ZENYATTA RETIRES : JOHN SHIRREFFS CONFIRMS

Zenyatta with Mike Smith aboard comes across the finish line in the Breeders’ Cup Classic
(Photo : Matthew Stockman/Getty)

“It’s unfortunate that she drops so far back…”

There had been speculation that Zenyatta (Street Cry) might be kept in training for another season, but trainer John Shirreffs said Sunday that was not the plan.

The six-year-old will return to California, but only for a brief stay. “She’ll be there for about a month,” Shirreffs said, adding, “That’s the thing about racing. As a trainer, you have to learn to let go. Heck, she’s been a champion for three years, and she’s going to a great place.” But the conditioner is unlikely to be watching the replay of the mare’s spectacular G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic effort any time soon. “It was her last race,” he said. “It’s all over. Why watch it again?”

Analyzing Zenyatta’s effort in the Classic, Shirreffs commented, “It’s unfortunate that she drops so far back. It left her too much to do.” But, he continued, “You always have that hope that she’ll get there when you see her lower her head and start stretching out.”

The trainer had no criticism for jockey Mike Smith after the race. “What could I say?” Shirreffs remarked. “I just patted him on the shoulder. He was devastated. The rest of her connections were as well. It’s been a fairy tale, and you want all fairy tales to come true,” Shirreffs concluded.

Zenyatta was scheduled to fly west Sunday night. Breeding plans have not been finalized.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

ZENYATTA GOES FOR TWENTY/20

Zenyatta
(Photo : Aaron Duke)

“UNDEFEATED IN 19 STARTS”

She’s not only the defending Breeders Cup Classic heroine, she’s also undefeated in nineteen starts, and in what could be arguably her final career outing, the legendary Zenyatta had her final workout at Hollywood Saturday morning, going six furlongs in 1:11 4/5 with jockey Mike Smith aboard. The six-year-old mare, accompanied by a pair of stablemates, went from the five-eighths pole to an eighth past the wire. The fractions were 0:12 4/5, 0:25 2/5, 0:48 3/5 and 1:00.

“She went better than good,” said Smith. “It was excellent. She went really, really well and probably a little better than last year. She galloped out strong and was happy coming back. She’s ready. I’m always super confident with her. It’s racing. She’s going to have to get the trip, but if she does, I think we are going to see something phenomenal.”

Added trainer John Shirreffs, “It was a tune-up. It wasn’t necessarily a fast work - she was fast at the end. That’s her style. From here, we have fun, just play. She’s got everything done we needed to do.” Zenyatta will ship to Churchill Downs Tuesday.

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ZENYATTA : ANOTHER PERFECT DAY FOR THE QUEEN

Click above to watch Zenyatta winning the Lady’s Secret Stakes (Gr1)
(Photo : Race Calling - Footage : TVG)

“ZENYATTA MAKES IT 19 FROM 19”

What more can you say? Zenyatta (Street Cry) does what she has to do every time. She got off to a slow start in quest of a third straight win in the Lady’s Secret Stakes (Gr1) at Oak Tree metting at Hollywood Park yesterday and, as is her wont, trailed the field early.

Wheeled out at the top of the lane, she gave her legions of backers a minor heart attack when Switch stole away at the eighth pole, and the margin momentarily looked insurmountable, but Mike Smith went to the whip and the big mare responded, finding her best stride in the shadow of the post. “She seems to know where the wire is at, and she likes to make it a little dramatic,” jockey Mike Smith said. “It’s just incredible. To be honest with you, I try not to get too caught up into it, because it’s just too emotional.”

“Her heart must be huge,” said trainer John Shirreffs. “She can always dig down and find a little more. She never gives up.” “We’re really blessed to have Zenyatta do this,” he added. “God made her very special, and we’re just enjoying it. I couldn’t even begin to describe how special this was. You’ve seen how the fans have learned to really love her and enjoy her - I’ve been along for that, and it’s just been great to see.”

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NO SURPRISES AS ZENYATTA RETIRES

Click above to watch Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic 2009
(Footage : ESPN)

ZENYATTA
BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC 2009

The news came as no surprise Monday that the undefeated Zenyatta (Street Cry - Vertigineux, by Kris S.) had run her last race. Trainer John Shirreffs told Daily Racing Form Sunday that the five-year-old mare would remain at Hollywood Park for several weeks to be let down, and then head to Kentucky to be bred. “Where else do you go?” lamented Shirreffs.

“Fourteen-for-14 and top it off with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic? On the biggest stage in the world, she performs. Isn’t it amazing that a horse with her running style is 14-for-14? She’s always stepped up.”

Owners Jerry and Ann Moss, along with Shirreffs and his wife, Dottie, as well as jockey Mike Smith celebrated their Classic victory at the Arroyo Chop House in Pasadena Saturday night.

Following her impressive maiden score at Hollywood on Thanksgiving Day 2007, Zenyatta took an allowance test before earning her first graded score in the 2008 G2 El Encino Stakes. The formidable filly picked up her first Grade 2 score in her only conventional dirt effort, the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn that April, and added four more elite victories that season. Crowned champion older mare after taking the GI Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, Zenyatta, took a deserved break, and returned for a perfect five-for-five campaign in 2009, capped by her historic performance in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic Saturday.

She retires with earnings of $5,474,580.

As Shirreffs observed, the mare will be sorely missed. “It’s a big hole for racing, not just my barn,” said Shirreffs. “You saw the crowd.” Mating plans have not yet been decided.

 ZENYATTA’S RACE RECORD

Date	Race
7 July 2009	G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic
10 October 2009	G1 Lady’s Secret Stakes
9 August 2009	G1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes
27 June 2009	G1 Vanity Handicap
23 May 2009	G2 Milady Handicap
24 October 2008	G1 Breeders Cup Ladies’ Classic
27 September 2008	G1 Lady’s Secret Stakes
2 August 2008	G1 Clement L. Hirsh Handicap
5 July 2008	G1 Vanity Handicap
31 May 2008	G2 Milady Handicap
4 April 2008	G1 Apple Blossom Handicap
13 January 2008	G2 El Encino Stakes
15 December 2007	HOL Alw
22 November 2007	HOL Msw

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ZENYATTA : PERFECTION EMBODIED

Please click above to watch :
(Left) Lady’s Secret Stakes pre-race Parade
(Right) Zenyatta wins Lady’s Secret Stakes
(Footage : YouTube) 

ZENYATTA
2009 G1 LADY’S SECRET STAKES 

Because we happen to have a Street Cry filly in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale, this was perfection embodied. Unlike her last appearance in the G1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar, Jerry and Ann Moss’ Zenyatta (by Street Cry) left her adoring fans with very few anxious moments, taking an inside path on the turn before shifting out and mowing them down late to take the G1 Lady’s Secret Stakes for the second consecutive season. Now, let the barrage begin. Will it be the G1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, in which she has little to prove? Or the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, in which she has nearly nothing to lose?

“That will have to be a decision between the Mosses and my wife, Dottie,” said trainer John Shirreffs.

“We’ll have to look at the relative strength of the fields, see who’s going to run, and make the call.” Alongside barnmate Life Is Sweet (Storm Cat) down the backstretch, Zenyatta was asked to get a bit closer at the half-mile marker. She took an inside path on the turn, rallied outside Cocoa Beach in upper stretch and pulled clear.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News