Exploring the Origins of the Zenyatta Stakes

SANTA ANITA — By Matthew Lomon

Few horses, if any, are more deserving of having a Thoroughbred stakes named after them than Zenyatta.

For the winning connections of this Sunday’s Zenyatta Stakes (race 4 at Santa Anita), a victory will be much more meaningful than just the $120,000 prize. Everyone involved will be able to say they won a race named after one of the sport’s most beloved and iconic talents.

Jerry and Ann Moss purchased the Street Cry (IRE)-Vertigineaux filly for $60,000 in 2005. Jerry, who co-founded A&M Records, named Zenyatta after an album by A&M-signees, The Police, titled Zenyatta Mondatta.

A fan-favorite throughout her historic four-year career, the dark bay, affectionately known as the “The Queen” by her most passionate supporters, ruled the American Thoroughbred circuit from the moment she first set foot on the track.

Zenyatta made her professional debut at Hollywood Park in 2007, capturing the first of her 19 career victories by three lengths. The return for a $2 bet? A healthy $13.

Between 2007 and 2010, The Queen amassed a 19-1-0 record, highlighted by 13 Grade 1 wins. Some of her most notable triumphs include the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (G1), 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and 2010 Apple Blossom Invitational Stakes (G1).

For her 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic score, Zenyatta became the first and only filly or mare to ever win one of Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious races. The following year, in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup (her final race), Zenyatta finished second by a head, resulting in the only blemish on her otherwise breathtaking career line.

To date, she stands as the Breeders’ Cup all-time leading earner at $4,680,000.

The 2016 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame-inductee is also a two-time winner of the Lady’s Secret Stakes (2008, 2010), which was subsequently renamed the Zenyatta Stakes in 2012.

When it was all said and done, the four-time Eclipse Award winner earned $7,304,580 over her nearly perfect 20-start career. This figure is the highest total of any filly or mare in North American History.

The race in Zenyatta’s honor is a $200,000 Grade 2 affair for fillies and mares 3-years and older.

Held at Santa Anita Park in California, the 1 1/16-mile dirt-run contest is regarded as a standout contest on the Thoroughbred racing calendar, especially later in the season.

It is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re in” qualifier event for the $2,000,000 Distaff. This year’s running of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff goes off on November 4.

Those participating in the 2023 Zenyatta Stakes will look to emulate the success  of past winners, an impressive list that includes Beholder, who’s won the event three times since it was renamed.

Richard E. Mandella, who’s trained four winners, including Beholder, and Flavien Prat, who’s rode three different mounts to victory, are the respective leaders in each of those categories.

NOTE: Trainer Richard Mandella, who sends out Micro Share and Window Shopping, will have two chances to add another victory to his leading four, in the 12^th running of the Zenyatta Stakes.