Zenyatta: Race 1, Maiden Special Weight 11/22/2007

From TVG's "Zenyatta a Living Legend"
This is her first race at Hollywood Park, with some commentary from the TVG crew.
Sorry about the weird cropping, I was trying to get a watermark out.

[@mizuno291]

"I think Zenyatta regardless of her performance today is one to watch in the future" The guys at TVG nailed that one!!

[@Celal7411]

Who would ever imagine ZENYATTA would do something that no other horse would ever do forever. She came to win all 19 races from dead last. No horse can ever do that, ever, never.

[@kwgrid]

She's so tall (17.5 hands) and legs for days!! Gorgeous, gorgeous horse!! Made it look effortless!! What a sweetheart, too!! Love, love, love this horse!! She's my filly/mare horse. Secretariat is my favorite colt/stallion. Love 'em both so much!!

[@zenfan1098]

kwgrid 17.1not 5

[@DieterReesem]

Zenyatta is the greatest filly/mare to ever set foot on a North American racetrack. I've seen them all (including Ruffian 4 times - in person).

[@marcopolo2418]

I always liked horse racing but me and my family never really got into it alot. But this horse captured my heart. Probably because it was during a rough time for me in my younger years. I connected with her tho. An I watched her every chance I got. She essentially pulled me into the sport. Just what a Gal

[@beast13284]

zenyatta and her team, class act from day one

[@TH-cf9mk]

YES!

[@kwgrid]

What a strange thing to say. She's very unique and talented and has a wonderful temperament....and is also a great mom. You don't always see 'everything' in one package. She's special.

[@MikeSmith-cn6ub]

I think regardless of her performance today zenyatta is one to watch out for in the futures

[@adambeauregard1021]

My favorite horse of all time, I don't envision myself ever loving another horse as much as I loved watching Zenyatta run. I was lucky enough to see her race live in my eyes once at del mar. It's nice to know this will stand up well after I'm gone from this planet

[@kalarwalters9980]

I love the race clips that include a bit of commentary before and after the race. Z won this effortlessly....just cantered in.

[@TheGregory99]

She was such a pleasure to watch!!! Racing needs another one of her.

[@LoCreech]

Her and Secretariat would have made some amazing babies

[@b0nedad]

Catie Heftel If that baby runs well, only god knows what could stop it

[@randyrick8019]

indeed. my thought as well.

[@shawncarter5540]

No, her and ROCK HARD TEN who was slightly taller would have made monsters. I would have killed to see Zen and Holly Roller have a offspring.

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

They bred Secretariat to Genuine Risk and the foal was stillborn.

[@harrisalvarez1236]

My friend !!! Man o war and ruffian are the best horses all times

[@TH-cf9mk]

The best part of this race is when the horse who is in the lead, clearly looks over at Zenyatta near the finish line in complete disbelief.... like, "where in the heck did she come from?".... that is the best

[@ScotchIrishTarheel]

Amazing mare. Just astounding. She should have been running against the boys her entire career. Of course, then she'd have won only 50-60% of her races, but it would have come against males. Her combination of long stride plus surprising quick turn of foot is mind-boggling.

[@TH-cf9mk]

Who is to say what she would have won?

[@ScotchIrishTarheel]

Your comment is quite fair. We really cannot know how much she would have won. But we can consider that the entire Breeders Cup field of horses (at Churchill Downs) was just creeping along so I'm not sure what her victory in that race tells us. Her Breeders Cup time at Churchill Downs was 2:02.28. Secretariat's time on that same course was 1:59.40 (Kentucky Derby). That means her rapid close would still have placed her 14-15 lengths behind Secretariat. And it's not just about comparing her to Secretariat. She would have finished 11-12 lengths behind Sham. In fact, Our Native finished 8 lengths behind Sham and Forego was right with him . . . which means the best that Zen's CD performance would have gotten her was fifth. And even that isn't for sure because Restless Jet was a hair behind Forego and Shecky Green and Navajo right behind RJ. Putting Zenyatta's brilliant closing run in the BC (and it was a brilliant close) might have netted her only an eight place finish . . . against a field of three year old colts, not fully grown/filled out adults. Zenyatta was a completely mature adult. It does not diminish her at all to say she probably wouldn't have had a 95% success rate in all-male races. I still think she and Ruffian should rank in the top 25 best racehorses of all

[@kwgrid]

ScotchIrishTarheel Just for the record, Z's time in the 2009 BCC was 2:00.6. That's only 1.2 seconds off of Secretariat. She had the fastest closing quarter in BCC history. Z never ran to set records. She only did what she had to do. One more stride and she would have won the 2010. Lousy trip.

[@ScotchIrishTarheel]

kwgrid (1) Zen the Extraordinary ran her 2009 BCC on the synthetic track at Santa Anita. Sec the Magnificent ran his 1973 Derby on dirt at Churchill Downs. Synthetics generally produce faster times than dirt although not as fast as turf. You must control for surface first. (Not even all synthetics are the same -- Polytrack, Tapeta, etc. And all dirt tracks are not the same. And you must control for track design, too. Some courses have different turns (some are sharper than others (Pimlico, for example). Bottom line -- she ran on a faster surface. (2) Zen was a full-grown adult in her prime (5 yrs) in 2009. Sec was still a 3 yr old colt (teenager) who would -- like most horses -- be faster at 4 and 5 yrs than at 3 yrs. (3) Both horses came from last place to finish first. Zen's 2009 BCC trip included running on the rail for the entire race -- until she left the rail to hook outside through traffic just as she entered the homestretch. The worst part of her trip was that she slowed a bit as she moved diagonally through a couple of horses. But her overall trip was better than Secretariat's, who ran virtually the entire Derby way wide, including 4 horses wide on the entire clubhouse turn and a very broad 3 horses wide on the entire far turn. Over the whole 10f race, he probably ran 4-7 lengths further than she did. (4) Even without adjusting for the above factors, his 1.2 second margin translates to a 6 length win over Zenyatta. Put them both as 4 or 5 year olds on the same surface and Secretariat wins by 8-12 lengths. And if you also adjust for his much wider trip and her being slightly slowed during her hook, then you can probably add 2-4 net lengths more to that victory margin. Sham had a much better trip than Sec and a slightly better trip than Z. So even 3 yr old Sham's time on dirt would have beaten 5 yr old Z's 2009 time on synthetic by 4-6 lengths. Put them on the same surface and you can add a few more lengths. But all said, 2:00.6 on any surface is fast. One of Z's biggest accomplishments is transitioning so well from synthetic to dirt in the 2010 BCC. Most BCC winners run their final prep races on the same surface as their BCCs. (In 2009 she did run on the same surface. The exact same surface, in fact. Indeed, the same track -- Santa Anita). But it's usually a major challenge for a career synthetic horse to suddenly run on dirt, especially a mare in a Grade 1 stakes with a bunch of the year's top males. Zenyatta -- she's extraordinary and then some. (Her one dirt race 7 months prior to the 2010 BCC hardly helped her transition to dirt.) IMO Zenyatta and Ruffian both belong in the top 25-30 horses. One of the greatest races ever would be Ruffian (who never let any horse by her) roaring down the stretch and Zenyatta (who ran by everyone -- except Buh-LAME by a nose) closing on Ruffian and trying to pass her.

[@sandrosanchez7723]

Mare Zenyatta is the most spectacular I've seen in my life, is so powerful that shakes me his big hit ...... Zenyatta Live!!!

[@arleneirvine1526]

oh my , i get so depressed with my life, to give me a lift i watch zenyatta, over and over again

[@rosemaramgio7284]

A Star Is Born.😊

[@8mmoore1]

God thank you so much for this race, I met Kari from Animals Rock 4 Love from her videos of Z, and this gorgeous creature helped me over my Mother's death. To this day she is on my screen saver at work with her beautiful son kissing her on Mother's day, and to this day I educate everyone about her, they think she is my horse, and I say Yes in a way she will always be, because she lives in my heart, Michele.

[@user-wr4ox3jt2h]

Thank you for good moments jockeys sport and Good Luck Mike Smith with horse Zenyatta, USA

[@starbaro0305]

Love Queen Z and will never tire of watching her poetry in motion!!

[@renesotelo275]

This performance was amazing

[@kevinthomas9002]

no one realised she was gong to be a legand on this day

[@dakota6455]

I loved how excited Vic Stauffer got when he saw Zenyatta in the clear. He could hardly get the words out before she blasted past the field.

[@lindabroussard7305]

Oh, thank you for posting this! The Queen!

[@littledrawingfan]

I MISS ZENYATTA SO MUCH D':

[@juliehertz8768]

BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED AND FAST, AND SHE HAS AMAZING OWNERS WHO TREAT HER LIKE A QUEEN.

[@willowtree4205]

She's amazing! I can't wait to see how her babies do..

[@harrisalvarez1236]

Asi fue como empezo la travesia d SUPER ZENYATTA

[@Sagitariusmaria]

Super ⭐️ I love Zenyatta!

[@mahituna1]

what a horse. one of the great ones of all time

[@Zombie-er9yl]

EXPERIENCE HORSEQUILITY

[@steveswb]

@mizuno291 Zenyatta retired last year. She is now a brood mare at Lane's end. She had her first baby, a boy, last night... and is he HANDSOME!! :)

[@ROJHAT46]

Amazing horse

[@randyrick8019]

and that's how you do it!

[@sango1161]

@steveswb yes he is and he will be a Future Racing superstar

[@ryleigh8942]

When I watch Zenny, all I can think of is Secretariat. He started from the back-of-the-pack most of his races. :)

[@OfficialMuffiin]

Zenyatta always closes coming out of the last turn, Secretariat always made his move before the last half mile. He never closed as late as Zenyatta.

[@terriholliday8038]

When I watch Zenyatta, all I think of Zenyatta

[@eajinabi]

Zenyatta's half sister is racing now and so far is 2 for 2. She is slated to be the "next Zenyatta". Same owner, trainer....her first 2 races were nice but her speed figures thus far are par.

[@fungoorstitch]

Zenyatta could have won this race dragging an anvil. She was all but trotting in the final stretch.

[@hswatnik]

very fine-

[@Kostly]

"Whispers" ... HAHAHAHAHHAHA

[@spicetruckin]

Thumbs up if you are watching this after Nov 2012!

[@brenleegentry372]

And she is a huge filly and beautiful

[@tiejasmine]

@naridon she won the breeders cup in i think 2009 $5 million dollar prize

[@omardavila8587]

Is she the greatest horse ever? debatable

[@cindyandyogi]

vic stauffer had a vision good call

[@winstonybarrra7868]

She Got Future ! Jajaja

[@williamdunphy352]

Race Call: Vic Stauffer

[@spicetruckin]

@racehorseinvenice so what happened? did she win an big races?

[@spicetruckin]

@steveswb Hey!! thanks for the update on the baby birth.. didnt check my drf or bloodhorse yet today..lol!

[@mistyraestables]

.I agree with you Secretariat is my favorite stallion, and Zennyata is my favorite mare.My moms friend has 2 horses that are related to Secratariat.One is named Vampy aka Vampire hills.The other is also related to Ruffian her name is Flicka.( Flicka's granddam is Ruffians Dam)

[@omardavila8587]

OMG..mowing them down!

[@steveswb]

@naridon yes, 19 in a row to be exact. She became a mom last night :)

[@Kostly]

5-1 odds.....uhhhhh that's why great handicappers have great horseman connections....so they can take advantage of a situation like this. A SURE thing at 5-1....unreal

[@HannaBostic]

Rupert's Promise (#9) looked EXACTLY like Ruffian when she looked at the camera at the beginning :( Made me sad for a sec. But awesome maiden :)

[@ZenyattaLuvr]

@xxcrystlecityxx whoa thats awsome... she is actually related to Ruffian through Native Dancer... Z is just lucky she didnt get the soft bone gene like Ruffian unfortunatly got...

[@zenfan1098]

They talked about the wrong horse in the beginning, that bugs me!!!

[@horezroc]

wheres secretariat?

[@awesomehorselvr1235]

epic ness! that's what she does!!!!!!!!! fun fact: she`s only lost one race out of 20!!!!!!!

[@eajinabi]

I stand corrected....as a handicapper.....owners make little or no difference to me in handicapping

[@sophiabutler5371]

i need to learn racehorse numbers haha

[@anthonypadula7795]

6 to 1

[@gcarap]

5/1 odds eh?

[@SnidgetAsphodel]

Different owner.

[@SnidgetAsphodel]

lol

[@kwgrid]

That's really funny because I find what you say far more nauseating. Apparently you don't have a speck of 'poetry' in your soul. That's too bad.

[@kwgrid]

Then you must spend a lot of time being annoyed with yourself.

[@eajinabi]

Damn! You have a fetish for this horse or something?

[@eajinabi]

It was nauseating to read something about a particular horse. Simple minded people annoy me.

[@eajinabi]

"She's Special" ...."talented"..."wonderful temperament"...."great mom" ----> BARF. Any other cheesy clichés you want to use to describe this horse. What you just said can be said about any other mare in the world. All you Zenyatta fans are alike and its nauseating.