She delivered a healthy colt by Tapit at 11:47 pm EST on Monday April 1. Estimated at 145 lbs, he is a leggy chestnut with a white blaze similar to Zenyatta’s. Eager to start his new life, he was standing on his own by 12:18 am and nursing within an hour.
Both are doing so very well, and it’s a joy to see how much Zenyatta loves being a mom.
Thank you to all of the fans who have been following The Queen and sending good wishes and blessings. It worked!
We can’t wait to spend the day with little 13Z tomorrow, and there will be many more pictures to come!
-Team Z
Doc Joe and suzanne
Zen had that look in her eyes yesterday in the party pictures….like I have a secrets….big colt…. But so happy we are that all went well.he really does seem to have her sweet ears as well…wonder if he will be a lovely red roan.?… thank you for sharing these wonderful events…..hope we can buy a few of these lovely pictures as momentos… Thank you dr Joe and Suzanne in calif.will will have a glass of champagne in the turf club at he Santa Anita derby on sat….
Kelli
He won’t be a red roan – he needs to have a roan parent to be a roan, and he doesn’t have a roan parent. There are only a handful of roan thoroughbreds and every single one of them is in Australia. 13Z may turn gray, however.
Kim
Kelli…. . As for your comment on roan Thoroughbreds ALL being in Australia, you need to come to Kentucky and see how many we have here. Congrats to Zenyatta and her new colt.
Kelli
Can you provide pictures? I was not aware any of Catch A Bird’s roan descendants left Australia. Every single “roan” thoroughbred I’ve seen from the US is actually a gray being improperly called a roan because that is what the JC calls them if they start out bay or chestnut. I’d be genuinely interested to see true dark-headed, non-fading roans in the US.
Whitney Perkins
I think a chestnut roan classification is in the future for the new baby boy! And look at those ears! And the hair growth out of those ears! Sure looks familiar. And born on Zenny’s birthday. Cannot get more special than that. Thank you so much for the picture. Thank you so much for sharing her and Z12 and now Z13.
megan o'rear
He’s going to turn grey, he may look roan now but he’s actually graying out i believe. Very rare for JC to register red roans/paint type colorings. He’s just so cute though! she’s a wonderful momma!
Kelli
The Jockey Club doesn’t register roans. The only roans that exist in the breed are in Australia and there are only a handful of them – all registered with the Australian studbook.
The Jockey Club will pretty much register anything if the DNA confirms it’s purebred. They may not always label the horse correctly (if your horse is black, expect to see it registered as brown even if you provide color testing results), but they’ll register it. Paint patterns are much more common in the breed than most people realize. Ever see a thoroughbred with white over its knees and/or hocks, or white on the lower lip? Yep, it’s a paint.
LauraJ (Cincinnati, OH)
The great Marquetry (RIP) was cross registered as a paint.
Breyer has a model of a very flashy overo patterned TB named Sato, IIRC. He was a special guest a Breyerfest a couple of years ago. He’s gorgeous, although he’s mostly from sport horse lines.
There’s a nice looking piebald (I think) racing in the UK. He was featured in a few newspaper articles.
Kelli
Sato is a dominant white with a palomino base, by Puchilingui (dominant white), out of a Milkie (pal.) mare. He is GORGEOUS but I think his son Simba Twist is even moreso – I just prefer buckskin to palomino!
You’re probably thinking of the frame overo colt Modern Society, a son of I Was Framed, who is himself a son of the late Racey Remarque – a VERY beautiful true black frame overo stallion. Modern Society got a lot of press because of his coloring. It is quite rare for one as loudly colored as him to make it to the racetrack, most wind up being sporthorses.
There have been a couple of other noticeably eye-catchingly colored horses put in training and even raced, though so far the only one that has done well enough to note was the Japanese mare Yukichan.
Marquetry was indeed a sabino. Other high color producers are General Meeting, Rockport Harbor, and Freud.
Jen
Cool, the more you look at him–he has Mom’s blaze but his head is shaped like Tapit’s. :-)
Gloria Gough
What a wonderful birthday present for Zenyatta and all the rest of us. Glad everyone is doing good. She really knows how to end a party. Beautiful boy!!
Yosely Briceño
From Caracas, Venezuela: we’ve been huge Big Zennie’s fans always pulling for her in the races and now at the farm. Also interested in Team Z´s breeding choices and looking forward to perhaps a mating with the great Blame to get a Roberto line’s inbreeding, one of our favorites.
Best regards to all.
Yosely and husband Carlos
Kyle Stasierowski
Dear Team Z,
Zenyatta’s colt by Tapit looks very handsome. I’m just wondering what
you’re going to name her colt by Bernardini? In fact I’m planning to get a tattoo on my
arm of Zenyatta with a crown on her ears and the words “The Queen” underneath.
Sincerely,
Kyle Stasierowski
28-year-old loyal TVG viewer, HRTV live feed viewer, and
Zenyatta fan from Alden, New York
Beverly
Great News, glad both are doing fine. Will be watching for more pictures and videos. Love her.
Rose Cola
Oh happy day! A beautiful colt and on Zenyatta’s birthday no less! Have been checking every day and I checked last night and didn’t see anything. I should have known she would wait till the very end of April Fools to fool us all! Best of luck to you and your new baby! Congratz to all involved!
Peaceandlove from Colts Neck, NJ
Maryl Aldrich
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!! Another “Baby Z” to look forward to on the track. Shouldn’t be surprised that Zenyatta is such a wonderful mom. She is intelligent and (dare I say) more emotionally invested than many horses. Probably because you allow her to be. Best of luck to the growing Z family!
Laurie Burford
What a gorgeous boy, our prayers are with her and her foal for good health.
Debbie Barry
Congratulations on a beautiful colt. I have a name recommendation- Yatta Tap into Zen.
Maureen
Unbelieveable!!! what a perfect end to Zenyattas big day. This is a big healthy colt…. and by Tapit…LEts hope the next breeding they will get EINSTEIN the stamina would be perfect.
Sally B. (cherish Z- Wi.)
All this excitement and love pouring in from all over……………………..I need a nap! ha ha
I feel so relieved and excited but tired!!! (As though I was the nanny)
Z won’t be able to get a nap as easily for sure.
lizzie
I was so hoping you’d have your baby on your birthday!!!! He’s beautiful!!!! And 145 lbs!!!!! Z12 was 130 and I thought that was big! I hope birth wasnt too difficult for you. I’d love to hear more details about the birth; how long you were in labor(do they call it labor for horses?), if assistance was needed since z13 was so big…
Zenyatta looks so beautiful in that picture. If love could be captured without words, its in the above picture. She reminds me of Vertiguex, she too looks like a loving broodmare.
Congrats to all that care and love our Z, what an exciting 24 hours its been for you all.
One more note: The birthday post/pics, Z looked magnificent in that photo. Its amazing several hours later she was giving birth!
Kelli
A mare’s first foal is usually smaller than subsequent foals, so that is why 12Z was smaller than 13Z.
They do still call it labor for horses! Lane’s End said in a previous Q&A that they do usually offer some assistance to mares regardless.
Nancy Osmundsen
I couldn’t be more excited to hear about “Z13” and Zenyatta giving birth to her little colt on her birthday! Lovely! She looks so engaged and nurturing. He looks snazzy with those ears and that blaze. As always thank you for sharing with us!
Kathy Dube
I was hoping for a filly, but he sure is cute! Glad everyone is healthy.
Leslie R.
13Z is gorgeous! What a sweetie pie. Congrats to Zenyatta and Team Z! It is exciting that he was born on Zenyatta’s birthday. I’m so thrilled that she is happy being a mom again. Thank you for sharing with us!
Hugs to all,
Leslie
Valeria Cannon
Wow, another Prince, what a wonderful birthday present!! Congrats to all the family and friends, I know Grandma Ann must be over the moon!
Christal Williams
Though foaling time is very exciting, especially with Zenyatta, i think i’m more interested in getting one of these fellas to the track. I don’t think it matters who you choose to breed her too, It’s Zenyatta for god’s sake. As for names, is 12Z and 13Z just barn names? I think Zenardini and Zapit have a rather nice ring, and of course, no one would ever have to look and see who their mother is.
Kelli
Just remember that the sire contributes 40-60% of the foal’s genetic makeup, so it is very important who the sire is.. At the same time, these guys have some really unrealistic expectations to live up to. People expected Barbaro reincarnates from the repeated pairing of La Ville Rouge x Dynaformer, and of the three that have gone to the track, none have even come close. People expected Secretariat to reproduce himself, and he did sire a few good ones but none like him. Realistically, Zenyatta’s foals will probably be good racehorses, but not like her.
Miriam Russell
What a treat to see this colt on his first day!
Sarah McC
The Jockey Club has always used a non-standard (and incorrect) definition of “roan”. They have used roan to indicate grey horses with a redish base color. This is not the same as roan in other breeds. Grey was used to define grey horses with a blackish base color. This was so confusing, that a few years ago they changed the designation to “grey or roan”. Better, but still wrong from a strictly genetic view. The true “roan” gene does not occur in Thoroughbreds. I believe the Australian horses referred to are brindled which is yet another kettle of fish.
Zenyatta’s colt could remain chestnut, or be the Jockey Club’s “grey or roan”. I have just seen two piictures. I can’t be sure from those. From a genetic standpoint Tapit and Zenyatta’s foal had a 50% chance of turning grey no matter what color it was born. The usual signs that the foal will turn grey are white hairs around the eyes, and dark colored legs. I can’t tell from the pictures, but the farm can usually tell. They are calling him chestnut, so that is how I would bet.
Guido
Congratulation!!!! Another beauty for the most deserving Queen!
judy hughes from Pahrimp Nv
Congrats to Z and her handsome new baby boy. We are so blessed that you share all this with us. Thankful that all went well and she April Fooled us all !!!
corvettekaty
There is always something so very special when foaling season rolls around. The anticipation and excitement is contagious.
It’s so fulfiiling when such a successful and loved horse goes on to a second career.
With Zenyetta it’s becoming a great broodmare.
It will be fun to watch her two colt’s grown up and hopefully continue her legecy.
Many thanks to Team “Z” for allowing her loyal and loving fans to enjoy the “ride”.
Catherine Hicks
I’m so happy and excited for everyone!!! Congratulations to Zenyatta, the Moss’s, the Sherriffs, the Lanes End family.. and all her Fans.. When there was talk of guessing dates/times a long time ago I had said to myself… she is going to totally surprise us and deliver on her birthday… I kept that too myself and even as it got closer in recent days and others were guessing date and time.. I still didn’t say anything.. I kept watching the board and twitter last night.. I said to myself it is going to be between 11:30 pm and midnight… LOL I was right!!! Congratulations again to all!!!!!
Sandy (Northeast Ohio) PUR
Catherine – it’s SO nice to hear from you. Many of us have wondered and worried about you. Hope you are doing OK there in Florida.
Sandy
Lori
THOSE EARS!!!!!!! Big Z’s with fur. He’s soooooo gorgeous. Sweet eyes just like his mama. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HeidiK Vallejo,Ca (pacing)
Wow, 16 pages of congratulations!! Internationally too!!! High Hoof to you, Zenyatta and baby, Zapit!!! That’s what I’m going to call him. We have Prince and his lil bro, Zapit. I just can’t stop looking at the photo, it’s awesome!! Can’t wait for more pics and maybe a video. I wonder if Ann snuggled with this handsome boy like she did with the Prince?? Oh Happy Day!!!
Trudy Schossler
Oh so cute, So Happy no problems, they look so sweet together. She is a great mom, we love you so much.
Rose
I am so delighted with Zenyatta and foal..I adore chestnuts and pray he will stay that color but grey or chesty it won’t matter.
Thank YOU so much for allowing us to see this prince..