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Good Morning,
Last night, the 2011 Eclipse Award Winners were honored and recognized for their “Achievements in Racing” during an awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. Jeannine Edwards, who covers various sporting events for ESPN, hosted the ceremony. A HIGH HOOF to Jeannine on a job well done!
At this time, I would personally like to extend my sincere CONGRATULATIONS to each of the winners!
Numerous humans and horses performed at such a high level during the 2011 Racing Season. I’m sure it was a very difficult choice on so many levels in the various categories. At this time, I’d like to compliment each of the winners, nominees, and all others on a year of hard work, dedication, and achievement!
It is now 3 years in a row that the HORSE OF THE YEAR is a female. This is a very special and marvelous accomplishment:
2009—RACHEL ALEXANDRA,
2010—ME, ZENYATTA,
and in
2011 HAVRE de GRACE.
It is also the 6th time overall that a filly / mare has received this honor with the others being ALL ALONG, AZERI, and LADIES SECRET! What an impressive list this is! I am so proud to be a part of this elite group of honored athletes!
It is interesting to note that HAVRE de GRACE’S sire, Saint Liam, won the HOTY Award in 2005. He had just one crop of foals…and she is one of them. Another time a sire and one of his foals won this honor was A.P. INDY in 1992 and his ‘son’ MINESHAFT in 2003. Again, my deepest congratulations to everyone connected with HAVRE de GRACE. They must be SO VERY PROUD of her!
In reading over the list of winners, it seems this year having a name beginning with the letter “A” also seemed to be very lucky: ACCLAMATION, AMAZOMBIE, ANIMAL KINGDOM, My Miss “AURELIA”, and ADENA SPRINGS.
Again, a big HIGH HOOF to these humans / horses and all of the other winners of a 2011 ECLIPSE AWARD: HANSEN, ROYAL DELTA, MUSICAL ROMANCE, CAPE BLANCO, STACELITA, BLACK JACK BLUES, KEN AND SARAH RAMSEY, BILL MOTT, RAMON DOMINGUEZ, AND KYLE FREY.
This is truly an honor and achievement to take great PRIDE IN for a LIFETIME!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Marty
Congrats to all the winners. A big congrat to Havre De Grace!!! 3 years in a row.
GIRLS rule!!!! Yeah!!!!
Alia Abu-Bakr
A big congratulations to all of the winners!# Queen Z, YOU will always be #1 to me, in every way. I LOVE you!!
Shannon From Cool
I’ll second that. Last night was not near as exciting as last year’s Eclipse Awards show simply because YOU, Queen Z, were in the running.
Bridget
Exactly what I was going to say…not nearly! Good horses though.
Brigid
G I R L P O W E R !!!!!!!!
Shannon From Cool
By the way, THANK YOU TO THE ZENYATTA / MOSS NATION for updating this blog. It’s so fun to reply to other peoples comments.
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
Good Morning Zenny!
I was so thrilled for Have de Grace (and Larry Jones) receiving Horse of the Year! Girls Rule!! WOO HOO
Judy G
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
* Havre de Grace – sorry for typo!
Kathy S.
Congratulations to the winners. RUN LIKE A GIRL!!!
Cheryl Y
Kathy S. – your comment ” Run Like A Girl ” made me chuckle,it is such an appropiate statement.Just too cute!!!!!
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
March 9th ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :-D
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
I spoke to Frank from Barn 55 on Sunday… I asked him if he knew the sex of your baby… He broke into the biggest S – M – I – L – E !! But, I said we didn’t want to know if it was a boy or a girl… TOO CUTE!!! We will have an International Baby Shower ~ details to follow in February :-P
Judy G Anxious Auntie
Eveline / Maryland.
TOO CUTE !!
Elizabeth G.
Hi Zen…..all the “girls” looked to you for their inspiration. The are undoubtedly thrilled to get your congratulations.
Jennifer
Is there anyone who can help me understand this statement?
“The only other time a sire and one of his foals won this honor was A.P. INDY in 1992 and his ‘son’ MINESHAFT in 2003. ”
I must be confused because I can think of several other sire/foal combinations that have won HOTY.
I love you Zenyatta. I think about you and your foal all the time.
Jennifer
Gloria Jeanne in the "O.C." SO CAL
Congrats to all the winner’s last night. GIRLS RULE!!!!!!
Erin
make it females winning 4 years in a row…. with My Miss Aurelia to be HOTY in 2012!!
helene
Many congrats to another beautiful girl, Havre! The girls win again! Girls rule! Zenny, you are still my very favorite four-hooved female in the world. Many good thoughts of superb health to you and Tasty! Keep warm in this cold, windy weather, and know that thousands of us are inspired by you. much much love, h+++
Gloria Jeanne in the "O.C." SO CAL
March 10th, is my mom’s Birthday!!! I think it would be cool if Zenny’s foal could be born on her Birthday – that would be such a treat!!! I am waiting and trying to stay in my skin… waiting for “BABY Z”. Also, I can’t wait for my Zenyatta Plushies to get here.
Kisses and Hugs
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
Havre de Grace is third straight female to win Horse of Year honors
Quote: “The lack of consistency among the top male horses opened the way for Havre de Grace.”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-eclipse-awards-20120117,0,4725441.column
XOXOXO
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
As for what it means having three consecutive years of females winning racing’s top award, John Shirreffs, the trainer of Zenyatta, said, “I think it means they’re three great fillies. Things run in cycles in horse racing.”
Zenny ~ YOUR JOHN knows!
JAG ~ Queen Zen's Auntie Judy ~ So. California
BTW we saw John and Dottie at Santa Anita on Sunday! They are always soooo gracious to us “stalkers” LOL :-)))) Of course, we also said hello to Mikey!
sue and tony
Zenny, you continue to amaze and inspire others with your generosity of spirit. How kind of you to recognize all the Eclipse Award winners and the HOY winner. WQe will never forget the excitement of your huge win last year. We are sure big smiles are on the faces of all who are associated with these wonderful honors.
suew/Va
Zenny, Yeah for girl Power! Once again the world of horseracing is recognizing the strength and durability of it’s female athletes. You, of course, remain the brightest star of all. I hope you are staying warm and you ad TT are enjoying the day.
Abigail from Montreal
Good morning sweet Zenny, TT, Dottie & Zen-sters:
What a wonderful decision it was to honour Havre de Grace and her connections with Horse of the Year 2011. I was especially pleased because I so admire trainer Larry Jones and her sire, Saint Liam. The latter — gone too soon. But what an accomplishment to have sired the likes of Havre de Grace! It’s just wonderful to think that Saint Liam will go on through his great daughter. As for Larry Jones — great, hard-working trainer. And after losing Eight Belles, I hope that Havre de Grace has helped him to heal. Who knows? It just might be that Eight Belles sent her to him, right?
I was also pleased about Animal Kingdom, who had such a rough season but is clearly a very fine colt with a beautiful bloodline. I agreed with all the decisions in the different categories, which is unusual for me! But this year the voting was fair and obviously well thought through. Some will say it was easier because the 3 year-olds were a kind of mediocre bunch. Possibly. But there certainly was no question about Our Miss Aurelia or Royal Delta or Cape Blanco or Cape Blanco. I waffled a lot on Hansen vs. Union Rags, I must say. This was the most contentious category for me, despite the reality re: 3 year-old colts. I love them both and feel they’re pretty much neck-and-neck in terms of ability at this stage. No question these two colts will make the run up to the Triple Crown interesting for me, together with another two babies I really like: Discreet Dancer and Out of Bounds, both sons of Discreet Cat.
Enjoy your day everyone. It’s mild here in Montreal although we’re supposed to get “stormy weather” in the p.m.
Hugs & love to all
signofthetimes
I think the tie breaker for Hansen and Union Rags
Was Breeders cup win. Both are so very talented.
Hope the 3 year olds stay safe and sound all year
Long. Maybe another Sunday Silence and Easy Goer
Rivalry, that would be very much fun.
Brenda S..Ontario, Canada
Well said Abigail. I personally liked Union Rags. I think Miss Aurelia will be one to watch this year.
Sarah
“The only other time a sire and one of his foals won this honor was A.P. INDY in 1992 and his ‘son’ MINESHAFT in 2003.”
I can think of at LEAST a couple other times we’ve had sire/foal combinations win HOTY.
AP Indy’s own sire, Seattle Slew, was HOTY in 1977.
Secretariat was HOTY in 1972 and ’73….his daughter Lady’s Secret was HOTY in 1986.
It’s fabulous that Saint Liam got a HOTY from his only crop…..lost him FAR too soon, what a tremendous racehorse he was. So glad he has a champion to ‘fly the flag.’ :)
And let’s hear it for the ladies! Just think, Havre de Grace, Royal Delta and My Miss Aurelia are all ready to go in 2012….could we make it #4???
carol in utah
Right you are Sarah….one of these ladies could do it ….leaning toward Royal Delta…but time will tell
Diana Hanson
I love girl power! Counting the days and waiting to see little Z. You are sure looking great. Wishing all the winners a great day!
Jennifer
Not to mention that Secretariat’s sire, Bold Ruler, also won HOTY.
Kimberly Potter/Montana
Congratulation to all the winners of this years Eclipse Awards. I am looking so forward to 2012.
I love you Zenyatta!!!
Fran
Morning Z! Heard you had a tornado warning this morning so my wish for you today is to stay safe and stay warm. Of course, that goes to Tasty too. It is finally cold here in CA and rain may be on the way! Very soon, now, you are going to have your little one. What an exciting time! Stay well and stay safe to both you and Tasty! xxoo
judy berube from Rhode Island
Dear Z and TT and Z Fans:
Happy Tuesday. Hope you are both being pampered and loving it. Love you and love to all of you, Judy and Russ
Abigail from Montreal
Hi Judy. So glad to see you “back on site.” Happy New Year to you & Russ!!!
Cheryl
Girls Rule! I was really happy for Gracie and her connections! They deserved it!
dclarkfan1
Hey Z, you forgot that the bloodline of A.P Indy and Mineshaft goes back to a 3rd winner of Horse of the Year. Just a little horse in 1977 named Seattle Slew that won the elusive Triple Crown :-)
Carmela B
@Jennifer–there may be a couple more, but yes you’re right…there were several more multigenerational winners of Horse of the Year:
Lady’s Secret (1986) daughter of Secretariat (1972 & 1973)
Bold Ruler (1957) sire of Secretariat (72 & 73) & sire of Lady’s Secret (86)
Seattle Slew (1977) sire of AP Indy (1992)
I may have missed one or two more, but they were prior to the official Eclipse awards, but still named HOTY.
carol in utah
Busher was HOY…..her daddy was War Admiral
judy berube from Rhode Island
Dear Z and Z Fans:
Congrats to all the Eclipse winners and to HDG carrying on the Girl Power for Horse of the Year. Hugs, JB
Kelly, Allentown, Pa ^-^
I was hoping Havre would win. Love you Zenyatta! ^-^
Joanna from TX
I was THRILLED when Grace’s name was called for HOTY! As for the ladies winning this honor for 3 years running??? More may be been deserving of the award but lost out because generally, mare/fillies are ignored. Even the general public has gotten to know something about the absolute importance of strong maternal influences…in people, and critters of all kinds. There was just no ignoring the stunning talents of our female HOTY winners. GO GIRLS!!! I’ve adored these most recent ladies since Rachel started running and the thrills just keep on coming!
dclarkfan1
To be honest, Z should have been a two time winner of Horse of the Year, and when the chips were finally on the table, the owners of Rachael Alexandra turned chicken every time.
In my mind, and in the minds of all the fans of Z, Zenyatta was Horse of the Year in 2009 AND 2010.
Joanna from TX
Well I’m not going to debate your feelings on this subject, but I will say that I was a Rachel fan before being a Zenyatta fan. I don’t live in Calif so didn’t follow CA racing per se. The connections of each of these fine ladies had their own agendas and I’ve heard all the arguments from both sides and all the debates up the yingyang. These lovely mares were, and are, incredibly worthy of all the good things life can dish up to them. :))))
Gloria
Watched the awards last night and was able to enjoy it unlike last year when I was a bundle of nerves for the Horse Of The Year category. (Still, it was awesome last year hearing the name Zenyatta! Good memories!) I was happy to see fellow “Cal-breds” Acclamation and Amazombie win and glad to see special recognition to Rapid Redux. To Dottie: I’m so glad to have run into you and the adorable Sophie at Santa Anita on Sunday. I saw John later on and he was kind enough to snap a picture with me. You, John, the Mosses and of course, Big Mama Z are my heroes of horse racing. All of you rock, big time!
Margaret
Harve de Grace winning was cool. Wasn’t she named for track?
Isn’t her name actually French so the pronunciation would be Ha’ve de Gra. Basically Harve dropping the R and the Grace would be Gra with a hard A sound–dropping the C&E.
I hope someone can help me with the phonetics. Seeing it is fine. But seeing it spelt out the way it’s suppose to sound is even better!
Julie DuVall / Ontario, CA
There was a racetrack on the East Coast called Havre de Grace (pronounced roughly Have de Graw). The correct French pronunciation would probably be more like Have-ruh de Graws (with the “ruh” barely being heard, kind of “swallowed”) but the oldtimers Anglicized it a bit to Have de Graw.
Margaret
That sounds closer to what I was trying to say!
Judy from South Carolina
Harve de Grace is an actual city/place in the state of Maryland and it is properly pronounced like you all are trying to “spell it out” LOL!
I guess her owners/breeders (whoever named her) had other ideas how they wanted her name to be pronounced).
I am originally FROM Maryland and that is why I know this info.
Regardless of how they want to say her name I was rooting for her to be HOY and SO glad so won!!!!
Love you Z! Counting down the days………….
P.S. Did Chantal look fabulous at the awards ceremony or WHAT!!!!!!
Carmela B
Judy–there actually was a race track, Havre de Grace, the operated from the late 1800’s until the early 1900’s. Many famous jockeys made their names there…Earl Sande is one. i wish they’d make a movie about him…he had quite a life. If I could write a screenplay I’d see if I could sell it, it would make a great movie.
nancy
Congrats to all. espeicaly my boy Amazombie yessssssss and I think the special award for Rapid Redux was nice. Girl power indeed all the way history was made last night with HDG winning. How sharp did Mikey look all decked out in his tux :) Have a blssed day Z and for little one on the way :)