Undefeated mare Zenyatta is coming out of a brief retirement and will return to the track this year, creating the possibility of a long-awaited showdown with fellow star Rachel Alexandra.
Owners Jerry and Ann Moss said Zenyatta would retire after becoming the first female to win the Breeders' Cup Classic with a dramatic last-to-first charge on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita. She finished the year 5 for 5 and appeared headed off to breeding with a 14-0 career mark.
But after watching her gallop at Hollywood Park on Saturday, Moss consulted with trainer John Shirreffs and announced that the 6-year-old daughter of Street Cry will run in 2010.
``We saw her gallop today and I talked to Ann, and then I talked to John, and she looks too good,'' Moss said in a statement. ``It's what she likes to do and that's what we decided to do, so we're going to run her.''
Moss did not say where Zenyatta will make her return, although she's run almost exclusively in Southern California. One possibility for the stretch-running mare is the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., where she won on the dirt two years ago.
That could also be the site of a showdown with Rachel Alexandra.
The two leading ladies dominated the sport in 2009 and are currently dueling for Horse of the Year, which will be announced Monday at the Eclipse Awards dinner in Beverly Hills.
Rachel Alexandra's connections have already indicated she'll run again in 2010.
``It had nothing to do on whether she is Horse of the Year or not,'' said Moss, whose mare could become the first female to win the award since Azeri in 2002. ``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.''
Rachel Alexandra went 8 for 8 last year, including three wins over males, and became the first filly in 85 years to beat the boys in the Preakness Stakes. But her principal owner Jess Jackson dislikes Santa Anita's synthetic surface and decided not to run her in the Classic.
Both horses were at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week. Rachel Alexandra won the Derby-eve Kentucky Oaks for fillies by a record 20 1/4 lengths, while Zenyatta was scratched from her scheduled race because of a muddy track.
The Breeders' Cup offered to add $1 million to the winner's share of the Classic purse if both horses ran, and online wagering services TVG and Betfair Ltd. offered to raise the purse of the Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 3 to $1 million if they showed up.
Perhaps now, the two superstars will finally meet.
They so captured the public's attention that Zenyatta recently ran second to tennis star Serena Williams in voting for the Female Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press. Rachel Alexandra finished seventh in the voting.
``All of racing is delighted with today's news of Zenyatta's return to racing,'' said Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli. ``We salute Jerry and Ann Moss for their tremendous sporting gesture in giving fans another year to see one of the great thoroughbreds of our time.''
Zenyatta has earned $5,474,580, her last dozen wins coming in graded stakes races.
``We're going to take our time,'' said Moss, whose mare has had three recorded half-mile workouts at Hollywood Park since her announced retirement. ``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,'' he added. ``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.''
