Comments on: Zenyatta, A Perfect 14 – 0 Record

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:16:26 +0000

FlDemFem, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we would LOVE to see some photos of your thoroughbreds. How did you get into the business? And can we all come visit your farm???

Btw, do you have an opinion on The Horse of the Year honors?

And for some bizarre reason, your comments are being held. It was only a fluke that I saw them. I’ll see if I can get that cleared up.

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:09:51 +0000

WOW, thanks!! What a great story!! What a great horse!

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:32:29 +0000

Right, but she is 17.2, thus 70 inches, correct? My horse is 16.2, thus 66 inches.

WOW – that must be quite the experience to be able gallop those thoroughbreds, FlDemFem! You are so lucky!!!!

And I know they can certainly be that large (ave. 16 – 17hh), but it seems that the other champions that were considered big were a full hand shorter than she is, and she did tower over the other horses on the field. Mine That Bird is only 15.1hh, though I know he is smaller than many.

By: Mandelay

Mandelay — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:29:35 +0000

Rev. Amy, I found a gem of an article and a snippet of the win (on turf, yet) at the International (against frequent rival Gun Bow–this rivalry was like Yanks/Bosox in many ways) — enjoy!

http://www.colinsghost.org/2008/11/kelso-and-dc-international-1964.html

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:21:29 +0000

Oops – I accidentally answered you down-thread. I got you a video of Kelso, and yes, what a career!

I was interested to see that Kelso went on to become a hunter/jumper (what Jordan was) after sustaining a hairline fracture of the sesamoid, according to Wiki. You’d think the jumping part would be hard as a result, but apparently not. He lived a long life, that Kelso!

By: Mandelay

Mandelay — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:16:03 +0000

I think Kelly holds the record for Horse of the Year (5 times?)… also, he repeatedly won the Jockey Club Gold Cup when it was still a two-mile race. He had a long racing career and ran in a lot of handicaps, carrying loads of weight. Alas, he did not run in the any of the Triple Crown races. Had a big fan club and, reportedly, received tons of mail after he retired. Much loved and ran a lot at the New York Tracks. The outpouring of affection for Zenyatta was very, very similar to crowd reaction to Kelso. It brought back lots of happy memories! Hope you find some film of him. I am still smiling over Saturday!

By: FLDemFem

FLDemFem — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:51:14 +0000

No, she is 68 inches at the withers. A “hand” is four inches. 17×4=68. Either way, she is a big girl. Though not really that outsized for a TB, I have three who are just an inch shorter than Zenyatta, and have ridden/galloped Thoroughbreds as big as she is. Most of the big ones are colts, though, it is unusual for a filly to get that big that early.

By: FLDemFem

FLDemFem — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:46:04 +0000

If you mean “Friesian” the breed, then no, she does not. All Thoroughbreds are pure breds, with no other breeds in their pedigrees. The Jockey Club Stud Book was founded in 1868, with previous records being recorded in the English Stud book, since Thoroughbreds were imported from England and Europe from Colonial days. The Jockey Club does not allow registration of any horse that cannot prove, through DNA, that they are the offspring of the stated sire and dam. When you send in the foal report, ie, that the foal has been born, the next thing that happens is the DNA test arrives in the mail from the lab. You get mane or tail hair, with root, and send it off in the kit. If the DNA doesn’t match, you don’t get to register the horse. Outcrosses are not permitted. The Jockey Club is, as far as I know, the only registry that does not allow cross-breds in any way, shape or form. I have Thoroughbreds and can trace their bloodlines back to the mid-1700′s. If you want to see Zenyatta’s pedigree, go here. http://www.pedigreequery.com/zenyatta That shows a five generation pedigree, but you may be able to reset the options to seven generations..or more.

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:50:41 +0000

Hey – I just read that Kelso is related to Man O’War through his dam! WOW!!!

And here is a video of your horse, Five Time Horse of the Year winner in a ROW, Kelso: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIM2AX_u9HU

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:17:31 +0000

Oh, Leslie, that is so cool!! What an amazing experience that must have been for you! And I am so glad you were able to catch the running of the Breeders’ Cup, too! (Ohmygosh abt Quality Road – you know, come to think of it, when you watch the RA video, wasn’t Velasquez on board that horse that was not interested in going into the gate? Anyway – that was mighty scary, and very, very difficult on those horses already in the gate. Yikes.) Wow – you are one very lucky person!!

Thomas, you have a whole bunch of company in your vote. Rachel Alexandra is an amazing horse. Some people are talking abt having CO-Horses of the Year since both of their careers have been stellar. Either way, whoever it is, or if it is both, we know they deserved it, that’s for sure! They are both heads and shoulders above the rest of the field, so I would be happy either way…

By: Rabble Rouser Revrend Amy

Rabble Rouser Revrend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:07:37 +0000

Right, that’s what I have in the post, that RA won the Preakness, the first time a filly has won it since 1924.

Mine that Bird won the Derby, and Summer Bird won the Belmont. Yes, they were both on the Breeders’ Cup Classic, along with a number of other highly ranked horses, which I mentioned, too. It was quite an illustrious field.

Here’s something abt Mine That Bird, or rather, abt the jockey used for the Derby. I saw this on the Animal Planet show, “Jockeys.” One of the top female jockeys is a Canadian, Chantal Sutherland (who also happens to be model-gorgeous). She was the jockey for Mine That Bird, had been on him for all of the wins that got him to the Derby. The morning they announced the jockeys, she had been told by one of the owners, that it was going tp be her. A couple hours later, her agent called and told her it was Borel. Wow…

I don’t know Kelso. I just took a quick look at Wiki, but will go to YouTube and see if there is any video of the great horse from humble beginnings!

By: Thomas Sears

Thomas Sears — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:44:24 +0000

Zenyatta……incredible performance and beautiful huge horse. But……

Rachel……TOTAL COMMAND….absolute total command of nearly entire race against equally, if not tougher, competition…and on a traditional surface.

My vote…..RACHEL ALEXANDRA

Either case…both will have some pretty expensive babies.

By: leslie

leslie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:35:55 +0000

I was never a horse racing fan. I didn’t dis-like horse racing, just wasn’t drawn to it. Until I saw Secretariat up close and in person just prior to the Arlington Stakes in 1973 (I think) at Arlington Park. O.M.G. what a beauty! Then I saw the race. It was breathtaking.

Saturday, I was just fiddling around with my old teevee and vcr. I had taped ESPN and was looking to see if the machine worked. When I switched back to live teevee, I saw the drama with Quality Road and then the race. It was like a gift from the gods. I couldn’t believe it. I sat on the edge of the chair just glued to the teevee. And when Zenyatta won that race, I cheered! It was a thing of beauty. It still is. What an amazing horse.

Thank you RRRA for this wonderful post. It is simply wonderful to be able to see it again. (and Rachel Alexandra, too).

By: Mandelay

Mandelay — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:07:16 +0000

I think Rachel won the Preakness, Rev. Amy and the little guy, Mine that Bird, won the Derby if I recall. Mine that Bird was in the Breeder’s Cup as well. Zenyatta is a wonder horse. Haven’t seen such an exciting come from behind win since the old days with my fave, Kelso. Do you know of Kelso, Rev. Amy. He had a long career and also did some dressage in his later years. When I was a kid, they’d show “the big race” from Aqueduct or Belmont or Saratoga on a Saturday … late afternoon. I was a wide-eyed kid totally amazed by Kelso. Felt the same way watching Zenyatta. Amazing! Thank you so much for posting the video of the race and its aftermath. It’s thrilling!

By: Rabble Rouser Revrend Amy

Rabble Rouser Revrend Amy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:35:25 +0000

She was from a farm here in SC. That was tragic, absolutely tragic. I cried, too. Ok, sobbed is more like it. Just terrible…

The track at Santa Anita has Pro-Ride, a synthetic, instead of hard dirt, to try and minimize joint injuries. They are making some strides (though some owners/trainers don’t like it. That’s why Rachel Alexandra didn’t run in the Preakness.).