Zenyatta was nurturing her newly born colt Friday, a day after she gave birth for the first time.
The former Horse of the Year foaled a dark bay colt shortly after 10 p.m. ET Thursday at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky., where Zenyatta has lived since she was retired in November 2010. The colt weighed 130 pounds and resembles his mother with a white star on his forehead and white dots on his left front hoof.
She and the colt were said to be doing well Friday. The colt was sired by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini. Zenyatta won 19 of 20 races in her career. She became pregnant after a miscarriage in her first mating session with Bernardini.
Owners Jerry and Ann Moss said Friday that Zenyatta is encouraging her baby, who they say is already showing his mother's spirit.
A posting Friday on Zenyatta's website, which is written as if from her, said: ''I am one who likes to lick. It is a habit I developed somewhere along the way in my life. As you may remember, I used to lick my (groom) Mario's face all of the time after I won a race. Thus, licking my dear foal seems like second nature to me.''
