Zenyatta

Zenyatta
Zenyatta winning the Lady's Secret Stakes
Sire	Street Cry
Grandsire	Machiavellian
Dam	Vertigineux
Damsire	Kris S.
Sex	Mare
Foaled	(2004-04-01) April 1, 2004 (age 20) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Country	United States
Colour	Dark Bay/Brown
Breeder	Maverick Productions, Limited
Owner	Jerry & Ann Moss
Trainer	John Shirreffs
Jockey	Mike Smith
Record	20: 19–1–0
Earnings	$7,304,580[1]
Major wins
El Encino Stakes (2008) Apple Blossom Handicap (2008, 2010) Milady Handicap (2008, 2009) Vanity Handicap (2008, 2009, 2010) Clement L. Hirsch (2008, 2009, 2010) Lady's Secret Stakes (2008, 2009, 2010) Santa Margarita Handicap (2010) Breeders' Cup wins: Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (2008) Breeders' Cup Classic (2009)
Awards
American Champion Older Female Horse (2008, 2009, 2010) American Horse of the Year (2010) Secretariat Vox Populi Award[2] (2010)
Honours
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee (2016) Zenyatta Stakes (2010) NTRA "Moment of the Year" (2008, 2009) Lifesize statue at Santa Anita Park (2012)

Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2008, 2009 and 2010. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.

Zenyatta was purchased as a yearling by record producer Jerry Moss and his wife Ann, who named her after the album Zenyatta Mondatta, by the Police, who were signed to A&M Records by Moss. She went into training with John Shirreffs. A late-developing filly, she did not make her first start until late in her three-year-old year, winning a maiden race in November, 2007; this was followed by a win in an allowance race in December. From 2008 through 2010, she recorded seventeen consecutive graded stakes wins, 13 of them at the Grade I level. In 2009, she became the first mare to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. Her other major wins included the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic in 2008, the Apple Blossom Handicap in 2008 and 2010, consecutive wins in the Vanity Stakes, the Clement L. Hirsch, and the Lady's Secret, all in 2008–2010. The Lady's Secret was subsequently renamed the Zenyatta Stakes in her honor.

Zenyatta developed a passionate following, attracted by a combination of her athletic prowess and her personality. She was known for the "dance moves" she made while in the walking ring and post parade prior to her races,^[3] and her taste for Guinness Stout contributed to her popularity.^[4] She was also known for her closing finishes, often spotting large leads to early front runners, then overtaking her opponents in the final strides.^[5][6]