Two-time champion Zenyatta, preparing to defend her Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) title and perfect 19-0 record, didn’t make life easy on regular exercise rider Steve Willard the morning of Oct. 26 as he had to use all his strength to pull her up after a 1 1/2-mile gallop over the Hollywood Park main track.
“That was a good gallop,” said trainer John Shirreffs in a statement. “No concerns at this point. Although, I do want to get her on the (dirt) training track again this week and off the synthetics.”
“She did great,” added Willard in a release. “Just terrific. She didn’t want to pull up and said, ‘hey, let’s do some more.’”
Zenyatta, owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, will continue to gallop the remainder of the week and her final timed workout will be Saturday, Oct. 30. She is scheduled to leave California for Kentucky Nov. 2.
The Breeders’ Cup will be held at Churchill Downs in Nov. 5-6.
