She has 19 starts, 19 victories - most of them in important stakes races, including her being the only female to ever win the Breeder's Cup Classic. Right now she is tied for the North American record for the most consecutive wins, along with a mare named Pepper's Pride, who raced only in New Mexico. And the majority of Zenyatta's wins have come with her carrying a lot more weight than her opponents.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qUZXtTzT6M
But it is more than just the wins. This mare has so much personality! Before her races she dances and prances and paws the earth in self-taught dance moves. And she is a huge hambone - she knows when the cameras are out and poses for them.
And when he owners and trainer bring disabled children out to meet her, she is so gentle with them. She stands as still as a rock and lets the little ones pat her - as if she knows they are vulnerable, knows that she must be very careful with the tiny human foals.She knows where the finish line is, and runs just as fast as she needs to to get her head in front at the wire - her jockey says that she has gears left over she has never hit in any race.
You cannot watch this mare and not know how much joy she finds in her life and in matching herself against other horses.
Anyway, at age 6 she is getting up there in years for a race horse, and after one more race she is being retired so she can become a mother.
So we all have only one more chance to see her run in a race - and that will be on the first Saturday in November when she will be attempting to defend her world championship against some of the best male horses on the planet (and they will be coming away from as far as Japan to challenge her). No horse has ever won the BC Classic race at the age of six, and only one horse (Tiznow, a direct male descendant of the great Man o' War, has ever managed to win the Classic twice), and she is the only female to ever win it. So the odds are hugely against her - but anyone who has seen her knows she will be flying up in the end, giving her best.
For those who have wondered why they do not have great champion horses like Secretariat and Seattle Slew anymore - well they do! Her name is Zenyatta. She is big and beautiful and undefeated. You only have one more chance to watch her.
And win or lose - this great mare is a champion for the ages who will be a legend like Man o' War, Citation, and Secretariat.
And a personality all her own. 
).
I wonder if she was announcing to the world that she would grow up to become a great queen? 
