Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Zenyatta News

Zenyatta Statue Unveiling: Live from Santa Anita



Live video for mobile from Ustream

The Zenyatta statue will be unveiled in Santa Anita’s Paddock Gardens area at noon (PDT), Saturday September 29. Watch the ceremony live here on Zenyatta.com courtesy of HRTV.

LEGENDARY MARE ZENYATTA TO BE HONORED FOR ALL-TIME WITH LIFE-SIZED STATUE IN SANTA ANITA’S PADDOCK GARDENS AREA, UNVEILING SET FOR SEPTEMBER 29

ARCADIA, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2012)—The legendary Zenyatta, winner of the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita and Horse of the Year in 2010, will be honored for all-time by Santa Anita Park as a life-sized statue of the great mare will be unveiled in Santa Anita’s Paddock Gardens area on the first Saturday of Santa Anita’s upcoming Autumn Meet, on Sept. 29.

Zenyatta. AP photo.
Additionally, the inaugural Grade I, $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes (formerly the Lady’s Secret), a race won by Zenyatta over three consecutive years from 2008 through 2010, will be run on Sept. 29.

Zenyatta, who at the age of eight is currently enjoying her role as a broodmare at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, will be joining two of the greatest horses of all-time, John Henry and Seabiscuit, as her statuary likeness will now join these legends of the American Turf adjacent to the track’s grandstand.

Named after The Police’s blockbuster album “Zenyatta Mondatta,” Zenyatta is owned by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Moss and his wife, Ann.

“Like the song written by Sting and performed by The Police, everything Zenyatta did here will always be magic for the entire Thoroughbred industry,” said Santa Anita President George Haines. “Her win against the boys in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic is considered by many to be the greatest moment in Santa Anita history.”

The incomparable Zenyatta retired with a remarkable 19 wins from 20 career starts and $7,304,580 in earnings. Although she was defeated by a head in her final start, the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic, her stature as one of the sport’s all-time greats remained undiminished as she was voted the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year for 2010.

“The breadth of her accomplishments at Santa Anita alone is astonishing,” said Haines. “She won a total of seven races here, all stakes and six of them were in Grade I competition. Her story will forever resonate with our fans and we know we’ll have many thousands of people coming here over the years to admire her statue, which will be situated on south side of the Kingsbury Fountain, directly across from John Henry.”

Trained by John Shirreffs and ridden in her final 17 starts by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Zenyatta made her third career start on Jan. 13, 2008, winning Santa Anita’s Grade II El Encino Stakes by 1 ¾ lengths under David Flores.

As was the case in her 2009 Classic victory, all nineteen of Zenyatta’s wins came in last-to-first fashion.

After winning the El Encino, Zenyatta’s subsequent Grade I wins at The Great Race Place came in the 2008 & ’09 Lady’s Secret Stakes, the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, the 2009 Classic and the 2010 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap.

“We’d again like to thank the Mosses for running Zenyatta here and we look forward to welcoming them back as we again honor ‘the big mare’ on Sept. 29,” said Haines.

Sculpted by Nina Kaiser, who also created the statue of John Henry, Zenyatta’s likeness stands at her height of 17.2 hands, and weighs 1,200 pounds, which is approximately what Zenyatta weighed throughout her racing career. Commissioned by Santa Anita, the world-renowned Kaiser worked on the project for more than two years.

Santa Anita’s 2012 Autumn Meet gets underway on Friday, Sept. 28. For more information or to make dining and seating reservations, fans are encouraged to visit www.santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

Reader Interactions

1,273 Comments

      • / Reply

        Rosie is something very special, she is welcomed whereever she goes and to be
        accepted by the SA jockey colony and trainers is really a great honor and privilege.

        She has raced all over and has connections many places with her long family history of riding and of course her lovely husband.

        • Eveline,
          Nothing serious.
          She is going to stay at Belmont, you are all sooo
          lucky to have such a wonderful talented rider like, Rosie.

          Remember her husband is there on the east coast.

          She did a great segment on HRTV yesterday from Santa Anita.

          She won on Kaui Katie today !!!

  5. / Reply

    One of these days I will take my own advice …..said nonios always runs second…should have bet him to place instead of show…oh well..smalii money better than no money as sign said…..

    • / Reply

      Oh yes Carol,

      Was going to try an exacta with GOD and Rail trip or Suggestive whatever,
      and would have lost. Never would have be Nonios.

      They are saying a lot about GOD ability to win the classic as a 3 year old without much experience came in second and he did not pull away by as many lengths as expected.

  6. / Reply

    Wonderful to see the statue, fans and the Mosses.
    Strange question: Is Love and Pride a full sister to Bernardini? And if so, does that make her Zenyatta’s “aunt” in a strange way? What a hunch play that was, if so.

    • / Reply

      Horses are only related through their Dam’s. She would have to be one of “V” foals to be related to Zenny.

    • / Reply

      See Below Trish and Mike,

      I posted Love and Prides pedigree with analysis.
      No relation to Bernie

    • / Reply

      No relation to Bernie, her sire is AP Indy,
      To be related to Bernie she would need to be a foal of Cara Rafella

      • / Reply

        Genetically she is Bernie’s 1/2 sister. TB conventional family discussion wise, she is not. Humbug!
        diastu in tempe

  8. / Reply

    Lots of talk about RD running in the BCC, she was far the best winner today.
    GOD was OK, but should have pulled away by 10 lenghts, by far Wise Dan
    is very close to the best, will her run in BCC?

    Lots to discusse before the BC, will be fun to see how everything works for
    everyone.

    Should RD run in BC, who will Mike Smith ride? He is committed to MMM.

    • / Reply

      GOD diid not need to win by a larger margin. He was geared down by his rider, I am sure on orders from Baffert who knew that the horses he was going up against had little or no chance. This race was merely a paid workout and conditioning run for GOD. He has never lost a race at Santa Anita in five tries and looks to me like he will be a short priced favorite to win the BCC.

      • / Reply

        Great comment, TC.

        That makes sense as to why he did not by a larger margin.
        Heard about the “conditioning” aspect, but guess the commentators
        did not hear Baffert’s comments.

        Thanks for the information. GOD is a great horse.

        • Yes, all the talking heads were commenting he has never lost a race
          at Santa Anita and he loves the track there.

          Who knows, he may be HOY, which would be deserving for him.
          He works very hard where ever he is and always shows up with
          a game face.

          Somehow I think he could have done better in Dubai, though.
          Not sure he likes the polytrack, do you think so ???

        • sign-His race at Del Mar would indicate that he is no as fond of the artificials as he is real dirt. He ran s good race, but did not have the finish he usually does. HOY is not out of the question for him, certainly older handicap horse is his to lose. The awards are going to be tough this year. I’ll Have Another will probably win 3 year old honors, even though he hasn’t raced since the Preakness. Anything could happen in the case of HOY if GOD loses the BCC.

        • Yes, I remember hearing GOD does not particularly care for the polytrack and maybe that was why he performed so poorly in Meydan.

          You are right there are sooo many contenders now for HOY, including GOD.
          He is a lot like Shackelford without the speed, just a really tough, rough and ready horse to take on any other horse or human and to fight for the wire.

          Many contenders for HOY??
          GOD
          Wise Dan
          Point of Entry and
          Who else knows ???

  9. / Reply

    This is Love and Prides pedigree,
    She is sired by AP Indy, but her Dam is a Storm Cat Mare.

    No relation to Bernie, She would have to have Cara Rafaela as her dam (that is Bernies dam) to be related to Bernie.

    There is no relationship developed throught the sires of foals only through the dams
    as sires book 100-150 mares a year.

    http://www.pedigreequery.com/love+and+pride

    • / Reply

      Dear Ingrid Arnone:

      So good to see a post from you. You made it to SA to see Z’s statue; that’s great. Hope all is well with you. Hugs, JB

      • / Reply

        My dear Judy B, so nice that you notice my post, I am being posting close to two weeks already. Big hug to you my dear friend, your friend always Ingrid.

    • / Reply

      Sign,
      Mike Smith in an interview yesteday said that, with the track changes made
      at Santa Anita, it felt like Belmont. This was after the win on Royal Delta.
      He said she preferred Belmont-type track.
      Keta

      • / Reply

        Interesting. If anyone would know, it is Mike Smith. It all depends on what kind of track management wants. Hollywood Park was that way until they ploughed the track with about 3 weeks left in the meet.

      • / Reply

        Interesting controversey about the SA Track.

        Rosie opinion versus Mike Smith, but Mike did not run SA yesterday.

        Not sure RD is that picky about her surface??? I think she just likes things
        her own way and when she gets it she will win???

        We will have to see.

        Glad Mott is not having her run the BCC, she has not been in good enough form to take on the boys without having taken them on before the BCC.
        She is a big mare with a long stride, but does not have the power of Zenyatta.
        The weight got her in the Delaware Handicap and weight never affected Zenny.
        The BC is sure going to be interesting !!!!

  12. / Reply

    They messed up the payouts again……lochlomand bet nonios to place….which he did …and got zero……and Sue bet winning machine to show and got $30….check it out

    • / Reply

      Yes, she has lost the mount.

      Discussion regarding her riding was she lost a rein in the Pacific classic and it was a sloppy ride. She was also pulling the trigger too soon and he had nothing left at the end.

      RB fixed that and he had a ton of horse to close with, GOD is one dimensional so
      you have to save something in the tank. Chantal ran out of horse in the BCC, Dubai,
      World cup and Pacific Classic. She is not an experienced jockey, no matter how
      popular she is.

  18. / Reply

    The Blood-Horse story & race replay
    http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/SA/2012/9/29/10/awesome-again-s?utm_source=twitter
    Game On Dude continues Southern California dominance in Awesome Again
    Posted on September 29, 2012 by Jennie Rees Courier-Journal
    Santa Anita’s quotes after the Awesome Again (the Grade I race formerly known as the Goodwood), won by heavy favorite Game on Dude, who was sired by Awesome Again (who stands at Santa Anita Park owner Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs Farm. It capped another huge day for trainer Bob Baffert, who also swept the 2-year-old stakes.
    BOB BAFFERT, GAME ON DUDE, WINNER: “I was hoping for this kind of outcome. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. They were all coming into their races really well. I’m glad that Power Broker really showed his stuff today. We still have a ways to go, and as long as they all stay healthy and keep moving forward, that’s the main goal.”
    (On Rafael Bejarano’s ride in the Awesome Again): “The break was really important for him. Sometimes he wants to get a little edgy in the gate, but he broke really well. Plan A was if he breaks well, don’t move on him. We knew the 2 horse was going to want to go to the lead. He found a seam right away and got him to the outside. They slowed it down, so he just sat there and waited, then asked him to run in the stretch. It was the prep that you want for a horse like this.”
    “(Rafael) works really hard and knows these horses better than anyone. Him and Martin Garcia know the horse really well. This horse is just getting better and better, and when he gets on dirt, he’s a different horse. (Rafael) rides a lot of favorites, and sometimes it’s not going to work, but he handles the pressure really well. When you’re 1 to 5, he knows just keep him out of trouble and let them run their race. If they win, they win. If they get beat, give them a chance.”
    RAFAEL BEJARANO, GAME ON DUDE, WINNER: “I knew the number two horse (Winning Machine) was going to send. My horse broke so fast from the gate that I let the other horse send a little bit to make sure I could hold my horse and put him in better position. After that the race was done because he was much the best horse in the race.”

    • / Reply

      HRTV commentators are saying GOD did not win by enough to make him a sure win in the BCC, he should have won by 8-10 length if there was a huge amount of horse left
      as Raphael B said. Compared to Wise Dan or other possible entrants in the BCC.

      • / Reply

        Drf tweet from earlier this week stated WD…going to mile…not classic
        …..
        TVG all think RD should go to classic not ladies classic…..all think boys a softer field than the girls …
        …..
        if today’s RD shows up….I doubt anyone could catch her…but her owner supposedly said she is going to ladies
        …..
        What do ya’ll think…….practicing my ya’lls for Arkansas

        • Oh yes,

          All of this is up in the air, right now. There is a show called Pursuit of the Cup on HRTV, weekly that give all sorts of updates.

          WD may not go to the classic, but he would sure be a great match for the
          3 year olds and older horses. He is the best on turf, but maybe they are
          waiting to see what the line ups are for both.

          WD is sooooo very talented being able to win on all surfaces.

          Actually, it was Bill Mott that said RD would go this year to the LC.
          He really gets his horses the best in the fall and she is there.
          It would be great to have her win the BCC, but just not sure she
          is there. Maybe in with Mike’s ride that cost her the win earlier in the year.
          He now knows to let her do what she wants, in fact in yesterdays race he said she took off a little sooner than he would have liked, but let her do it and she won. ROYAL DELTA IS A GIRL WITH A MIND OF HER OWN.

          I just wonder if TB are all like that, Jethro definately had a mind of his own, how he wanted everything done and if you did not do it you got dumped,
          however, if you made a mistake and it was not too back he would “take care of you”. He was also very opinionated, always had something to say,
          He is an OOTTB

      • / Reply

        I noticed Trevor Denman said Game on Dude was “in a class of his own” as he same down the stretch.

        • That was a great call, Love Trevor Denman, he is the best !!!

          Commentators said he should have won by 8-10 lenghts though.

    • / Reply

      GOD did get “edgey” in the gate, Trevor announced that and I thought Oh No !!!
      But he came out sharp.

      He is a great horse, although, one dimensional, but big, strong and fast.

  19. / Reply

    @sign…..on the capping site about half way down on left side ….there is gray box that says Fantasy capping wagers…..I think….click it ….then pick a week….this is wk9…it shows who bet what and how much was paid…..
    ……
    they have corrected the mistakes that showed earlier
    ……
    This only works after race is over and payout made….

    • / Reply

      The gray box says “league fantasy wagers”….sorry….when you pick it you get a list of all races/weeks already run…..on the right side is a downward pointing arrow….click the arrow of the week you want and it will drop down a list showing who bet…..what they bet…and what they were paid…
      ……
      I am learning how to bet….so what others do helps me to fix “my system”..
      ….
      Let me know if this helps ….giving directions not a strong point according to my hubby

      • / Reply

        Found it and love it, too
        I am learning, too
        Looks like a very hard race to wager.

        Great going TC oh great GP and handicapper.

        • Carol,

          Should have know, just like a test, go with your first answer/wager.
          I bet Richard’s Kid to show. He does not like dirt, he is more of
          a synthetic speicalist and it showed, he was tooo far back to win
          and the commentators were saying the half was about 48 and they knew
          he would not be able to win.

          Lots of talk about Raphael Bejarano and his magic hands, he uses them
          to finese a horse to move so they don’t get rank. GOD is a huge horse with a mind of his own. Great job RB.

        • I had kind of lost interest in the contest until reecntly and haven’t checked the standings. Hope our group is doing OK.

    • / Reply

      Carol,

      So you can’t find out what the wagers are before the race???

      Oh well, I guess that is the farest.

  20. / Reply

    Dear Terry Crow,
    After catching up on the past entries, I find that I missed the occasion of your birthday.
    I am finding it hard to keep up with the different topics when they change quickly!
    I apologize for the tardiness of this greeting:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, DEAR FRIEND!! May this year and all those to come find you healthy and enjoying life! Thank you for the gift of humor and the insight into racing that you impart to us.
    All the very Best to you, always! :-)

      • / Reply

        Thanks, Terry! I’ve “come a long way”, huh? Well I guess I am next door to Virginia, but I am not very slim!! Ha-Ha!
        :-)

    • / Reply

      Don’t forget to flush your Toilet in honor of GP
      And play Loudon Wainrights song loud 3 times.

      It is hard to keep up with the topics.

      You are the best Marshall !!!

      • / Reply

        Wal, I don’t know about that, I’ve got more important things to flush for!

        “Dead Skunk” is still my favorite by Loudon Wainwright. But Loudon has been in the news recently, and it’s made me wish I had gone to see him when he was in town last year — I know Terry was interested, too. Bonnie Raitt included one of Loudon’s songs on her album “Slipstream”, this year. In July he appeared on Letterman’s show. He’s in the Sundance-winning film “Sleepwalk with Me” which is in theatres now — I just saw the trailer, and it looks good. On his latest album, “Older Than My Older Man Now”, he does a duet with comedian Dame Edna Everage.

        A couple of excellent links:
        http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/140403-folk-icon-talks-life-death-loudon
        and
        http://www.rosebudus.com/wainwright/news.html

        • Vicki-I have you to thank for letting me know about Louden. I would have like to go to the concert here in LA, but it was on a Wednesday night and was a little hard to make arrangements for. If I had known you wanted to go, we could have worked something out. The thing I found odd was that there was no review of his performance in the LA Times the next day.

        • Great update on Loudon, Vicki B.

          Would have loved to fly in from TX to see him in LA, in the middle of the week for me also.

        • Terry, I will check periodically, and see whenever eventually he’ll probably be back. He is a strange guy, and his family a bit the same kind of exotic. Some of his songs remind me a bit of topical songwriter Phil Ochs, long-since gone.

        • Vicki-If you log onto You Tube and get to the Dead Skunk Song, it will state if the artist is due to perform live, and what date as well as where.

      • / Reply

        Thanks for the flush reminder, Sign!
        Gotta love that Loudon Wainwright!!!

        By the way, watch out for those skunks!
        Take care!

  21. / Reply

    dear judy no sir henry is no worse but no better than his appearance at york his voice is still a whisper thought he would have improved a bit by now it was lovely to see frankel in superb condition he certainly draws the crowds and it was only an exercise gallop!!how is papa charlie settling down in his new home?sending him peppermint kisses hugs sheenaX

    • / Reply

      Dear Sheena:

      Sorry to hear that Sir Henry is not improved. Frankel certainly does draw a crowd. He’s so loved and deservedly so.

      Papa Charlie is settling in very, very well. Angela is going to adopt him. We should have the paper work complete by the end of the week. I wish I knew how to link a photo of him here. If, you would like to e-mail at rberube59@cox.net I will forward you a photo I took today of Angela lungeing him and then riding him. Love and Hugs, JB

  22. / Reply

    Just read on another site, someone posted a kudos to A P Indy, with grandkids Flat Out and Stay Thirsty winning the Jockey Gold Cup, and Royal Deltas big win, then add Love and Prides win in the first Zenyatta and the grand old man had a great day. Woohoo to you my Indy!!! Kisses on your nose.

    • / Reply

      Dear Sheena,

      Sooooo disappointed that Snow Fairy is injured and will not be comeing to the BC.
      She is such a gorgeous talented tough mare, reminds me of Goldikova.

  24. / Reply

    @Linda in New Jersey-I don’t know for sure, but I would venture to say that Bemont definitely won the attendance battle yesterday. With all of the promortions that SA had going the attendance was only 17,500. Shocking.

    • / Reply

      Unbelievable, TC.
      Wonder why attendance so low with everything
      Going on.

      Hope you and all the Dumplings had a fun and
      Winning day.

    • / Reply

      Terry,

      So happy that you were there for the unveiling and races at Santa Anita, yesterday.

      Was there some kind of road construction going on that might have affected the attendance? My terrific memory remembers something about road work being mentioned, just don’t remember if it was in conjunction with yesterday’s events or projecting in the future for the BC, itself.

      I checked the race entries for today and saw that Mike Smith is back riding at S.A.. I’ll bet he stops to visit the statue first thing.

      • / Reply

        Yes, Marty, this weekend’s construction on the 405/San Diego Freeway would have affected attendance. 10 miles from the Westside to the Valley shut down late Friday nite, and will re-open Monday. The 405 is not necessary to use – there are better ways to get to Santa Anita Park, but a lot of people are just staying close to home this weekend.

        • Vicki is right. There is a construction project going on on the 405 freeway that the news media is calling Carmedeggon. My spelling is probably incorrect, but it is Armedeggon with cars involved. It might have had a slight impact, but not that much. The 405 is just one of the ways to get to Santa Anita and is really nowhere near the track itself. I never knew horseplayers to be discouraged by something like that. I remembered Karen’s story of not being able to get there opening day last year so we left extra early. Didn’t have to.

    • / Reply

      Terry,
      Glad you weren’t betting on that.
      Here is Belmont – Attendance 8,639.
      That is really bad on any Saturday, much less a Super Saturday.

      Thought I saw you in the Dumpling group area at the unveiling.
      I was looking for John Shirreffs in the crowd. Did spot Dottie.
      Read later that John was back on the edge of the group-
      said he could get a better view of the whole statue from there.
      He was trying to just blend in. Someone noticed him and quietly walked up,
      shook John’s hand, and simply said: “Thank you”

      It was a special day. So glad I could share it via live feed.
      Hugs,
      Keta

      • / Reply

        Keta-I would have lost that bet for sure. Less than 10,000? Hard to believe. Johnws in the roped off area right near the statut on the side. Dottie was the one basking in the limelight. This sort of thing is probably not his bag. Quiet, unassuming sort of a guy. He did show us some of the pictures he took when Karen gave Dottie the scrapbooks. One visitor I was happy to see was Stephanie from San Diego, one of our original rednecks.

    • / Reply

      We had a great time. It was really inspirational when the statue was unveiled and a lot of chanting was going on. Zen-Yat-Ta! Horse of the Year! it was great. We then adjourned to Clocker’s Corner at the head of the sgretch to give Dottie her surprise that Karen had worked so hard on. John was also there to carry the scrapbooks away.

      • / Reply

        Dear TC and Z Dumplings,

        What was Dotties reaction to the Scrap Books ???
        I am sure she was very overwhelmed.

        KG you really out did yourself with that project.

        Thanks for doing all of that hard work and coordination.

      • / Reply

        TC and others; How lucky you were to see this unveiling and the Mosses, John & Dotttie and the artist, right. So glad you were there!!! I bet Zenyatta’s statue gave chills up your spine. I was brought to tears when I saw it because all my memories of Z, how she looked on the track, how she danced, just how beautiful she is and truly I did see the greatest race horse of my lifetime.
        Now for the scrapbook event. This had to be such a surprise!! Sally B

  25. / Reply

    In the Interview on HRTV yesterday with Rosie,

    Lafeitt asked her how it was to ride Shanghi Bobby.

    She said that he is getting to be a “bad boy”. She usually lets him gallop on his
    own away from the pony. Last time she rode him he keep pulling so she had
    to go back to the pony, to save her arm strenght.

    He is a young, buck that is for sure. Love these jockey stories. She is really something else and very modest in front of the camera.

  27. / Reply

    Gary Stevens interviewed Mike Smith before he left for the Eastcoast this weekend
    about riding Zenyatta in her 3 BC races.

    One of the comments he made, that I had never heard, was: in the 2009 BCC
    she made a side step, “like a linebacker” to get out from behind a horse and find
    a clear running path. You can see that move in the race replay. Did not realize
    she did that on her own, Jockey’s hang on.

    What a great move, by a great mare.

  28. / Reply

    Zenny, in bronze and in the flesh you are the standard for all thoroughbreds. Nina captured you as no one else could. It’s fitting that years from now your name will be mentioned by all of those who enter SA and they will know your greatness.

  29. / Reply

    Paynter Update Sunday Sept. 30 10:10 AM A. Zayat tweets combined
    Major Update this afternoon with Ray Paulick
    Paynter update: There will be a major paynter update this afternoon, it is way to long and detailed to be able to tweet it as I have been doing on a daily basis since the onsite of his illness on August 26th.
    Therefore I have decided to give the full and exclusive details to raypaulick who will be writing the whole story later this this afternoon.
    Just not to scare anybody Paynter continues to improve, we will be looking to continue to help him to fight bravely his war. We need it to take extra steps and milestones towards that recovery

  30. / Reply

    Sign (2-Year-Old Filly)
    Date: September 30, 2012
    Track: CHURCHILL DOWNS
    Distance: Five Furlongs
    Time: 1.01:00 Breezing
    Track Condition: Fast
    Surface: Dirt
    Rank: 3/49

Leave a Reply to Ann NC Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.