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Liz O'Connell

Liz O'Connell

Posted: September 15, 2010 03:45 PM

She is Simply... Zenyatta

What's Your Reaction:

2010-09-14-Zenyattairons.jpg
Credit: Matthew Stockman, O, The Oprah Magazine Getty Image

She Dances


Credit: moonwalker424

She Guzzles Guinness

2010-09-13-zenyattaguinness.jpg
Credit: jonshfs05

She Is a Premier Athlete, Winning Over $5 Million


Credit: Breeders' Cup


She Is Profiled in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of O's 2010 Power List Personalities

"She's absolutely perfect at her profession, and that is very rare--not just in sports but in all things. It's difficult to win even one race, let alone 18.


"She always makes me think of those great war beasts of Greek sculpture, or the beautiful horses carved on the Parthenon. She is absolutely enormous--not only very tall [more than six feet from the top of her head] but also very broad, very muscular. She is simply drawn on a different scale from other racehorses.

"In just about every race, she starts out last and then comes flying at the end, breaking her opponents' hearts. The crowds love it. She clearly knows exactly where the wire is. And she has such a huge stride, it looks like she's moving slowly when she's actually covering a lot of ground very fast. We haven't seen how fast she can really go, because she only goes fast enough to catch the other horses at the wire!

"I've seen 40 or 50 thousand racehorses in my life, and I've never seen any other horse do that (the dance). I think she's playing around. She's definitely enjoying herself--psyching herself up before a race."

-- Laura Hillenbrand, author of 2001's best-seller Seabiscuit, "The 2010 O Power List", O, The Oprah Magazine , October 2010.

She is Zenyatta. The iconic six year old Thoroughbred race mare who has stormed down every homestretch to victory, eighteen times. And twice in the World Championship Breeders' Cup series. She's preparing to take an unprecedented third Breeders' Cup World Championship title in November.

Clearly besotted with his charge, trainer John Shirreffs strapped a camera to the helmet of Zenyatta's exercise rider so her fans can experience the view from the back of a champion. Enjoy the ride!


Credit: jonshfs05

 

Follow Liz O'Connell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@nythoroughbred

Credit: Matthew Stockman, O, The Oprah Magazine Getty Image She Dances ...
Credit: Matthew Stockman, O, The Oprah Magazine Getty Image She Dances ...
 
 
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Joann Vallo
Gun Control is Pro Life
11:17 AM on 11/07/2010
Where are all Zenyata's fans today??? She ran a spectacular race. Does losing mean forgetting her and all her acomplishments? Don't mean to sound snarky, but I really am surprised nobody posted after the race and congratulated Zenyata on her incredible career.
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Edy Williams
02:33 PM on 11/07/2010
people are still in shock, what they were doing hanging around outside the gate,taking a nap? for the time she did run, her speed 3 times clocked faster than Blame & rest! She Won the Crowds! Good Girl!
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07:13 PM on 11/06/2010
Lovely Horse....I LOVE HER
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Lerrin
06:17 PM on 11/06/2010
They need to learn from the recent Secretariat movie (such a disappointment for die-hard race fans!)

It's been suggested that they should record extensive footage (from all angles, etc. ) of this mare, NOW, in her prime, so that (when the movie is likely made in the future) they don't have to find (invariably inadequate) stunt doubles for race footage, but could instead use the actual AWESOME footage that only this mare could provide for herself.
03:56 PM on 11/06/2010
you have got to watch this
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07:14 PM on 11/06/2010
Yes
03:54 PM on 11/06/2010
just unbeilivable watch
10:37 AM on 11/06/2010
spread your wings and fly Zenyatta
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Edy Williams
03:53 PM on 11/04/2010
the most beautiful innocent face in the world,& all the speed & power, the best SPORT inthe world.Now for everyone to see her, anyway she does her dancin'..It is a treasure for th world, ZENYATTA! Sat. aft.
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Edy Williams
02:27 PM on 11/07/2010
At least a"DAME" got to show what she could do when she was "finally" Given the chance to kick ass. Now she can have a Beautiful Colt,show Mr. Smith a true race
11:42 AM on 11/01/2010
Heading to the Breeder's Cup this week. It will be the only time I will see Zenyatta run in person. I am STOKED !!!!
11:06 PM on 10/31/2010
If she's so great (and I do think she is) why haven't they taken her to Churchill Downs and the Triple Crown?
11:40 AM on 11/01/2010
If you watched "60 Minutes" last night, you would have heard the trainer state that she developed late, and was not ready to run at that age. A horse can only run the Kentucky Derby at 3-years old. She had not matured yet.
05:01 PM on 10/31/2010
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN ZENYATTA RAN? In life we always remember when major events happen, what we were doing and where we were. JFK’s assignation, the 1969 Apollo Moon landing, and 911. In sports it was Lou Gehrig’s speech, Clay beating Liston, Franco Harris’s immaculate reception, and Kirk Gibson’s homer. This November could possibly top the biggest sports story ever. The odds that this has even come to this point are like winning the lottery. A racehorse staying undefeated. Not just any racehorse, but a female (a filly) which brings the odds up even higher. If Zenyatta wins her second breeders cup classic, she will be 20 wins for 20 races. What, as sports fans, can we compare this too? Marciano’s record? The 1972 Miami Dolphins? DiMaggio’s streak? Tiger Woods domination? Where will this belong in history? It has to be near the top, you can’t discount it only because she’s a horse. So hopefully America will soon wake up and ask themselves WHERE WERE YOU WHEN ZENYATTA RAN?.
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Joann Vallo
Gun Control is Pro Life
05:44 PM on 11/06/2010
How can you forget about this horse????????
Cigar came back to seek a repeat win in the Massachusetts Handicap; the largest crowd in the history of Suffolk Downs turned out to see him. He would have to pass another test of greatness, carrying 130 pounds in the race. He won again, and had now won 15 races in a row, the longest winning streak for a major American stakes horse since Citation won 16 in a row in 1948 and 1950.[5] (In 2010, the racemare Zenyatta surpassed this feat, although 17 of her 19 races were restricted to females.)
01:51 PM on 10/12/2010
Great tribute to one of the best horses of all time! There is also a great page devoted to Zenyatta and all of her races here - Zenyatta - http://www.horseracingnation.com/horse/Zenyatta
12:45 PM on 09/19/2010
The voice of the man riding her sounds like Mike Smith, not Steve Willard (her exercise rider), so if that is the case, it is interesting to ride "with" not only a champion but also hear how Mike controls her with his voice. She absolutely towered over the lead pony and the exercise mate. So she's won 18 of 18, and if the Breeder's Cup Classic is 20 of 20, which race is 19th? It has to be at the end of September, but I have not seen any mention of the 19th race.
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Roseann Cherasaro
09:27 PM on 09/17/2010
Wow..i was very surprised to see this nice tribute here on the huff..thank you for recognizing her brilliance..we love our horses and we love having them get a bit of respect out side of the racing world..
thank you!!
10:53 AM on 09/16/2010
That was fun riding along with Queen Zenyatta's exercise rider. I felt like I was on top of the world. She is so TALL. I could feel my helmet scraping the rafters in the barn. Not only can she run fast, but she can also dance !! She is one of God's Masterpieces, the 8th Wonder of the World :)
12:09 AM on 09/16/2010
That little dance just goes to illustrate the fact that dressage maneuvers come from natural movements that horses do. Not only is she a great racehorse; she'd be a fine dressage horse as well!
10:46 AM on 09/16/2010
I love watching Queen Zenyatta dance. She is so beautiful and gracefull. I agree, she looks like she enjoys dancing for the crowds and I believe she knows, She is AWESOME :)