Good Morning,
I must say this was such an exciting weekend of racing! So many of the graded stakes races we all watched were truly ‘thrillers’…with several of them requiring the aid of a photo finish camera to determine the winner.
My Barn 55 friend, Mr. Commons, lost by a ‘tiny’ nose in Del Mar’s Mile G2 Stakes. He ran an incredible race against older, very accomplished horses. Everyone at the barn really applauded him for his outstanding effort and accomplishment. I think Mr. C also felt rather proud of his race and the way he performed. When he returned to the barn after running, he was happy, playful, ready to graze and enjoy himself. He wanted lots of hugs, kisses, treats and attention! A high-hoof to you, MR. C. I’m wishing you all the best as your racing career continues to develop!
Yesterday, the Pacific Classic G1 at Del Mar was decided in a thrilling stretch run between Acclamation and Twirling Candy. (His sire, Candy Ride, won this race several years ago and stands here at Lane’s End Farm.) Acclamation held on to win in a wire to wire victory. Kudos to his connections and the ride by his jockey, Patrick Valenzuela. Patrick has always been known to be an incredible talent who can ration out speed on the lead with perfect timing. In this particular race, he was definitely at his best doing this!
The stakes races at Saratoga on Saturday were all quite interesting. Bernie’s son, STAY THIRSTY, won The Travers Stakes G1 in fine fashion. During the first part of the race, he positioned himself right off the leader, Shackleford. Then at the mile pole , he took the lead and went on to finish strongly for his victory. I know MY BERNIE is really proud of this guy for all of his achievements to date! Yeah, Stay Thirsty! Congratulations to all of the winners on Saturday. It was a great day of racing!
Throughout the weekend, though, we were all extremely concerned about the path and strength of Hurricane Irene. The scope of her presence and the intensity level of her travels were a constant source of consideration for all of us. On a horse racing level, Monmouth Park in New Jersey and Saratoga on Sunday in New York both closed. Then along the entire east coast, families were evacuated from their homes. Businesses were closed. People were asked to be safe, be careful, and stay in a protected place. Thus, as we are spending time reviewing all of the weekend’s activities, we must be thankful that the effects of Hurricane Irene were not worse. So many people had their lives change during ‘her’ travels. Let’s extend our thoughts and kindness to wish them well and keep their safety and welfare in our thoughts.
It is like so many things in life, when the review is in and people say it was ‘not as bad as it could have been’…this is certainly important. However, when YOUR LIFE has been directly damaged or changed by the incident…in this case…the hurricane, it is very painful. Blessings to all who have had their lives directly touched and influenced by Hurricane Irene! We are thinking of YOU and wishing you many blessings!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Selene McCarthy
Beautiful photo, Z! You are so photogenic! What a lovely eye you have. I still think Mr. Commons would be an awesome eventer..imagine him doing some serious dressage moves and XC. I drool for him. Total hottie!
hugs,Selene
Kim J
Wahoo Uncle Mo in the Pennsylvania Derby next month! Love you Z and baby Z!
Leslie
“when the review is in and people say it was ‘not as bad as it could have been’…this is certainly important. However, when YOUR LIFE has been directly damaged or changed by the incident”
So true Z!! What a thoughtful and insightful horse you are! Always compassionate for others. Sweet!
Susan in TN
Zenny- I meant to comment on your photo today. Sometimes you have fire in your eyes, sometimes humor, but today you have the prettiest, softest eye- very pensive. Thank Mathea for us! Love you <3
JAG from California :-)
Good Morning Queen Z!!
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I watched the Traver’s at home and was cheering STAY THIRSTY!!! After he won, I wrote on his facebook wall, your wall, and your “love” Bernie’s wall ~ congratulating him on a beautiful run and win!! High Hoof!! :-D
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MR. COMMONS also did a tremendous run!!! No shame in getting a “nose” 2nd!!! :-)
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Back to work!
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KISSES & HUGS QUEEN ZENYATTA & BABY Z XOXOXOXOXO
DJ
Thanks Barbara and TC! Missed you both too! Hugs to you JB…
Decker Warner
Zenyatta you are one amazing horse and my gosh do I miss watching you race!!!
andrea
I was in “irene”. It was bad with the wind and heavy rains and flooding. However we were blessed not to lose power like so many others around us have. There are lots of heavy large tree branchs in my yard capable of knocking down power line, my neighbor has a tree down. There was flooding everywhere. Yesterday the water was gone from my yard and i started cleaning up.
Vicki B.
And we’re thinking about you, toots! Every time we come here. Thanks! Over the weekend, I just introduced a friend visiting from England to You, a la my Bronzatta and numerous photos of you and Team Z. She said later she thinks you’re the most beautiful horse she’s ever seen (and she worked with horses years ago).
Susan in TN
@Terry Crow: I am still laughing!! I loved Pat Buttram in all his roles. My dad was particularly fond of “Festus” on Gunsmoke- can’t think of his name- Ken ?, maybe? He was perfect!
@Laura J: I liked your reply about Mo and Mike Repole. As far as I can tell, he has enough money so that isn’t his driving force. He seems to really love his horses.
@Anyone: When looking at race results on Bloodhorse.com, there is always a letter after the horse’s name- A+, B, etc. I recognize it’s some kind of rating system, but how is it figured? I believe Acclamation was a D! Thanks!
Kathy Baldwin
Thank you ZENNY and DOTTIE for the nice post
today. :) Saw you in the paddock at DEL MAR
on Saturday DOTTIE and you looked so pretty
in your black slack outfit.:) JOHN looked so
calm, as usual. Bet on MR. COMMONS and he
did run a very good race. Was proud of his
coming in 2nd, it was a very close race. ;)
Blessings to all,
Kathy from SoCal xoxo
Susan in TN
@Andrea: Glad you are okay but it sounds like you have a lot of work to do. I had never been around serious flooding before last year’s flood in Nashville/ Middle TN and it was shocking what water can do. Best wishes!
Stella Bagwell
Dearest Zenyatta,
This past weekend was filled with wonderful and exciting races—I hope you got a chance to enjoy them. Bernie is making quite a name for himself and I heard it predicted that he will be the next great sire of the future. You must be so proud!
Congrats to Mr. Commons. His was one of my favorite races and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering him on. So glad to hear he returned to the barn in good and happy condition.
Since I live down on the Gulf Coast and have gone through a hurricane, I know the upheaval it causes in peoples lives, even if they don’t receive damage to their homes or properties. I’m praying that all those that were touched by Irene will get the help and encouragement needed to get their lives back to normal.
Have a lovely Monday, Queen!
Love and hugs,
Stel
Kari Bussell
My Queen- How kind, loving & thoughtful of you. You are Our Queen of Hearts.I love photo today’s and the beautiful look in your eyes.Great racing weekend. I love that Mr. Commons. Thisty & MO did your papa to be proud. I hope you and baby-z have a wonderful day.
@DJ- I am so happy to hear from you. Susan said it you are loved. Perfect prayer again today.
@Laura J- Thank you for setting the record straight about Mike Repole…I was hoping you would. Well put! Also, thank you for all the times you take the time to answer questions and share your wealth of knowledge. I always appreciate it.
Barbara Grimaldi
Dearest Zenyatta: thank you for caring for East Coast dumplings over the weekend. We send that love and care a thousandfold back to you!!DJ IS BACK—YAY. I’ve really started to look for your prayers here and missed them. You picked such an appropriate one for today. Do you know what I particularly love? When you put the author’s name, where possible, onto the prayer. Thanks, DJ.
GARY M: not that I believe in your judgment or anything, but I copy/pasted that message to me for use later! Thanks for the overview. So hard to tell when they are only two!!!
KARI B: have to ask a small favor, please. Would you repost the Ruffian film again? I want to save it so it’s a forever film for me. Thank you so much!!!!!
ANDREA: sorry to hear you were hit by Irene. I know how hard the cleanup will be, but thank heaven you and your family are safe.
EVERYONE: the annex has postings that need helping hands.
This is such a great group of people…
Terry Crow
@Susan in TN-The actor’s name was Ken Curtis. Took the place of Dennis Weaver, although not in the same character. James Arness was the best. He guested at a Wild West group that I belong to and asked the group to name their favorite Arness Movie. A lot of people said The Thing, but I said Them. He laughed for about 15 minutes. Very big man, was getting thin by then however. His brother, Peter Graves, was with him and I had a good time discussing Mission:Impossible with him.
Marilu V
Hi Zeny! Congratulations to Mr. Commons, Mike and John. What a race! Only by a nose.
So happy for your friend Twirling Candy. He had a great ran too. And so relieved Uncle Mo is healthy and getting stronger. What a comeback from a serious illness. His vet said only 50% survive and only 10% recover and are able to race again. His recovery is a miracle. His owner and trainer are so blessed to have Uncle Mo return. What a warrior!
Have a great week and take good care of yourself and baby! Hugs and prayers, Marilu
Roberta Smith
Hello Pretty Girl!
Wink! Wink! Are you thinking about Bernie again? Yes, Irene took down lots of trees in CT and lots of people are without power but we were safer than expected. I love you Zenyatta!
Kari Bussell
@Barbara Wood- Tears…good ones. That song is beautiful and very true. I am deely touched. thank you.
Erin
Just as I was leaving the track at Saratoga on Saturday night was when Irene was starting to come in! At least she waiting until AFTER the races to swing on though!
Kari Bussell
@Mr. Commons ran a terrific race and I was so PROUD of him. He is a heart stealer and I just LOVE him.
LauraJ
@Sue, I was thinking about that this morning. I suspect the reason is that her life is, and should be, routine. She’s fed, groomed, turned out to spend the day eating grass with TT, then brought back in for dinner and bed. She gets vet checked every so often, and the farrier trims her feet occasionally. So there is not much to tell.
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@Susan in TN, I think those are probably the horse’s nicking grades. That’s a guess. I can’t check from this computer because BloodHorse is “gambling related.” I can get the Thoroughbred Times; go figure. Anyway, IIRC, BloodHorse uses TrueNicks. Nicking, for those who don’t know, is a method of predicting the success of the sire’s sire line crossed with the dam;s sire line. The intent is is to determine whether a particular mating is likely to produce a successful racehorse. Since nicking is statistical, it only uses male lines, as mares don’t produce a statistically significant number of offspring. There are two different major commercial nicking services: TrueNicks and e-Nicks. Each uses its own proprietary methodology. Both assign letter grades–the higher the better. Sometimes the grades are similar and sometimes they aren’t. Nicks are a tool to help plan matings, but they shouldn’t be regarded as make-or-break. A lot goes into planning a good mating. Acclamation’s dam comes from a largely French sire line, and I wonder if a lack of data has something to do with his low grade. Oh well. Horses outrun their pedigrees all the time, and maybe he did.
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I seem to recall that the Zenyatta/Bernie mating is an A+++ on TrueNicks. It’s an A on e-Nicks.
Kari Bussell
@Kathy Kimber-thank you and back at you. Safe travels. The video on FB of Noor is very moving.
Terry Crow
I am going out for awhile so I thought I would post today’s joke. Advance apologies to anyone from Arkansas, but this is the way I first learned it. A man from Arkansas stopped into a coffee shop in Tennessee. He was looking at the menu when he heard the man in the next booth, obviously a very old Irishman from the sound of his voice, ask the waitress a question. The man said “Is that Jesus over there in the corner?” “Why, yes it is” said the waitress. The Irishman then said “Send him a cup of coffee and put it on my bill.” The waitress did so. Later on, a very old Englishman, from the sound of his voice, asked the waitress “Is that Jesus there in the corner?” The waitress said that it was. “Well, send him a cup of tea and put in on my bill,” the Englishman said. Not to be outdone, the man from Arkansas had the waitress give Jesus a coke and put it on his bill. When Jesus got up to leave, he first visited the Irishman and thanked him for the coffee, laying his hand on his shoulder. Instantly, the Irishman was cured of all his physical problems. Jesus then visited the Englishman with the same result. As Jesus turned and started to visit him, the man from Arkansas said “Don’t touch me. My only income is my disability check.”
Joanna
Very exciting races this weekend! Did anybody catch that 2YO gray, Fire in Ice, at Saratoga? Beautiful youngster by Unbridled’s Song. And what can one say about Mo. I was so excited to see him even run again, I was crying and yelling during the race; I didn’t care that he didn’t win. And then Thirsty did his thing so I got to keep yelling. Good thing my neighbors don’t live real close :)) Well, I hope you Z fans in the East are pulling yourselves back together. Scarey stuff, hurricanes.
Barbara Wood
@Kari Bussell- so glad you like it. I’m going to save it as a favorite. Blessings to you.
dunie
Hugs to you, Zenny!
Lauren
Dear Zenny – Thank you for your kind thoughts. I live in New Jersey on the coast and I am happy to say that we didn’t have any damage. Most of my friends just had power outages and flooding. I am very thankful for that!!!! On a happier note, I hope you are doing well Ms. Z and taking good care of Baby Z. Many loving thoughts to you, Baby Z and Dottie.
Georgia Harper
Congratulations to all this weekend what fun racing. We are painting the outside of the house and did a lot of running inside and out most of the Sat & Sun.:-) Mr. Commons ran his heart out I thought he had it. So happy to see the Factor and Uncle Mo back on the track. Prayers and hugs to all on the east coast who may have been affected by Irene.
Theresa Buck
here in Texas we were saying prayers for everyone in Irene’s path and making perparations to receive anyone who needed our help…Thanks for being the sweetheart you are