sheena.

    Hugs and kisses from me and The Pack

  28. / Reply

    Dear Max Annie Power wins in style.Great mare,ascot very disappointed about the number of runners there today,Al Ferof back with a win in a 2 horse race.Now for the Betfair.Think Sheikh Johann Al Thani bought Chicquita, she was 2nd to Treve in the Prix de Diane.Dont ask about the cricket,I’m in mourning!!!Hugs Sheena

      • / Reply

        That is wonderful, congrats to Annie Power.
        She is fun to watch, loved her tagging along and taking in the scenery, knowing she was in control! Love her! Thanks, Sheena and Max.

        • Her owner is considering where to run her next, maybe at some point against The Fly. The Fly took out Zarkandar in their last meeting. Not certain if Annie can win against the more experienced Fly when he’s in full flight. The Fly is small but very determined with excellent form. He seldom makes any hurdling errors.

        • Max, wonder if they train together? She certainly is impressive and can plow through the jumps, fearless girl!
          Please keep us posted. Willie has the touch, keeping their spirits on fire!!

  30. / Reply

    Hello all. Just jumping in after being away for nearly 3 weeks. I remember I was in freshman history class at Baylor when someone came in to announce the President’s death. It was doubly troubling for me, as I am originally from Dallas. I got a ride home that weekend and spent those days with the rest of you watching the tv vigil. Then Sunday morning, I remember vividly sitting in church, and a friend came in and announced, “Oswald’s been shot”…..hugs to all.

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