Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Jake in Tennessee — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:17:31 GMT

I'm posting this comment after Zenyatta's already been in foal for several months; but hindsight notwithstanding, if I were the Mosses I'd breed the Queen next year to Tapit.

Think about it!:

(1) Tapit is bred on the same cross as Bernardini (A.P. Indy over Fappiano);

(2) Tapit's offspring are famed for their precocity, something Zenyatta needs--as opposed to Bernardini, who like Zen didn't start until 3. The cumulative mating effect of TWO horses who didn't start until three seems likely to produce a "plodder" who won't break his maiden until 5 years old. Tapit has produced precocious stars like Breeders Cup Juvenile stakes winners Stardom Bound and Tapitsfly.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Bloodlines — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:04:13 GMT

I voted other. I love this sire's pedigree:

www.pedigreequery.com/patton

This stallion has a gorgeous pedigree

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Charlie — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:50:13 GMT

I chose A.P. Indy. I know little about horse breeding. But I do know about "heart". His sire was Seattle Slew. It would be hard to find a bigger "heart" than his.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

dan — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:28:43 GMT

breed her to the green monkey or invasor

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Ian Tapp — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:09:02 GMT

Shawn,

That's easy-- Smarty Jones hasn't yet reached the same level as the stallions above, plus he now stands in Pennsylvania, a long way from Zenyatta in KY. No question he was an incredible racehorse, but a stallion's racing and stud careers are two different things. Genetics isn't that cut and dry.

Ian

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Shawn — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 06:03:55 GMT

Can anyone explain why Smarty Jones is NOT included on this list? We all know the closing speed Zenyatta possessed, Smarty Jones had the drive of a champion. In the Belmont he was dead at the top of the lane and still kept digging deeper and deeper and found almost enough to close it out. Imagine Smarty and Zenyatta foals, two words... HOLY CRAP.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

gocurlin — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 21:32:38 GMT

Afleet Alex

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

TradingPlaces — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 14:57:27 GMT

I know i'm late to the party, but what about another stallion at Lanes End named Aragorn?

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Debbie Lynch — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 02:37:38 GMT

So, one of the problems of breeding is always matching the best phenotype and genotype. Because Zenyatta has such unusual and exceptional physicality that needs to balanced by the stud. Any stallion larger than 16 hands and those that have a reputation for exceptionally large babies should be eliminated, particularly for a first foal. Because AP Indy is such an outstanding candidate and he is near the end of his breeding career I would think he would be the choice for the first breeding. He will not be available much longer and so this is an ideal time to use him with Zenyatta.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Ian Tapp — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:38:48 GMT

Hi Kathryn,

Remember first and foremost that Zenyatta is a domestic animal--a horse. She, along with other broodmares boarded at Lane's End and elsewhere, will be treated to a high level of individual and veterinary care.

In my personal experience, I have worked with broodmares at Taylor Made Farm and Darley. Here I worked with many broodmares who had been top racehorses--each also had "a mind of her own" and her own human connections. All were treated as horses, with proper care, respect, and veterinary and management consideration. Attempting to anthropomorphize Zenyatta is fine for her fans to do, but is quite pointless when you're dealing with the day-to-day care of horses on a farm.

In the breeding shed, the goal is to protect the safety of humans, mare, and stallion. Appropriate restraint and precautions are made to ensure the breeding is as quick and uneventful as possible. As a domestic animal, Zenyatta's spirit will be just fine. She will live most of her days grazing in a field with other mares. A couple days each breeding season she will be bred. Ideally, one day per breeding season she will give birth to a foal. Just like other broodmares.

Ian

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Kathryn Cogswell — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:27:38 GMT

Please discuss known treatment of mares in the breeding process. What little I can find seems she may be frightened in this encounter: Zenyatta has a mind of her own, has been given such nurturing treatment, and I am concerned this process may assault or break her spirit. I am holding my breath in the hope that the people in her new circumstance are as careful with her as her family of the Mosses, John & Dottie Shirreffs, Mario, his wife, Steve and Melissa have been. Being ignorant of the details of the institutionalized breeding of horses at this level, I am curious to know if it will be a primary concern of her breeders to be considerate of Zenyatta AND the stallion, as they are mated .. . just hoping the Mosses have a lot to say about all this. Thank you for knowledgeable information about a sensitive, unreported issue.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

To Me She Won — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:59:23 GMT

I`d like her with Dynaformer since he`s had some pretty impressive foals I mean look at Barbaro in 2005 he was astounding,think what a Zenyatta X Dynaformer foal would be like!He also has quite a few notables such as Bull Lea,Nashrullah,Turn-To,and Hail To Reason.If you mix that with the notables in Zenyatta`s line [Native Dancer,Tom Fool,Tom Rolfe,Princequillo,and Hoist The Flag] you`d most likely get quite a special foal

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Orpen — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:18:30 GMT

I prefer Giant's Causeway or one cool cat ( storm cat line ) , but the issue is the size of zen uterus can it produce a healthy horse race ?

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

secretariat — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 03:00:03 GMT

of new sires big brown is best size&speed

pedigree big brown nortern dancer zenyatta

mr prospector two best sires ever

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

secretariat — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:04:59 GMT

i would pick big brown over curlin

big brown free of mr prospector in pedigree

zenyatta is free of northern dancer in hers

body types are the same tall and angular

and he is fast

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

secretariat — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:18:40 GMT

i would go with big brown over curlin

there bodies look the same he has speed

no mr prospector in his pedigree no

northern dancer in hers put those sires

together and you get a super horse

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Stevo — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:12:23 GMT

Zenyatta should mate with Curlin. He's the best horse on dirt in the world, won world horse of the year and the Dubai World Cup. He's a freak and so is Zenyatta. They both run similar distances as well.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

SHERI — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:45:51 GMT

Giant's Causeway, he's making great babies ans so would Z

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

AprilCakes — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:46:34 GMT

She was so close! A shame she didn't quite get there. A lack of early speed definitely hurts. It occured to me today that Storm Cat, although pensioned, could be brought back for one last command performance. Im sure this is just wishful thinking, but I hope this at least occurs to the moss family.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

secretariat — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 01:00:24 GMT

mineshaft is perfect ap indy stallion he's fast well built

mineshaft 18 races zenyatta 20 races

dp 8-6-14 cd 79 gsv 66.80

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

KathPoet — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:26:01 GMT

Okay, it's been a while since anyone commented on Zenyatta's first mate, but here's my pick: Deep Impact! A superhorse in Japan, he probably would have been great racing elsewhere too. He brings in that tough Sunday Silence tenacity, along with speed, and stamina. And he's not too large. Think about it!

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Horsefirst — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:13:59 GMT

Commenting because we lost Pleasant Tap.

How about a very close relative, Go For Gin?

I know, he's in Maryland now standing for less than three-year old retiree's because of fractures....

Same dam as Pleasant Tap, also a grandson of His Majesty.

Keeps any more Prospector out of the pedigree and also no Northern Dancer. With Zenyatta's size, I would not introduce any more of those lines.

If one were breeding for a potential out cross stallion....

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

zuzuzpetals — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:52:14 GMT

I vote WAR EMBLEM. He was a freak of a horse. Sent to Japan. Very picky and shy. Bring him back to the USA.

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Horsefirst — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:45:50 GMT

Re: Miss Obstinate

Talk about mare power. Of course, things like this were more common then. The pedigree of Miss Obstinate gives you Jane Hunt twice in her dam line, which gives her grand dam, Maria Slamerkin twice in her dam line, plus Maria Slamerkin is the great grand dam of Miss Obstinate's sire, Sumpter. Then, the sire of Sumpter's dam, Robin Redbreast, has Papilion as the dam of his sire and his dam.

Miss Obstinate had three daughters. The two daughters already mentioned, on an American Eclipse cross, come down today in the dam lines of Zenyatta and Bertrando. The third daughter, by Glencoe, in a brief although by no means conclusive search, I couldn't find anything beyond horses that ended up in mid-west and western states.

Apologies for getting so off track...

re: Poll Question: Zenyatta's Mate

Horsefirst — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:36:03 GMT

Here's one,

I was looking at Officer because of Boys At Tosconova. I didn't like Officer for Zenyatta because of type. However, his sire, Bertrando, is from the same mare line a Zenyatta, 4r. Still not my favorite match on physical but the mare line is interesting.

It comes from a mare named Miss Obstinate. (Perhaps poetic as in, "Not gonna lose?") 1829 model. More, Z comes through a daughter of Obstinate named Mary Morris, sired by Medoc in turn sired by American Eclipse.

Bertrando comes through the same mare, Miss Obstinate, through another daughter named Ann Innis. Ann Innis, in turn, was sired by American Eclipse.

Z's through a son of American Elipse crossed on Miss Obstinate, and Bertrando's through a direct mating of Miss Obstinate with American Elclipse. Just a bit more curious given the American Eclipse cross.

Z wouldn't even have to leave California? He's 16.2