She’s the boss

By Caitriona Fenton

She holds a coveted place on Oprah Winfrey’s list of top 10 most influential females among women such as actress Julia Roberts, US Army commander Teresa King, playwright Sarah Ruhl and legendary designer Vera Wang. Quite extraordinary for a racehorse!

Dubbed ‘The Queen of the track’ in America, there are many things that make Zenyatta a perfect pin-up for American racing fans. Firstly like many other stars she was named after something unusual, in this case it was the 1980s album Zenyatta Mondatta by the ‘The Police’. She was born on April fool’s day 2004 and she stands at an impressive 17.1 hands tall. According to her trainer, John Shirreffs, she also enjoys some Guinness in her feed.

Zenyatta became the first mare to win the exclusive Breeders’ Cup Classic last year and all eyes are on her this Saturday to see can she defend her title in the $5 million race. She has an undisputed advantage holding a record of 19 wins from 19 runs. She hopes to retire undefeated and this Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup is the time and place to do so. It will be a perfect end to a career that saw a mare bought for $60,000 earn more than $6 million!

The daughter of Street Cry – a previous UAE Horse of the year and out of the 2008 Broodmare of the year Vertigineux, Zenyatta was born to be a star. She is quoted as being “absolutely perfect at her profession” by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit. Her profile has soared in the run up to the Breeders’ Cup. Fans flock to see her run decked out in all kinds of memorabilia in the famous pink and green colours of her owners Jerry and Ann Moss.

The super-mare is an early favourite in a field of 12 runners for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. However she has a slight disadvantage in that she not accustomed to racing on dirt tracks favouring the synthetic surfaces in her native California. Even if she does not pull off Saturday’s feat she has still become a national icon.

However she is not the first mare to make headlines. Some other mares that have had successful careers on the track and have gained a place in racing’s Hall of Fame are just as interesting.

1915 was the year that a filly won the Kentucky Derby for the first time, her name was Regret. She was also the first horse to capture all three of Saratoga’s two-year-old stakes, the Sanford Stakes, the Saratoga Special Stakes and the Hopeful Stakes. Regret lived to the age off 22 and was inducted into the prestigious Racing Hall of Fame in 1957.

The second filly to ever win the Kentucky derby was Genuine Risk in 1980. By the time she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, the chestnut mare had a total of 15 career starts with 10 wins. She lived to be 31 years of age, however she was unsuccessful in her breeding career despite being covered by the legendary Secretariat.

In 1986 a Secretariat mare named Lady’s Secret won the exclusive title of Horse of the Year and the Eclipse Award for ‘Outstanding older Female’. She was a deserving winner as she happened to be the only horse – colt or filly – to win 8 Grade 1 stakes races in one season. Lady’s Secret was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.

All of these mares were super stars of their day although not nearly as successful as Zenyatta. To find a mare who can match Zenyatta’s unbeaten record you have to go back to the 19th Century.

Kincsem was born in Hungary in 1874 and won 54 races from 54 starts making her the most successful racehorse ever and a Hungarian National icon. Kincsem was by ‘Cambuscan’ who was owned by Queen Victoria. A life- sized statue of the great mare stands at Kincsem Park in Budapest in her honour.

Kincsem may have a better record than Zenyatta however it is great to have a living racing icon to follow. The world is her stage on Saturday and she could not go out in better fashion. Let’s hope she makes it a perfect 20/20.

By Caitriona Fenton