Rachel V Zenyatta could happen !

Zenyatta`s owners have changed their mind ,and she will return to the track..

Having originally said that after winning 14 on the trot that the filly had had enough..

Owner Moss told Bloomberg.com- "It's what she likes to do and that's what we decided to do, so we're going to run her.

"I love to see her run. She's healthy and well and I think she's going to carry on very well."

This would be fantastic

I did notice an article that the horse of the year award was 80% Zenyatta and 20% Rachel however that was just a public poll

might end up with a joint award

Problem is Bob not sure Rachel will run again?

managed to find some betting 9/10 jt favs for horse of the year

maybe Barry can add?

sure the emotion is with the unbeaten Zenyatta, but feel Rachel did more?

could be a big wager on the cards

The vote for Horse of the Year already has been cast, but will not be revealed to the public until January 18.

Based on a lot of stuff I have read, I think this may boil down to geography, with the West vs. the East, which in America is a silly calculation, because everything east of California is generally thought of as the East. But in reality, the Midwest, East and South will favor Rachel Alexandra and the West will go for Zenyatta.

Anybody in the game realized back in December that Zenyatta was not going to be retired, because if the owners had been serious, they would have flown her from California to Kentucky (about 2,000 miles) to prepare for the 2010 breeding season, by putting her under artificial lighting to get her reproductive system cycling.

Zenyatta galloped 3 times. When queried about this, the trainer said that it was part of his process of "letting her down." More bulshit. Yet the Turf Writers in America went for it hook, line and sinker, because none of them has any practical experience in breeding, so so went for the PR and failed to realize the real story.

Obviously having these two fantastic fillies in training for another year is the best thing that could happen to our sport, as they are stars and we desperately need stars.

I wrote to my own clients in an in house newsletter a month ago that both fillies would remain in training and that I wouldn't be surprised to see them show up at Meydan on March 27.

This is going to take some fancy PR footwork on the part of Jess Jackson, owner of Rachel Alexandra, because he ducked racing against Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup, issuing a statement that he didn't like racing horses on a synthetic surface.

What he sould have said was that the filly had a long and hard campaign, and she needed a rest.

It will be fun to watch the nonsense coming from this camp in the coming weeks if my prediction comes true.

These are great fillies. It will be fantastic to have them both back in training.

Zenyatta is as good as many of the world's best female turf performers of modern times, although I don't think she could have outkicked the likes of Dahlia, Three Troikas and Allez France on their best day.

Rachel Alexandra is a different kettle of fish. We have never, ever seen her likes before in America, as she has done stuff on dirt that no filly has approached.

I bought Rachel's sire, so I am obviously influenced by that, but I believe her season at 3 was the best by any filly in the history of American racing.

Barry thank you very much for the post excellent.

If you had to have a bet for horse of the year, where would your money be?

In asking have the feeling it would be on Rachel

What do you think of the world ratings barry, Zenyatta 127 Rachel 126 the pair rated well below Rip Van Winkle ,Goldikova and Fame and Glory and Miles below Sea The Stars 136(sea the stars conections reckon he was rated way too low)?

You reckon Sea the stars is atleast 10lb better than them?

Brilliant Breeders' Cup Classic winner Zenyatta is to stay in training.

She was thought to have run her last race at Santa Anita but a recent increase in her work schedule led to speculation she could race on.

Now owners Jerry and Ann Moss have confirmed that she will be campaigned in 2010.

The news raises the mouthwatering prospect of a clash with another American superstar mare Rachel Alexander.

"We saw her gallop today (at her Hollywood Park headquarters) and I talked to Ann, and then I talked to John (trainer John Shirreffs), and she looks too good," Moss said. "It's what she likes to do and that's what we decided to do, so we're going to run her."

Zenyatta remains in a pitched battle with the brilliant three-year-old filly Rachel Alexander for Horse of the Year, which will be announced Monday at the Eclipse Awards dinner in Beverly Hills.

"It had nothing to do on whether she is Horse of the Year or not," Moss said. "If she's Horse of the Year, she'll run as Horse of the Year and if she's not, she'll run as not Horse of the Year."

Zenyatta has had three recorded half-mile workouts at Hollywood since her announced retirement. "We're going to take our time (when asked about a possible comeback race)," Moss said.

"We'll pick a spot. It was very emotional when I retired her, because I thought she absolutely did as much as any horse could do in their career.

"But I love racing and also I believe racing needs stars, and we've got one. I love to see her run. She's healthy and well and I think she's going to carry on very well."
sportinglife.com

This is a very emotional post for me. I LOVE Zenyatta as most people do here in the States, but I do think Rachel is an Awesome filly.

Getting the opportunity to perhaps see these two greats battling each other under race conditions would be like seeing Illustrador, Jet Master, Horse Chestnut and Pocket Power compete in the same race!!!

All the praise has to go to the Moss family for keeping this great mare in training. I wish them nothing but the best!

I think I may just plan a trip to Cali for her next run.......Ir go wherever she may run next!

Zenyatta could make her 2010 debut in the 250,000 dollar Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita on March 13.

Although John Shirreffs' unbeaten mare was expected to have run her last race in the Breeders' Cup Classic, connections have instead announced she will stay in training.

The six-year-old continues to thrill in her weekly work, and caught the eye in a breeze at Hollywood Park on Sunday. She may now head for the Santa Margarita Handicap, after which the Apple Blossom Handicap - which she won two years ago - at Oaklawn Park in April beckons.

"The logical thing is the Santa Margarita, but I don't know," Shirreffs told Daily Racing Form.

"That's talking off the top of my head. We'd like to go back to Oaklawn."

Zenyatta has won all 14 of her racecourse starts, amassing nearly 3.6million dollars in prize-money.

‘Mattress Mack’ offers $2m for supergirls


USA: Officials at Sam Houston racetrack in Texas have not given up hope of hosting the long-awaited showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

Sponsor Jim McIngvale - known as ‘Mattress Mack' to the locals - has been angling to attract the two supergirls for the last six months.

Sam Houston is now offering a maximum purse of $2million if both the horse of the year and the spectacular Breeders' Cup Classic winner turn up for the Gallery Furniture Distaff.

According to the Daily Racing Form, a "tentative date" of March 27 - the day of the Dubai World Cup - has been pencilled in for the race, which would be run over 1m1f on dirt.

Sam Houston originally set a date of December 5, then pushed it back to January 30 - and while neither set of connections has expressed any interest whatsoever, the promotion does not appear to be doing any harm to the little-known Texas venue's national profile.

"In light of the news, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing to try and get the two ladies here," said Sam Houston president Andrea Young.

On a related subject, one anomaly has been ironed out after Monday night's Eclipse Awards, where Rachel Alexandra beat Zenyatta for horse of the year honours.

Although Rachel Alexandra also landed the three-year-old filly award with a unanimous decision among Eclipse voters, there was a single vote cast against Zenyatta in the older female category.

Bizarrely, Grade 1 winner Icon Project rather than Zenyatta was the choice of one Eclipse voter among 232.

However, it since emerged that the dissenting vote was cast by mistake, and Zenyatta's success can now also be regarded as unanimous.

Zenyatta breezes through latest comeback workout

USA: Breeders' Cup Classic winner Zenyatta has posted another workout as she is readied for her 2010 comeback following her 'unretirement'.

Runner-up to Rachel Alexandra in voting for American Horse of the Year, the six-year-old worked 5f in a crisp 1m 0.20s at Hollywood Park on Monday.

Although her connections have yet to confirm a target for Zenyatta, trainer John Shirreffs has mentioned the Santa Margarita Invitational on March 13 at Santa Anita.