Zenyatta

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Zenyatta News

Zenyatta will be bred to Tapit

Zenyatta with her Bernardini sired colt. Photo courtesy of Lane's End.

ZENYATTA WILL BE BRED TO TAPIT

Owners Jerry and Ann Moss announced today that ZENYATTA, the 2010 Horse of the Year, will be sent to Tapit to be bred in 2012. “ZENYATTA’s pedigree is a great match to the A.P. Indy sire line, and in choosing Tapit, we think this will be a dynamic mating. Her first mating was to Bernardini, a son of A.P. Indy, and we are thrilled with her colt.”

A grandson of Lane’s End’s two-time leading sire A.P. Indy, Tapit is by Pulpit and out of the stakes winner Tap Your Heels. Tapit, a Grade 1 winner, was third on the General Sire list last year and is currently ranked second on that list. He is the sire of three Breeders’ Cup winners in his first four crops, including last year’s champion juvenile colt Hansen. Tapit stands at Gainesway.

ZENYATTA is boarded at Mr. and Mrs. William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Versailles, Kentucky. She foaled a colt by Bernardini on March 8 and the Mosses were at Lane’s End for the birth.

Reader Interactions

629 Comments

  2. / Reply

    I am sure as much as Zenyatta is loved her owners would never breed her so quickly if that is not what was good for her. It is her new career and what she is naturally supposed to be doing, having babies. She will love every single minute of it, as you can see how much she loves her new Prince. Tapit is quite handsome…even if I was secretly hoping for her to have a date with Afleet Alex or City Zip, this guy is nice and makes wonderful foals!! I am so happy for our girl. I am hoping for a little filly next time. One writer in Zenny’s other website suggested Tap Dance for a name, isn’t that TOO CUTE? I love the pictures of Zenyatta with her little colt. He is just perfect.

  3. / Reply

    Just love this picture!!
    I don’t know anything about breeding horses but trust the Moss’ judgement and know that they will do what is best for Zenyatta.
    I see that from all the comments Tapit is well liked.

  5. / Reply

    Actually by the looks of it……Her new baby will either be a chestnut or a grey! Two of my favorite solid colors ^^

  6. / Reply

    That pic is too cute!!! 12Z is gorgeous, just like his mom!

    A Zenny and Tapit foal is exciting. It will be interesting to see if it is gray like Tapit or brown like Z. We have a lot to look forward to!

    Thanks for the update and the continued pics of Z and 12Z!

    Love to all,
    Leslie

  7. / Reply

    Love the choice for Tapit!
    He wasn’t in my short list, because his book was full for this year, but I did consider Pulpit as an alternative. Guess the Mosses got to him in time ;)
    (My list was Giant’s Causeway, City Zip, Afleet Alex and either Pulpit or Mineshaft because of the A.P. Indy angle)

    I’m a little disappointed by some of the comments about Zenyatta’s owners…
    These people have a lot of experience breeding, racing and owning horses, not to mention they adore Zenyatta. Do you really think if there was any reason why Zenyatta shouldn’t be bred again, that they would take a chance with her?
    Having a foal every year is what mares do, it’s natural for them. Before breeding them again, the mare will be evaluated and if it’s better to skip a year for whatever reason, they would do so.
    Zenyatta is a young, healthy mare who had an uneventful pregnancy and birth and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be bred again this year.

    • / Reply

      Funny thing about that link you provided, Elizabeth. That was put together by a friend of mine. If you go to the link about other patterns and scroll down to the mealy/pangare gene, that Haflinger would be my boy from the day I first got him.

  12. / Reply

    This is such an excellent choice on many fronts. It’s great news for the horseracing world and will give us something great to anticipate in 2013. One thing is for certain, The Queen is an excellent mother.

  13. / Reply

    jYou can tell that that is a much-loved baby boy! He and Zenny look so content, don’t they? I am excited to hear that the Mosses have chosen Tapit for Z. His babies are beautiful and boy, can they run! Love you, Zenny <3

  14. / Reply

    team z – bravo! tapit is a wonderful choice, i think… and the picture on this news release certainly radiates joy! z and 12z are so beautiful. as always, thank you for enabling us to remain connected both to z and to each other.

  15. / Reply

    This picture is adorable! Love it! As for Tapit, I think it’s a great choice. It would be so cool if Zenyatta had a gray foal. I love grays. Speaking of Z’s boyfriends, today is Bernardini’s birthday. Happy Birthday Bernie!
    Terry Crow, thanks for the redneck joke. It’s been too long. Keep em coming!

  16. / Reply

    whooo, sure lots of opinions about breeding horses!! cudos to the tb. industry! the only one left that requires live cover to register a foal! as for having too many “z” foals,,,,,,,,,, life is such a crap shoot, even moreso for the race horse. the odds of any of her foals repeating her career are a million to one. the other breeds use embryo transfer, and i.a. all over the place. one mare could have 12 babies a year! that sucks! horses are getting like dogs, way too many out there. the average horse is very lucky to have a good home these days. many places you can’t even give them away! one of the auctions i know has a “free pen”. so, as long as zenny is happy and healthy, let her have babies!! i know the mosses will see that she has the best of care and if she grows tired, give her a year off. mother nature may just do that too! don’t forget my hero horse, secretariat. he never managed to reproduce himself. lets hope the same won’t hold true for zenny. hummmmm, wouldn’t that have been a cross!!!

    • / Reply

      Could you imagine what would be happening
      If TB weren’t live breed. The business has a very
      Dark side and that side would definately take over,
      Saying this was A P Indy’sperm and it was some unknown
      Non racing TB sperm.

      It is a good quality control, but dangerous business.

      • / Reply

        I have never read such a moving description of weaning a foal as above. What a respectful way to do it! To say the business has a dark side I wonder really what percentage of foals are treated with that degree of respect when there appears to be many bred to be shortly discarded. No wonder Zenyatta is so important. She is a standard bearer. Such a big task, extraordinary – Team Z ! The photos are unbelievably wonderful

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      I would say the odds are more than a million to one on ANY horse, male or female, repeating Z’s career. She is a once in a lifetime horse.

    • / Reply

      Hey, no dissing Secretariat! :-)

      It’s true he never reproduced himself, but he was a good sire–better than he is given credit for. He sired some excellent horses. His daughter Lady’s Secret was Horse of the Year and is in the Hall of Fame. His son Risen Star won two legs of the Triple Crown. His son Kingston Rule still holds the record for the Melbourne Cup. He sired a number of other graded stakes winners, a steeplechase champion, and even some good sport horses. Plus, he is the broodmare sire of three of the top sires of the late 20th-early 21st centuries in Storm Cat, AP Indy, and Gone West.

      • / Reply

        Yep, Secretariat became a wonderful broodmare sire, in fact he led the list for a few years. Had to be that “big heart gene”…

      • / Reply

        Dear Laura J.:

        I love Secretariat. Always will. Glad I was on this earth at the same time as he and Zenyatta.Hope I’ll be around to see some of Z’s babies race. Can you imagine what a gorgeous foal could have resulted from a mating of Big Red and Z. Wouldn’t matter if he/she couldn’t run like the parents, just being beautiful would be enough. Hugs, JB

        • Judy, just letting all of us dream of something like that, would have been something!

        • Judy B.,
          I wholeheartedly agree with you! I, too, will always love Secretariat — he was,
          and is, my hero. The first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime! What a pairing he and Zenyatta would have been — yes, being beautiful would have been enough!
          Take care! All the Best to you and Russ!

  17. / Reply

    oh, and thank you folks at lanes end and anyone else involved in keeping this site open for us. the pictures and updates are priceless!!! the comments too. love hearing what everyone has to say!

  18. / Reply

    Allison and Carol in Utah, thank you for commenting on the Omaha entry. During our initial research, the Z’isters of Omaha ran into that same story about the remains being near a Home Ec. building and students being told to throw scraps out the window for Omaha. So we sent the Chancellor of The University of Nebraska at Omaha an email asking him if this was a true story. The Chancellor had his assistant do some research and was kind enough to reply. Below is just a part of that correspondence.

    ” The one urban myth I can clear up is that he is not outside a UNO Culinary Arts Builiding, as we do not offer that major, nor is there a building of that name on the UNO campus land, nor has there ever been on the former Ak-Sar-Ben property since UNO has owned it. Interesting story, but completely untrue.”

    We have found this story and many other Omaha myths posted on many sites. The mystery of Omaha’s remains is an interesting one. We are still looking.

  19. / Reply

    I’d love to see her bred to Sea The Stars! Perhaps even Curlin, although that match is probably less likely.

  20. / Reply

    This is exciting news-i have to admit i was hoping they might retire So You Think and he might be perfect as a potential sire of the Queens royal progeny. Still time for that down the track i guess. This is such a gorgeous picture and me like everyone else totally misses the Diary Posts and is very grateful for any morsel posted.

  22. / Reply

    What….breeding Zenyatta again…… so soon? WHAT??????????????? This really hurts me as I can not believe that is all you want for her and so soon….how could you?

    • / Reply

      Criminy, what is wrong with people? Have you not been paying attention? Zenyatta has had the best of care since Day One, throughout her racing career and now as a broodmare. She is at one of the premiere facilities for broodmares in the world. Everyone should know by now that the Mosses would never do anything to harm Zenyatta. They love her almost like a daughter. It is common practice to breed mares back shortly after they foal. It won’t hurt her a bit as long as she continues to be in her usual glowing good health. It will not interfere with her feeding or raising her son. She loves being a mother. If and when she needs a break, she will get one.

      • / Reply

        Laura: Add me to the list of those lacking in patience. I understand some people just don’t understand the process of breeding. Your “criminy” was too cute as Z would say. Mine would be more like $%^&#@ *((!@

        • Rosemary — mine was getting close to that too!!! LauraJ, thanks for saying things in such a nice way, and for sharing your experience.

          Part of the reason for this blog and for the Forum is education… many Z fans have no experience with or knowledge about horses. It’s up to us, the learned (LauraJ, signofthetimes, etc.) and the experienced (moi, and several others) to share what we can, correct misinformation, and in general remove the “ignorance” factor. Being ignorant is not bad; it just means not knowing. If we can educate and inform, it can only help.

          [Grumpy Granny Patricia]
          fighting a chest cold, may not make it to the dog show tomorrow!

        • Rosemary,
          #*&!@%*#^ ? LOL!!!
          Too funny! Thanks to you and LauraJ for your patience AND humor!

    • / Reply

      Kelli- Zennie is not homozygous for black as she is not black. True black has no brown around the muzzle or at the “armpits”. Zennie is a dark bay. A friend of mine had a true black TB and she had NO brown areas anywhere

      • / Reply

        Homozygous for black does not mean a horse is black.

        There are two base colors: black and chestnut. In genetics, black is dominant and expressed with a big E. Chestnut – or red, as it’s usually referred to in genetics – is recessive and written with a little e. Homozygous black horses are EE. They have two copies of the black gene, they do not carry red at all. This doesn’t mean they are actually TRUE black. It just means that they are black BASED – they can be black, bay, brown, buckskin, perlino, smoky black, or smoky cream, and YES, those last four colors are found in thoroughbreds.

        Zenyatta is what is known as brown, seal brown, or seal bay. The coat is generally very close to black and the ‘soft areas’ have reddish hairs. She is obviously black BASED (she isn’t chestnut, palomino, or cremello, after all) but the fact that she is brown tells us nothing about whether she is homozygous black or not. The Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew was ‘brown’ like her, but he was definitely homozygous for black – he never, ever sired a chestnut foal. All the brown means is that she has at least one At gene – brown. She could be homozygous for brown, too, but we don’t know. It’s impossible for us to know without color testing.

        Now, a little research on the subject of bay vs. brown reveals new information to me. Zenyatta does NOT have the standard Agouti allele. At is recessive to A, which is the standard bay gene, and so bay would always override the brown when both are present. Thus, we can conclude that when bred to a brown or black stallion, she will never, ever have a bay foal. Bred to a bay, there is a definite chance, and bred to a chestnut, there may be a chance if the chestnut is a carrier – Agouti does not work on red, after all.

        Now, back on the subject of Tapit’s genetics..

        I do not totally trust the Jockey Club to register a horse’s color correctly, especially when it comes to the dark bay/brown color option. It’s very unreliable in terms of genetics. What is the horse.. is it dark bay, or is it seal brown? Or.. is it actually black, and the Jockey Club just refused to register it as black?

        Tapit has sired bays, chestnuts, dark bay/browns, and grays.

        Now, if we are to assume that dark bay/brown horses are ACTUALLY brown horses, that would mean Tapit has sired bay foals to brown mares. What does that mean? Tapit was not brown before hey was gray. That means, in fact, that he was either bay or chestnut before he went gray.

        But which is it? Impossible to say for sure. However, his pedigree is full of bay and dkb/br with only a few chestnuts. That doesn’t mean the chestnut did not hide and wait until the perfect opportunity to crop up again, but it means that there’s a greater likelihood that Tapit was, in fact, bay when he was born. If I could find a black-based foal out of a chestnut mare by him, that would confirm that he is at least not chestnut under the gray.

        Lovely theorycrafting here, but again, meaningless because a lot of the dkb/br horses are not brown at all, but dark bays, which is genetically different from brown.

        Ah well.

        I got off the subject a bit, but the point is, Zenyatta could absolutely be homozygous for black.

        • Thanks for that, Kelli. My equine ignorance gets a little less murky, with each lesson I read.

        • @Kelli: You, LauraJ and I need to sit down and toss a few back while talking color genetics! Shall we confuse everybody s’more? A horse can be homozygous for black, but the modifier acts to limit where the black shows up, so that’s how we get bays – with black manes and tails and leggings. I too get very frustrated with the JC for not entering this century and using the correct color on TB horses. TBs are blood tested still, yes? So send some to the color testing lab while you are at it!
          diastu in taupe – er – tempe

    • / Reply

      Roberta, what makes you think there is anything wrong with Zenny being bred again, especially when she would do just that, on her own, if she were a horse in the wild? And nature wouldl keep it from happening, if her body is not really ready for it. I think it’s a mistake to try and translate equine mating directly into human terms, emotionally — what we would want for ourselves and family or friends, doesn’t necessarily mean how horses would feel about it.

    • / Reply

      it is ok i swear i am studying to become an equine veterinarian and to become a horse breeder (What breed dunno yet) Breeding a mare while still Nursing a foal is ok It is not harmful. If Zenny wasnt ready to breed again they will know and will find a date to breed her again. After a Mare has had her foal with in a few weeks she will come into heat again and walla more foals.

  23. / Reply

    YEA! If you go back a bit further you will find that AP Indy is the son of Seattle Slew who was one of my all-time favorites. As I recall Seattle Slew had a bit of Secretariat in him somewhere. If that’s correct that’s 2 Triple Crown winners in the family. Anyone for 3? Also I seen your little one is just as photogenic as his Mom. Blush! Blush! You are both “Too Cute”. Thank you so VERY VERY much for letting us silly humans into your life and sharing these adorable pictures.

    • / Reply

      AP Indy was sired by Seattle Slew, out of the mare Weekend Surprise, who was by Secretariat.

      Seattle Slew’s sire was Bold Reasoning, who was sired by Boldnesian, who was sired by Bold Ruler. Bold Ruler, of course, sired Secretariat.

      So Secretariat was like Seattle Slew’s great-great-uncle.

  25. / Reply

    Wow! the picture of Zen and Z12 is adorable! Looks like he might be getting the hang of this grazing thing. Also, I am absolutely thrilled with the choice of Tapit. If you go back further than what I’ve heard folks mention here, A. P. Indy just happens to be the son of Triple Crown winner SEATTLE SLEW who is one of my all time faves. I could be wrong but I believe he also has a bit of SECRETARIAT in the mix. Two Triple winners. Hmmm! How about 3? Give my love to Tasty. Wow again. Perhaps next year both of you will have GREY foals. My nickname is greymare . Too Cute, Blush Blush Love those sayings.

    • / Reply

      Like I said in reply to another post, A.P. Indy is by Seattle Slew and out of a Secretariat mare, Weekend Surprise. Doubly royal.

  27. / Reply

    PACE…PACE…PACE…
    come on Tasty….formulating first checklist tonight
    …….
    BABY Z weighs 191 lbs…..OMG…..growing so fast

  28. / Reply

    What a gorgeous picture of the Queen and her prince. We know the Mosses will always do what is right for Zenny and having her produce healthy offspring is part of the natural process. She seems quite good at it…just as she was with everything and anything she had to do.

  29. / Reply

    Dear Max and Z Fans:

    There’s a new Tweet by Z’s Team. Z 12 now weighs 191 pounds. Wow. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Dear Carol in Utah:

      I think we posted at the same time. I was checking the Tweets to see if there was anything on TT and I saw the one on Z12. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Judy. Like I told you yesterday, life is mighty fine at Lane’s End. We have to sign up for stalls of our own. The food must be just great, and Z, not surprisingly, is doing an extraordinary job as a first time Mom.

    • / Reply

      Judy, I saw that tweet, and could hardly believe it! 61 lbs. in two weeks! Awesome. I had no idea they grow that fast, it makes more sense why they won’t put Tasty and Zenny back together now. 12 Z is really chowing down. and Zenny must still be eating like a … well, you know.

      • / Reply

        Dear Vicki B.:

        That’s just whats bothering me though. Z12 has a two week start on TT’s foal. If he was 130 at birth, how much more will TT’s foal weigh when he finally arrives. I know the foal put on most of their weight during the last few weeks of gestation. I’m afraid he or she might be so big that TT might have some difficulties. What do you think? Hugs, JB

        • Judy and Vicki B. It is hopefully just that the gestation period for Tasty is a little longer than it was for Z, and it might not result in a significantly larger foal. Otherwise, ouch!
          Everyone is now interested in Tasty. She’s become a star in her own right. I pace nervously for the arrival of this long awaited baby.

        • I would think the same, Judy & Max — that’s Tasty’s foal could get “too big” — except for the several other poster’s comments about horses that went even a year, and still had no problem foaling. And it’s only been an extra two weeks. I’m betting TT’s foal isn’t growing at 12-Z’s rate, while s/he’s still inside her. I really don’t know (with no experience), but have to believe it’s ok, since the farm isn’t panicking about it — the way we tend to. Thanks.

        • Thanks, Trina. I haven’t read everything yet, to see if you gals have all gone up to visit Giacomo today, as was planned, but if so, I hope you have a great time!

        • Sadly that trip got postponed due to the threat of rain, which finally arrived on Sunday.

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