Known for her gritty running style and making history as the first female to win the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in 2009—among numerous other wins in grade 1 company—Horse of the Year, three-time champion, and Hall of Famer Zenyatta has entered the next phase of her life as she hangs her shoes up from a 13-year-long stint as a broodmare.
Taking up residence at Lane's End Farm after leaving the track, the mare, owned by Jerry Moss and Ann Holbrook Moss, has faced difficulties staying in foal over the years while her talent has not translated into her offspring.
From four foals of racing age, only two—Cozmic One and Ziconic—have made it to the races, with the former failing to hit the board in five starts, and the latter finishing as runner-up twice but never breaking his maiden.
"She's 19 now, we wouldn't logistically be able to breed her back this year. Ann always likes to give her a year off between foals anyway. If we bred her next year she'd be 21 when she had her next foal," said Lane's End farm manager Todd Claunch.
"The risk factors go up the older they get. It's really not worth taking a chance. The foaling part she does really easy, but keeping her in foal is a bit of a challenge. The veterinarians kind of have it down now where they monitored her every couple of weeks to a month and treat her accordingly."
The mare had her last foal, a War Front filly, June 9, and Claunch says both mare and baby are healthy and doing well. After weaning the foal, Zenyatta will stay to live out her days at the Versailles, Ky., farm.
"(The filly is) leggy, tall, (she's) got almost exactly the same blaze. She's really nice," he said.
"(Zenyatta is) such an ambassador for the sport, maybe people will have a chance to see her now that she's retired. It's an honor to be around her, she's not like any horse I've ever been around. She loves people and really likes being the center of attention. She's really special."
The daughter of Street Cry won 19 of her 20 starts including 17 in graded stakes company, and 13 in grade 1 company. Conditioned by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta ended her historic career with her only loss in a runner-up finish behind Blame in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic and earnings of over $7.3 million.
Her other foals include a 6-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro named Zellda, and a 3-year-old Candy Ride filly, Zilkha.
