20th Jan 2011
Stallions - Michelle Cullen - Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Third time has proved lucky for Zenyatta as the brilliant mare was voted USA 2010 Horse of the Year on Monday eveing at the Fontainebluea Hotel in Miami Beach.
Where her owners Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss accepted the award. Zenyatta had been the runner-up in both 2009 (Rachel Alexandra) and 2008 (Curlin), and in 2010 the six-year-old daughter of Street Cry received more votes than Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame (Arch - Liable by Seeking the Gold) and three-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Goldikova (Anabaa - Born Gold by Blushing Groom) for the title.
Zenyatta, had been based at Hollywood Park throughout her career, won 19 of 20 starts and earned more than $7.3 million, a record for a female thoroughbred.
The only three-time winner of the Vanity Handicap, Zenyatta suffered her only defeat in her final start when she was beaten by a nose when attempting to defend her title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Trained by John Shirreffs and ridden for the vast majority of her career by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Zenyatta was also named ”older female” for the third consecutive year.
The Eclipse Awards are voted on and presented by representatives of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form (DRF) and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB).
Zenyatta finished first with 128 votes, followed by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame, who finished with 102 votes. European mare Goldikova (IRE) finished with five votes. There was one abstention and two “no votes” in the total Horse of the Year voting.
The winners of the Eclipse Awards, all 17 equine and human, are listed below:
(Horse ages in parentheses where applicable)
Horse of the Year: Zenyatta (6) Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo Two-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin at Lucky Three-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck Older Male: Blame (4) Older Female: Zenyatta (6) Female Sprinter: Dubai Majesty (5) Male Sprinter: Big Drama (4) Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti (5) Female Turf Horse: Goldikova (IRE) (5) Steeplechase Horse: Slip Away (7) Owner: WinStar Farm Breeder: Adena Springs Jockey: Ramon Dominguez Apprentice Jockey: Omar Moreno Trainer: Todd Pletcher
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