Here’s to Zenyatta
Posted December 2, 2009 – 2:17 pm in: Sports
One of the best female mares to ever grace the racetrack will head into the sunset soon, as Zenyatta was retired on Saturday at Hollywood Park, where she won twice in 2009 and six times in her legendary career.
Zenyatta, a daughter of Street Cry, will retire a perfect 14-of-14 in her career, which started as a three-year-old at Hollywood Park. She capped her career off with a thrilling ride in the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita (who also may have a retirement ceremony for her as she won five times there), becoming the first horse to win two Breeders Cup races (she won the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic in 2008), and she was the first female to win the Breeders Cup Classic, overcoming the likes of Mine That Bird and Summer Bird, who won two of the three jewels in the Triple Crown this year, which include Kentucky derby, Belmont and Preakness Stakes Betting Races.
She also ended her career as a massive money-earner. Zenyatta earned over $5 million for owners Jerry and Ann Moss, and she was one of the most-loved horses in the history of California. Her retirement even brought out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make some remarks about Zenyatta. She was usually steered by jockey Mike E. Smith, who rode Zenyatta to 11 of her 14 wins and called her the “Horse of the Decade”. We may never see anything like Zenyatta again, although Rachel Alexandra may make a run at her mark. Still, we must salute one of the greatest horses of our time, Zenyatta.
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