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HRTV “Zenyatta” Documentary

courtesy of AP – by Mark J. Terrill

HRTV Premieres “Zenyatta” Documentary On Friday, Nov. 2
Brilliant Mare’s Career Revisited in Moving Tribute

Arcadia, CA — The legendary Zenyatta captivated the racing world during a spectacular career, and HRTV (R), The Network for Horse Sports, will present a poignant documentary on the impeccable mare when “Zenyatta” premieres on Friday, Nov. 2 at 10 p.m. ET.

The half-hour offering is perfectly placed between the two-day, 29th running of the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park, a world stage where Zenyatta punctuated her place in the racing history. While the HRTV broadcast is thirty minutes, it represents part of an in-depth 60-minute DVD that will be released for the holiday season by Zenyatta.com, featuring extensive bonus features and additional footage. Zenyatta’s illustrious career totaled 19 wins in 20 starts, Horse of the Year recognition in 2010, and more than $7.3 million in earnings.

Produced for HRTV by the accomplished Kristen Rocky, whose credits include working the 2012 Olympics and Tour de France for NBC, the emotional documentary underscores the essence of Zenyatta’s connection with the racing world, and her uncanny ability to cultivate even casual observers. Affectionately nicknamed “The Queen,” many believe she is the most charismatic champion since the wondrous Secretariat. During her remarkable four-year racing campaign,Zenyatta’s “fan club” seemed to quickly blossom and grow exponentially with each impressive victory.

Zenyatta’s connections — owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, along with trainer John Shirreffs, racing manager Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs, and jockey Mike Smith — are interviewed extensively and offer their candid, heartfelt recollections on a once-in-a-lifetime journey experience with racing royalty. From the daughter of Street Cry’s undistinguished presence in the sales ring, to wins that snowballed into Zenyatta becoming a racing immortal, to a short-lived retirement, to Zenyatta’s first foal, the Zenyatta team witnessed the making of a superstar from the inside — and cherished every minute. Also included in the documentary are exercise rider Steve Willard and erstwhile groom Mario Espinoza.

Reader Interactions

120 Comments

    • / Reply

      Dear Marty R,
      You exactly paraphrased what is above, it will be available on DVD for all.

    • / Reply

      Dear Marty R,

      Thanks for posting the link to the photos of 12 Z.
      He really is developing a very nice Bernardini, head, that side
      shot of him is gorgeous, of course with Zenny ears. EARnie !!!

  8. / Reply

    I hope they will have it up on HRTV for all to see and not list it as Premium so not everyone can see it. I don’t have HRTV. Maybe they will post it here for us to view.

  9. / Reply

    Zenyatta your just the best.
    I hope everyone has a wonderful time at the Breeders Cup
    All Horses and Riders be so very careful. Take Care your all in my prayers. God Speed.
    Wise Dan so glad you arrived safely. So Glad all horses are arriving safely
    Wise Dan you looked just fantastic.
    Animal Kingdom, Are You There??????? I guess I missed your arrival. Have just been so busy this week. Was trying to keep track of everyone.
    Love You all very much.
    Will be watching you on TV. Can’t wait.

    • / Reply

      Dear Peggy N,
      Yes Animal Kingdom is at Santa Anita, Richard Mandella, has him in his barn along with
      Emcee and another non Mandella horse. I think Richard Mandella has some open
      type stalls for those equines who need some space and ability to look out the windows
      at the passers by.

      • / Reply

        Dear Sign

        Thank you, I just missed seeing his arrival. I can just picture him there in the barn. Hope you have a wonderful time. Tell us all about it when you get back. LOL, Peggy

  10. / Reply

    Dear Judy Berube.

    Are you OK. Hope everything is alright with you after the storm.
    Everyone has been in my prayers.
    Hope Papa Charlie is OK.

    • / Reply

      Dear Peggy N.:

      Thank you for thinking of me. Hope you are well too. I posted on Z’s previous Blog “Breeders Cup Celebration” that my neighborhood only experienced rain and some pretty high wind gusts, but no property damage or outages. We were very lucky. NYC, NJ and the East Coast ocean communities really got hit hard. So tough to watch the videos on the news. Praying for all of the people and animals dealing with this devastation.

      Papa Charlie and all the other horses at Angela’s farm are safe and well. She didn’t lose power either. Will be visiting the farm tomorrow. Love and Hugs, JB

  12. / Reply

    Wow!! I’ve never seen what a race track looks like from the starting gate before. That makes your heart pound and takes your breath away. What a lot of ground to cover. It’s very humbling to me.

    • / Reply

      Dear Marty R,

      There is a photo of Z leaving the starting gate in the 2009 BCC, her BA as
      huge and you can see her pushing off. I think it is in her photo section on
      this blog.

  13. / Reply

    OMG…a documentary on our Queen who is already immortalized in bronze at SA!
    We cannot wait to purchase the DVD…it will make for wonderful Christmas gifts to our friends and family who love her, too. Time and time again we say how blessed we are to have such access to our beloved Zenny and her “prince”. The latest photos of him in the photo section are great. Thank you Team Z for always remembering the fans who are part of a huge, extended family.

  15. / Reply

    I cannot wait to see this documentary! And to know the DVD is being offewred here in time for Christmas is just an added bonus. Thanks to everyone at Team Z for offering such a fitting rememberance of our Zenny.

  17. / Reply

    Dearest Linda,
    Best wishes for your birthday today, as hectic as it is!
    I’m so glad if you can in fact make it to BC–we just heard from Barbara Grimaldi that her final reservation –arriving Thursday at 4PM at LAX–was cancelled! She has now given up for this year and is looking ahead to next year instead. She is looking on the bright side that she has at least weathered the storm safely, and that she will be able to retrieve her kitty Juliet from the Cat Chalet boarding facility tomorrow.
    I apologize that I have not come up with a new poem for you. My own plans to come down on Thursday got moved up to today, and I had to hustle to get all the arrangements for my animals in place. Diana Stuartvand I are now in our hotel at Best Western Pasadena Inn.
    I hope the rest of your trip will go smoothly for you after this rocky start, and I can’t wait to give you a big belated happy birthday hug! Love in Dumplinghood, Trina

  19. / Reply

    Sign, that is such a great video. Wish they included the other horses who arrived with Wise Dan. Here is the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say. Keta

    Wise Dan, Other Breeders’ Cup Runners Arrive
    By Claire Novak, @BH_CNovak (includes video of arrival)
    Updated: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 9:52 PM
    The final contingent of Breeders’ Cup runners, including Mile (gr. IT) favorite Wise Dan and Classic (gr. I) contenders Mucho Macho Man, Fort Larned, and Brilliant Speed, arrived at Santa Anita Park Oct. 31 after an eventful weekend of altered travel plans due to Hurricane Sandy.
    The flight coming from New York to Louisville and then to California arrived at Ontario Airport at noon PDT, after which the Breeders’ Cup horses were loaded onto Brook Ledge and Hubbard horse vans for an approximately one-hour drive to the track.
    Among those also unloaded on the Santa Anita backside around 1:15 p.m. PDT were Ladies’ Classic (gr. I) runner Grace Hall, Grey Goose Juvenile (gr. I) favorite Shanghai Bobby, Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) contenders Dreaming of Julia and Kauai Katie, FIlly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) runners Belle of the Hall and Turbulent Descent, Dirt Mile (gr. I) runner Jersey Town , and Marathon (gr. II) starter Not Abroad.
    Wise Dan settled well into his new stall in Barn 36 after walking the shedrow for several minutes. Trainer Charlie Lopresti said the 5-year-old son of Wiseman’s Ferry would either take his first trip over the California oval’s main track around 7:30 a.m. local time on the dirt, or would wait until 10 a.m. to go out on the turf under exercise rider Damian Rock.
    Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/74059/wise-dan-other-breeders-cup-runners-arrive#ixzz2AvwGnsRR

    • / Reply

      Love it Keta,
      It would be nice if they showed the other horses, too.
      Excelebration, Moonlight Cloud and Animal Kingdom are going to also
      run the race of their lives to beat this lovely boy, Wise Dan.

      What an epitome of a TB, work ethic extrodinaire !!!

  20. / Reply

    Wishing all who are going to the Breeders Cup safe travel
    Have a wonderful time. Hope you will share photos & experiences.
    I’ll be watching on tv and computer.
    Hugs,
    Keta

  22. / Reply

    Best Wishes to all who will be attending the BC!
    Safe trips to all, both human and non-human animals.
    Hope everybody has a wonderful time!
    Have fun!

  24. / Reply

    I simply cannot wait for the DVD!
    Those who cannot get HR-TV, like me, can sign up on line and watch on computer. That’s what I’ll be doing on Friday night between watching BC races for 2 days.
    I hope Mike Smith breaks his tie with Jerry Bailey several times over this year.
    Annie B in MA

  25. / Reply

    Dear All:

    This will likely be my only post to the blog until after the Breeders’ Cup races. Herding people is more complicated than herding cats! Poor roommate Trina is herding ME!

    I am so sad that so many I wanted to see in person are not going to be able to make it to BC because of the one “cat” I couldn’t herd – Cat 1 Sandy! I just hope all in her wake are safe, drying out, and hanging in there. And for those with unexpected illness – RATS! Please get well fast and start saving that dollar a day for next year.

    I am thrilled that I will be at the Zenny Party and will get to see a preview of the Zenyatta story from HRTV. I wasn’t planning to make kleenex a fashion accessory, but I just know I will be bawling my eyes out. Happy tears thought.

    As always, my deep gratitude to the Mosses, the Shirreffs, Team Z, and Team LE for letting all of us crazy Z fans be part of her life long after her racing career ended. I hope the rest of the TB industry is watching and taking notes!

    Zenny – your legacy goes so much farther afield than a race track. Bless you and your son, incredible mare.

    diastu – IN ARCADIA!!! – not tempe

    • / Reply

      Dear Diana,

      Yes, I am still up. Not going to bed for fear I will oversleep. I ditto everything you just said in your lovely post. God willing, I will see you tomorrow.

      Barbara Grimaldi, So sorry to hear your flight was cancelled. My heart aches for you. Truly it does. God Bless you.

      Safe travels to everyone going to BC. Safe travels for all the equines and humans involved. This is my prayer tonight. My only other wish is that everyone on this blog was coming to BC, so we could all be together and celebrate this one spectacular mare we all love so much, our beloved Zenyatta.

      God Bless everyone and love in dumplinghood to all.

      Darlene

    • / Reply

      Dear Diana, Trina and all Z’sters and Dumpling:

      Have a wonderful time at the BC. Maybe at one time in the future we can all be together. Looking forward to our phone conversation. Love and Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Diana,
      May be we can have a catch-up session at Turf Paradise
      on your return?
      Okay, Santa Anita fans I hear you snickering.
      TP is a nice track and tracks like this are needed.
      Hugs,
      Keta

  27. / Reply

    Cant’t wait to see the documentary and I want to buy the DVD as soon as it is out. I think of Zenny daily and love her so much. I will be there at the Breeders Cup Race to be with all the Zenyatta Fans. We are getting no no news of her and baby 12Z, I really miss that. Love to all and will see you at Santa Anita on Nov.3rd and will feel the electricity of the day that Zenyatta won that very race. Zenyatta is now the Queen of Santa Anita as she is the Queen of racing..Thank you for all you have done for Zenyatta and Baby 12Z. Irene Caty, Lake Elsinore, Ca.

    • / Reply

      Sign,
      We are definitely on the same wavelength–don’t know if it is Halloween
      or simply the Full Moon.
      Any way, posted a story from walesonline before seeing your story.
      More info, same subject.
      Keta

      • / Reply

        Great Keta !
        Working together really gets all sorts of great information
        out to everyone.

  29. / Reply

    Dear Lane’s End, Z Team and Z Fans:

    What a terrific shot of Z leaving the gate in the 2009 BCC. What a wonderful memory for all of us. Will never get tired of watching Z’s races especially the two BCCs. Thank you. Hugs, JB

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