Zenyatta Still on Work Tab
 

12/21/2009 HOL 4F :49.40 All Weather Track Fast B
12/07/2009 HOL 4F :50.40 All Weather Track Fast B

This might be wishful thinking on my part, but it seems strange to me that a "retired" horse is still working. Ron Ellis mentioned this over the weekend on TVG and brought up the fact that there has been no official retirement announcement regarding Zenyatta.

From today's Santa Anita barn notes:
Just yesterday, Zenyatta worked a half-mile at her Hollywood Park headquarters in :49.40, breezing, raising speculation that she might race again, but Shirreffs squelched any such rumor. “As far as I know, Mr. Moss retired her,” Shirreffs, said, referring to Jerry Moss, who owns Zenyatta with his wife, Ann. “Zenyatta is just winding down from her regular training regimen,” Shirreffs added.

Shirreffs said the Mosses haven’t “gotten into that yet” when asked about potential stallions for what will be one of the world’s most attractive broodmare prospects. As for when she would ship to Kentucky to be bred, Shirreffs revealed no specific date. “It’s early yet,” he said. “Breeding season doesn’t start for another month and a half.”


Shirreffs does not appear to be very authoritative when he states "As far as I know". They also seem to be taking their time making breeding arrangements. I wonder if the Mosses could be tempted by the first place purse of the Dubai World Cup or a lucrative offer from a dirt race track trying to arrange a race that includes both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

It is odd that she's still breezing.....

although maybe it's best to keep Zenyatta doing something rather than trap her in the barn the whole time.

Horses need exercise,they just cannot stand in a stall all day.

I still can't believe they are risking getting her injured if she is truly retired.

I bet that they are contemplating a run in the World Cup on Tapeta.
I sure as hell would be if I owned her....Then she could still get in foal this april or, they could take a chance and get her in foal before the race. (unlikely)

I think the chances that she's running again are very, very good. The DWC would have to be considered a possibility if that's the case but there or anywhere else is plausible.

NT

I think that if she does run again...its a one and done in the DWC.
I don't think they keep her in training to take down the Big Cap.

Below is an excerpt from the 9/25/09 DRF article suggesting she could race again in 2010 before being bred. However, I cannot see her running again in California.

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...0&subs=0&arc=1

Zenyatta's racing career may not end in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita in November.

On Thursday, trainer John Shirreffs said owners Jerry and Ann Moss are considering starting Zenyatta in early 2010 before sending her to Kentucky to be bred.

"I think she'll continue to race until that decision is made," Shirreffs said. "She's doing so well. I hope that would be the case. She's just rounding into form now."

The champion older female of 2008, Zenyatta has won 12 races and earned $2,594,580. She has won three stakes this year and retains her leadership role in the older female division.

A 5-year-old by Street Cry, Zenyatta is expected to have two starts at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting which begins Wednesday - the $300,000 Lady's Secret Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 10 and a race on Breeders' Cup weekend, Nov. 6-7. The Breeders' Cup options include the $2 million Ladies' Classic over 1 1/8 miles, which she won last year, on Nov. 6, or the $5 million Classic over 1 1/4 miles against males on Nov. 7.

"I think all options are open," Shrreffs said of the Breeders' Cup.

Shirreffs said plans for 2010 are contingent on how Zenyatta performs for the remainder of this year.

If Zenyatta races in 2010, there remains a chance for a long-awaited matchup with Rachel Alexandra, the star 3-year-old filly. Rachel Alexandra has been taken out of training for the rest of this year, and owner Jess Jackson has said he does not want to run her in the Breeders' Cup on Santa Anita's synthetic track.

Shirreffs did not mention any specific goals for Zenyatta in 2010, although Santa Anita does have two Grade 1 stakes for older females around two turns early in the year - the Santa Maria Handicap over 1 1/16 miles in February and the Santa Margarita Handicap over 1 1/8 miles in March.

I really think that instead of the DWC....they should take on Rachel somehow, maybe in March after Rachel has had a prep race....and settle this debate of who is better on a fair dirt track with a decent field of 5 or 6 horses once and for all.

The debate is not who is better -- Z wins that hands down. The debate is who is horse of the year. Who did the most - who was the most impressive this year.

If you are somehow taking this position then why not Goldikova?

Because Goldikova only won one race in the U.S. this year.

And how many times did Zenyatta beat anyone of significance this year? Once, just like Goldikova.

Huh?

What once was that?

Ha, good point.

I guess the whole year is filled with beating a bunch of crappy horses, that is why we are down to two fillies for HOY.

Besides her BC Classic win, she beat the 2nd best female in the country 3 times - Life is Sweet - So to answer your question, 4 times!

Are we talking about the same Life is Sweet that lost her previous two races prior to the BC to Lethal Heat? Or are you going to say next that Lethal Heat is the 3rd best female in the country?

That's right - the same Life is Sweet that devastated the best of the rest in the Ladies Classic as easily as Z destroyed the male version -- and also got the Z treatment herself.
As for Lethal Heat, are you talking about the horse that came within a neck of beating the 2nd place finisher in the BC turf sprint?

I'm guessing you weren't at Santa Anita that day and are just a troll. Cause I was there and no one was saying anything on Friday except about the dream pace setup that Life is Sweet benefited from except how many lengths Zenyatta would have won by.

And please tell me you didn't just cite the BC Turf Sprint, that isn't a real race.

I see -- if it doesn't support your position, then it isn't a real race.

The last time I saw Shireffs interviewed, which was about two weeks ago after her 12/07 work, he said that they were just working her to take the edge off and that she is definitely retired.