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.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

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