Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Zenyatta News

Welcome Summer!

Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End

Happy Friday!

We hope everyone is enjoying the first day of summer. Zenyatta and her two colts certainly are! Alys sent along some photos from her last visit to Zenyatta’s paddock. It’s the perfect way to kick off the weekend!

The Zenyatta Shop also has a small update this week: The “Zenyatta & Colt, April 2, 2013” print is now available in 8″ x 10″ and 11″ x 14″ sizes.

Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End


Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End
Photo by Alys Emson/Lane’s End

To top it off, here’s a quick video of 13Z being cheeky with his buddy and Alys’ phone…

Enjoy!
-Team Z

Reader Interactions

1,260 Comments

  3. / Reply

    Dear Sheena, Mary, Ann, Sally, Ann, TC, Sandy, Barb. Max, Sue and Mary Margaret:

    Glad you enjoyed Earl’s story. I was thinking the same; proud of the Rhode Island State Trooper for doing the right thing. Couldn’t have been easy for him to give Earl up. Love and Hugs, JB

  4. / Reply

    Dear Z Fans:

    Please check my post on Z’s Forum under RESCUE ALERT. If you can help, it will be most appreciated. Thank you. Love and Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Thanks Ann – wonder if TVG will be running another International Racing segment Saturday morning? Ruler looked pretty impressive the last time out.

    • / Reply

      Barbara, I understand that you don’t need to find it, but for those who are interested, Rescue Alert is a new thread that can be found under All Discussions (also in the General category).

        • Dear Trina:

          You’re always the first one to help. Thank you so very much. Love and Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Thank you Keta. He is just so big and beautiful. Wish he could get that grade one so he could have some quality ladies come visit him when he retires. Hope he ends up at one of the farms in Kentucky so he will be easier to visit.

    • / Reply

      Dear Keta and Shirlee:

      Thank you Keta for sharing this beautiful photo of MMM. Love this boy. Hugs, JB

  8. / Reply

    Racing Hall of Fame Unveils Saratoga Exhibit
    By Blood-Horse Staff Wednesday, June 26, 2013
    The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame opened the Alfred Z. Solomon Saratoga Sesquicentennial Exhibit June 25 in the Museum’s McBean Gallery.
    The new exhibit, which tells the story of 150 years of Thoroughbred racing
    in Saratoga Springs from 1863 to the present, runs through September 2014

    The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
    Hours during the Saratoga Race Course meet from July 19 through Sept. 2 are
    9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
    Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/79079/racing-hall-of-fame-unveils-saratoga-exhibit?&utm_source=DailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130627#ixzz2XQ9HPqp2
    Keta Note: Article describes not only the displays, but videos & films that are being shown. There is a special display on the Travers.

  9. / Reply

    Keta’s post about the horse that is playing Silver in the new Lone Ranger movie has inspired me to, once again, tell my story about a friend of mine who owned a riding stable in Burbank, which is near Los Angeles. The Lone Ranger TV show had ceased production and the studio was auctioning off things that had been used in the series, including some horses who had portrayed Scout, Tonto’s horse. As the story was told to me, there were four horses for sale, each one having “played” Scout. One horse was used for close-ups, another for scenes in which Scout was running and two that were described as trick horses. My friend bought one of these steeds and took him to the stable to be used as one which could be rented, figuring he would make out if people knew they were riding Scout. The problem was, it was indeed a trick horse who did his tricks on verbal command. So, some of the people who rented the horse complained that they would be out riding and the horse without warning would bow and do sort of a reflexive move, like he was allowing the rider to dismount. The horse would also take off running without notice and stop on a dime. My friend called the studio and discovered that, yes, it was a trick horse which did his tricks on verbal commands. The horse was not supposed to be part of the auction and the man who knew the commands was now dead. The studio offered to take the horse back. But my friend had grown attached to the horse and retired him to his ranch as he was too dangerous to rent out, even though he was, according to my friend, the most gentle horse he had ever been associated with. Lone Ranger joke to follow.

    • / Reply

      Terry
      I love this story.
      The trick horse who only he knew the codes.
      Solution: Rider: you can ride Scout. But, you can not talk during the ride.
      Great share!
      Hugs, Keta

    • / Reply

      Great story Terry. Speaking of Silver, he was just here in Houston to visit the HPD Mounted Patrol. And was made an honorary member, then took a bow afterward. He is sooo gorgeous it’s unbelievable. And tall.

  10. / Reply

    For those of you who encouraged me to post a Lone Ranger joke, this is your fault. The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent set up, they both fell fast asleep. Some hours later, Tonto woke the Lone Ranger and said “Kemo Sabe, look towards sky. What do you see?” The Lone Ranger replied “I see millions of stars.” “What that tell you,” said Tonto. The Lone Ranger thought for a moment then said “astronomically speaking, it means that there are millions of galaxies which contains billions of planets. Time wise, it tells me that it is approximately quarter to three in the morning. Meteriologically, it tells me that it will be a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Tonto?” Tonto is silent for a moment, then says “Kemo Sabe, you as dumb as horse manure. It means someone stole tent.”

  11. / Reply

    Gotta love this horse:
    ports.yahoo.com/blogs/the-turnstile/horse-throws-rider-goes-win-race-belmont-130603903.html

    • / Reply

      I LOVED this video. Was this girl well trained or what. She knew what to do and how to do it. She just kept focused on her :job” and won the race without a jockey steering her.
      Is there a lesson here…I think so!

    • / Reply

      Dear AJ:

      Always makes me nervous when one of them is minus a rider and tries to continue in the race. Glad she got through without mishap. Love and Hugs, JB

  13. / Reply

    New Jersey-breds tweet 25 June
    Who’s the Cowboy retired from racing.
    The 11-yr-old will spend his retirement at his birthplace, Sleeter Farm

    Linda Dougherty ‏@PaThoroughbred tweets
    So happy Who’s the Cowboy will be retired to farm of his birth;
    Kurt Sleeter & family are ecstatic. Gelding made over $1 million in career.

    Sleeter Farm set to welcome home Who’s the Cowboy on Friday;
    Skip Einhorn has given him to Sleeters. Welcome home party planned!!

    • / Reply

      Report From Japan: On-the-Scene Account of Sunday Silence’s Battle
      By Barbara J. Bayer The Blood-Horse Thursday, August 15, 2002
      HAYAKITA, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN (August 13) — It’s the ninth anniversary of the death of Zenya Yoshida, the founder of Shadai Farm. Rain has fallen for most of the day, growing stronger toward evening and the mood is grim at Shadai Stallion Station. In a barn set back from the others, a barn that was especially built to accommodate the aging Northern Taste, Sunday Silence battles what appear to be his longest odds yet.
      Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/10921/report-from-japan-on-the-scene-account-of-sunday-silences-battle#ixzz2XROdWseZ

      • / Reply

        Derby Winner, Top Japanese Sire Sunday Silence Dies
        By Barbara J. Bayer The Blood-Horse Thursday, August 22, 2002
        The long vigil is over. After 14 weeks of battle, Sunday Silence died of heart failure Sunday, Aug. 19, brought on by infection in his leg and the debilitating effects of laminitis.
        At Shadai Stallion Station in Japan’s Hokkaido, where staff and veterinarians have watched over the stallion since early May, there was great sadness, but it was mixed with the somewhat comforting belief that the great stallion in his last hours found some freedom from the pain. There is some comfort also in the fact that he left this world on his own, at his own pace.
        Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/11007/derby-winner-top-japanese-sire-sunday-silence-dies#ixzz2XRPOng4G
        Keta Note: Sunday Silence was buried at Shadai Stallion Station

        • Dear Keta:

          Oh, I’m so sad. What a beautiful, wonderful horse he was; Foundation Stallion for Japanese racing.

          Won the Derby and the Preakness in 1989; Second in the Belmont. Also won the BCC that year. Fourteen starts: 9 wins – 5 seconds. Rest In Peace beautiful boy. Love and Hugs, JB

        • This just reminds me of how much I wish Zenny would visit Hat Trick someday. Awesome! RIP Sunday, I have missed you forever!

        • Once again I refer to Ellen Parker’s tribute to Sunday Silence. Her description of how hard Sunday fought, and that he left this world on his own terms, still brings tears for this hard-scrabble equine genius. Here is the link (again) for her profile of Sunday, and an excerpt:
          http://www.reines-de-course.com/sunday_silence.htm

          Excerpt:
          “There are always people who do not know a horse, or a situation, that are willing to criticize, and when Sunday held on and on through his surgeries and laminitis, there was a great outcry that he was being kept alive unnecessarily. I offer the following thought for anyone who really thinks that: You did not look into his eyes.

          “Sunday Silence had to fight all his life for everything good that ever happened to him and he was going to fight until he was done fighting to live. It would have been disrespectful to not allow him to try. When he was done fighting, his own Thoroughbred spirit knew it better than any ten specialists from any ten clinics in any ten countries.

          “Oh, yes, I remember the moment when I first loved this horse. I remember the moment he earned greatness in my book. And I recognized that as we waited for him to make the choice to live or die that it was the humans who were thinking of their own suffering more than they were of Sunday and his. Suffering was his stock in trade. He thrived on it. Challenges were what he was all about.

          “The world will be a far different place without him, and the Japanese Thoroughbred will likely never be the same. But I am so very grateful to have known him, to have spent time with him, to have watched his in-your-face comeback to the Americans who rejected him.

          “One might be tempted to say “Rest well, Sunday”. But Sunday is not a horse who rests well or otherwise. In fact, we would not be the least surprised if the first thing he did, once he arrived in those greener pastures where the great ones live, was to challenge his sire to a 12 furlong match race. (And we bet he won, too).

          But oh, how we’ll miss him. For as Kris Kristofferson said, “(And) there’s nothin’ short of dyin’ half as lonesome as the sound, as a sleepin’ city sidewalk and Sunday mornin’ comin’ down.” ”

          Amen.

        • Wonderful tribute to Sunday Silence from Ellen Parker – RIP to a brave warrior who should have been more appreciated from his home country but kudos to the Japanese for the great care they gave him.

  15. / Reply

    hi Zenny….
    oh where to start….
    @TC….great joke…also, love the story about “Scout”
    …….
    Sunday Silence…one of the greatest sires ever…IMO….changed half the world of tb racing single-handed….check out his boy Hat Trick’s pic…he is in ky
    ….
    @MAX….yes I am shouting….Cigar’s cam is back….at last….but I haven’t “caught” him yet…but let the stalking begin
    ….
    to all ….hoping that everyone is well and having a great day…
    would love some news on On Fire Baby…have heard nothing…how about ya”ll?
    …..
    following a thread on forum side about a little “Mighty Mite”….maiden mare…filly stillborn or died soon after birth …and then …surprise…a very small colt…he is fighting the good fight….twins were not expected…and he is small…sending hugs and prayers for him…
    …
    Zenny …have a great day with little BigRed and all the others that follow you around…kisses for your soft nose and some for Red too…lots for Coz…maybe if we are very good we will get an update on him soon…
    love to all

    • / Reply

      carol. WOW, at last. I have checked that site every day for months until my fingers are numb from picking at my iPad. Thank you for telling us. Stalking has again started in earnest.

    • / Reply

      Dear Carol and Especially Horses:

      Wow, what a story about little Mighty Mite. Will pray for him. Love and Hugs, JB

      • / Reply

        I believe all of those horses at the KY Horse Park know they are very special. It is a beautiful and lovely place.

  16. / Reply

    Nothing like being privilaged enough to keep up with the Big Mare and her boys!! Thank you so much!!!

  17. / Reply

    @Carol in arkansas: you said…..following a thread on forum side about a little “Mighty Mite”….maiden mare…filly stillborn or died soon after birth …and then …surprise…a very small colt…he is fighting the good fight….twins were not expected…and he is small…sending hugs and prayers for him…

    On the forum, what’s the name of the discussion? I want to know more.

    Thanks.

    • / Reply

      The thread on the forum side is called “request for prayers from Zenyatta supporters” or something close to that ….the little guy is fighting hard…is mommy is doing a great job and his two legged folks are supporting him all the way…

  18. / Reply

    I’m sure most of you know this but Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto on TV and in a few Lone Ranger movies, was involved in horse racing. He owned and drove harness horses and had a few winners. Used to see him out at Los Alamitos when they had harness racing there. All of his horses had HI Ho as part of their names.

      • / Reply

        If you ever listened to The Lone Ranger on radio, you would know how big an improvement Jay Silverheels was. He was a Mohawk Indian while the guy on the radio just went ugh a lot.

        • TC. Did not know that the Lone Ranger was on the radio. Enjoyed hearing about Jay Silverwheels and his horses. You can always tell when someone loves horses. Like to hear your stories. And yes I thought of you when the announcer in that video linked Mr Ed to the Shoe in the KD race which Ferdinand won. Glad that you had a laugh about that one.

        • Max-The show started on the radio in the 1930s and was very well done, except for Tonto.

    • / Reply

      Dear TC GP:

      I never knew that Jay Silverheels was involved in Harness Racing. Thought he was a great sidekick to the Lone Ranger.

      My sister and I used to watch that show all the time, as well as the Roy Rogers Show. Even then seeing the horses was the great draw; Silver, Scout, Trigger and Buttermilk. Hugs, JB

      • / Reply

        TC, thanks for these wonderful tid-bits of information. I love reading them.
        Judy B. If I got another horse, Buttermilk would be the name! Great memories for sure! The other horse would be named Biscuit! Buttermilk and Biscuit !

  20. / Reply

    dear max have you heard moosie is off on his summer holidays. He will be back for the national hunt season taking on sprinter sacre well he was 2nd to him once!!!kauto and laura are out this sunday strutting their stuff is it barbury castle am not sure. Here’s to a lovely holiday for the moose hugs sheena

    • / Reply

      Sheena. This is quite a development. Moosie is very mysterious. He does however need downtime. I sure hope that he returns to the flat at some point. And let’s hope that he continues to tweet while he is in his paddock.
      Saw that Kauto is off to Barbury Castle. We will have to watch how that goes.

    • / Reply

      Dear Sheena and Max:

      Hope Moosie enjoys his vacation. Will be interesting to see how he does jumping again. Hugs, JB

  21. / Reply

    Sheena-I hesitate to say this but we’re all friends here, at least most of us are. Do you get a lot of Queen of the Jungle jokes?

  22. / Reply

    Terry & Z Dumplings
    Our talks about the Lone Ranger & Mr. Ed brought back a flood of memories
    of movie & TV cowboy shows.
    Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Sky King, Gene Autry, Cisco Kid..
    Then the later grownup ones: Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Bonanza,
    Gunsmoke. Wagon Train
    Good shows!
    Keta

    • / Reply

      At one time, there was a western on every night, sometimes two or three. Enjoyed Gunsmoke better when it was just a half hour show. James Arness was a really big man, with a terrific sense of humor. He and Chuck Connors were about the same size.

      • / Reply

        I think Arness was 6’6″….relying on my spotty memory again…there is a story about what lead him to TV and Gunsmoke…supposedly while filming a movie with John Wayne …I think its called “the sea chase”…he received advice to try Tv from “the duke”…I have no source for this other than I think I read it somewhere…

        • You are correct. Arness was a good friend of John Wayne’s and appeared in several films with him, the one I especially remember is Hondo. The Part Of Matt Dillon was originally to Wayne, but he turned it down because he felt that TV was not good for a movie star. He recommended Arness and the rest is history. He made a guest appearance on the first Gunsmoke to introduce Arness.

  24. / Reply

    Our Zenny’s FB “friends” keep expanding to all corners of the world…now over 126,000 and growing. Long live our Queen!

  27. / Reply

    good night Zenny….little BigRed….and Coz…
    but a good thought…tomorrow is Friday…
    its Hovis Time

  28. / Reply

    Uno Dos Adios Rallies For Win In Thursday Feature
    Racing News Betfair Hollywood Park Posted 06.27.13
    INGLEWOOD, Calif. (June 27, 2013)—Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith made the most of his one mount Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park, winning the $54,250 feature with Uno Dos Adios.
    The 7-2 fourth choice in a field of six 3-year-olds, the newly-blinkered gelding finished strongly to prevail by a half-length over Little Jerry.
    Trained by Bill Spawr for a partnership that includes Tom Acker, Lori Allen, Jon Lindo and Beauchamp, Smith and Whitney, LLC, Uno Dos Adios, a son of City Zip, completed the 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:41.50. The victory was the second in five starts for the Kentucky bred, who is out of the Java Gold mare Gowestforgold.
    http://betfairhollywoodpark.com/news/uno-dos-adios-rallies-for-win-in-thursday-feature
    Keta Note; It was hot hot hot at Hollywood Park. Horses looked like they had just gone under a hose in the post parade.

    • / Reply

      What a great name, Uno Dos Adios! Thanks for sharing, Keta. I’m afraid it’s getting even hotter this weekend.

  29. / Reply

    Goodnight, Zenny, 13Z and Coz! Sweet dreams, too.
    Hope all Z’sters have a very restful night, also!
    Hugs

  30. / Reply

    Zenny, your Charles is totally smitten by you! We love how he speaks of you in such endearing terms and how he says you are so kind and nurturing to the other foals in your paddock. Of course we knew all these wonderful things about you but when others see it, too, it just makes you even more special. God smiled the day you were born…how great that we are along on your life journey in the present and don’t have to read about it in a book. Hugs to you and your colts.

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