Friday, April 9, 2010

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Filly Zenyatta runs for <b>horse</b> <b>racing</b> history

Posted: 09 Apr 2010 10:03 AM PDT

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - After throwing $5 million at racing's two female superstars to run in the Apple Blossom Invitational, Oaklawn Park's president got half of what he and the horse racing world wanted to see. Zenyatta is here.

She's the early 3-5 favorite for Friday's 1 1-8-mile race, now worth $500,000 instead of $5 million if both horses had run. Just four challengers — none of whom has won a prestigious Grade 1 race — are taking her on as Zenyatta tries to win her 16th in a row.

That would tie Citation and Cigar's modern mark in unrestricted races. Peppers Pride, who retired last year with a 19-for-19 record, and Hallowed Dreams, who won 16 straight, achieved some of their success in statebred stakes.

"I haven't quite got used to 15 yet, so 16 would be awesome," Zenyatta's co-owner Jerry Moss said Thursday. "I only start getting real nervous about it right before the race. She's relaxed and ready, and that's all you can ask for."

Rachel Alexandra, the other horse track president Charles Cella tried to lure, isn't here, although her jockey and trainer will be trying to beat Zenyatta with different horses.

Calvin Borel is aboard Be Fair, while Steve Asmussen saddles War Echo.

"Try to beat her, that's all we can do," said Borel, who admits he'll be rooting for Zenyatta to win.

"It would be awesome, and then maybe she'll hook Rachel at Churchill."

That's where Rachel Alexandra is currently training, awaiting her next start. One possibility is a race on Kentucky Derby eve.

Zenyatta won the Apple Blossom two years ago in her dirt debut, beating defending champion Ginger Punch.

"She really burst on the scene there," her trainer John Shirreffs said.

Her other 14 wins have come on synthetic surfaces in Southern California, highlighted by beating the boys in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic in November.

Last month, Shirreffs-trained Zardana upset Rachel Alexandra in her season debut in New Orleans, a result that played into owner Jess Jackson pulling the plug on his 2009 Horse of the Year running in the Apple Blossom.

"I'm sorry she's not here, it would've been something for the fans to enjoy and get people excited about the game," Moss said.

There are reminders of what could have been in Oaklawn's gift shop. A poster featuring both horses hangs on the wall, and large buttons with color photos of both are on sale. Trading cards of each were made up and distributed before the showdown derailed.

"You can go certainly a generation without seeing the quality of these two horses," Cella said. "I'm disappointed for racing and the public. It would've been gangbusters."

Cella said he expects a larger crowd on Saturday, when Oaklawn's season culminates with the $1 million Arkansas Derby. That race will be shown on NBC, while the Apple Blossom airs on a horse racing cable channel. With just five starters, the track won't offer show wagering on Zenyatta's race.

Zenyatta galloped around the dirt track Thursday for a second straight day. Later, she visited the paddock and then Shirreffs led her into the infield, where a stiff breeze ruffled her mane as she got a close up look at the toteboard and big video screen.

Earlier, a crowd gathered in back of her barn to snap photos as Zenyatta nibbled on the grass after having her legs bathed.

Kenny McPeek wandered over from his nearby barn to take a look.

"She's race royalty," said the trainer who'll saddle Noble's Promise in the Arkansas Derby. "She's all class."

Moss and his wife Ann had planned to retire Zenyatta after the Breeders' Cup and send her off to a breeding career in Kentucky. But those plans changed in January. The 6-year-old mare showed them she wanted to run, and the Mosses wanted to share her with the public.

Fans have responded. Zenyatta has more than 13,000 Facebook fans, and Shirreffs' videos detailing her life around the barn are popular on YouTube. Fans at her Santa Anita races crowd the rail, wave signs and cheer loudly when she runs.

"It's an emotional thing and it seems to get bigger and stronger after every race," Moss said. "She's such a positive force and you feel it."

Unlike some of the sporting world's human superstars, Zenyatta is fan friendly.

She's known for putting on a show on race days, prancing in the post parade, pawing the ground, and standing still at the sound of clicking cameras so everyone can get their shot of her dark brown coat and forehead blaze.

"She shows you how to live," Ann Moss said. "She's having a good time, she gives her best, and she's having fun. I wish I felt like that every day. It's a beautiful inspiration for living your life."

The Mosses are pointing Zenyatta toward the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs in October. Jerry Moss said he remains open to a showdown with Rachel Alexandra.


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Keith Swagerty hits his stride at Emerald Downs | <b>Horse</b> <b>Racing</b>

Posted: 09 Apr 2010 02:08 PM PDT

Luck certainly helps, but being a front-runner in the thoroughbred racing game takes nerve.

With horses, Auburn's Keith Swagerty has called and hit some difficult shots, just as he did throughout his heralded hoops career.

Swagerty, a former All-American inside force in his college days, who went on to play in the ABA and coach at Seattle Pacific University, has hit his stride as a horse owner and breeder.

Together with his trainer and business partner, Vann Belvoir, Swagerty came up big in a season under the sun at Emerald Downs. Behind the emergence of super homebred filly No Flies on Doodle, the Swagerty-Belvoir double-team produced 27 wins last year, setting a single-season meet record for an owner.

"It all came together," a humble but proud Swagerty said as he watched one of his prized horses take to the track for a morning workout at the Auburn oval.

When an owner wins 20 percent of the time, it's considered a good season. But Swag Stables performed even better last year, winning 36 percent of the time in 74 starts and finishing in the money a staggering 69 percent of the time. Swag Stables was second in earnings at the track with $241,390.

Swagerty is at a loss to explain it, let alone come up with an encore as Emerald Downs opens the chutes on its 15th season, an 89-day meet that begins tonight. First post is 6 p.m.

No Flies on Doodle, now a 4-year-old, is expected to debut in an allowance race on tonight's card. A deep Swag Stable also will feature a co-star this meet in Forener, a 3-year-old Lost Soldier gelding with a winning background.

Swagerty and Belvoir, who own and operate the 22-acre West Coast Training Center near Flaming Geyser Park, boldly took some calculated risks and made them pay off in 2009.

"You have to be able to make a decision, whether it's right or wrong," said the 6-foot-7 Swagerty, who routinely brokers major deals as a financial planner when he isn't tending horses. "If you don't make the decision, nothing ever gets done. Even if you make the wrong one, you're not stewing on it any longer."

As an athlete, coach and businessman, Swagerty understands the importance of preparations, assessments and adjustments. He works closely with Belvoir to make the right decisions for the right runner at the right time.

"He's as good as there is at finding what works for each horse. He does things the right way," Swagerty said of his trainer.

That teamwork and mutual respect produced a fantastic run last year.

"We felt we had a good string of horses, and we had a couple of quality 2-year-olds," said Belvoir, a former riding champion who saddled a career-meet-best 54 winners a year ago. "We felt we had a chance to have a good season."

The stable eventually placed the speedy No Flies on Doodle, a Washington-bred by Storm Blast, in stakes company. She responded by seizing the $50,000 Washington's Lottery Handicap and later, the $75,000 Washington Oaks, both at distances longer than a mile with veteran Gallyn Mitchell in the irons.

Unraced when the meet began, No Flies on Doodle went on to win four races and $91,225 in purses last year.

"It was huge because No Flies on Doodle was supposed to be a sprinter," Swagerty said of the gate-to-wire victory by a neck. "We still thinks she's a sprinter, but it so happened … the only race available at the time was the stakes."

Like a manager and a coach, Swagerty treats his horses as if they were his players. Each takes on its own personality, and each responds differently to instruction.

"It's like running a sports franchise," said Belvoir, once a standout wrestler at Kentwood High School before embarking on a successful career as a jockey. "Our horses are our players, and the owner and trainers are the coaches. Hopefully, you get your good players together, keep them fit and get them playing well against the right competition."

For Swagerty, competition meant basketball long before thoroughbreds.

The San Jose, Calif., native became an Academic All-American forward at the University of Pacific in Stockton. A potent scorer and fierce rebounder, he led Pacific to two conference championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

In the 1966 NCAAs, Swagerty scored 16 points and had 19 rebounds in a first-round 83-74 loss to Utah. He scored 26 points and collected 23 rebounds in a 102-91 loss to the Elvin Hayes-led Houston Cougars in the consolation game.

A year later, Swagerty led Pacific to a 72-63 first-round win over defending national champion Texas Western. He scored 11 points and had eight rebounds in an 80-64 second-round loss to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins, which featured center Lew Alcindor.

Swagerty went on to play two seasons in the ABA with the Houston Mavericks and the Kentucky Colonels. He also played in Italy before becoming a physical education instructor and coach at Seattle Pacific University from 1974-80. He compiled an 87-61 record and led the Falcons to the NCAA Division II Tournament with a 20-9 mark in 1976-77.

Swagerty left coaching in 1980 to work as a financial advisor. He stays involved with church commitments, community work and other duties.

Raising thoroughbreds, however, is still his passion. He grew up watching races on the California fair circuits and soon got involved as an owner through friendships he established in the industry.

Swagerty, who has owned horses for 15 years, decided to purchase a training center on the Green River. He has 10 mares and hopes to one day produce a great champion.

"I probably got into it so that I could go ahead and run the horses where I thought they belonged," Swagerty said of becoming a combination owner and breeder. "My wife (Jan) and I enjoy watching them grow up in our own back yard."

The Swagertys also are enjoying the winning ride.

"You do like the success … the money is just part of it," he said. "I just enjoy horses."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

<b>Horse</b> <b>racing</b>

Posted: 09 Apr 2010 04:16 AM PDT

Published: April 09. 2010 4:00AM PST

• Zenyatta tries to extend perfection: After throwing $5 million at racing's two female superstars to run in the Apple Blossom Invitational, Oaklawn Park's president got half of what he and the horse racing world wanted to see. Zenyatta is here. She's the early 3-5 favorite for today's 1 1⁄8-mile race, now worth $500,000 instead of $5 million if both horses had run. Just four challengers — none of whom has won a prestigious Grade 1 race — are taking her on as Zenyatta tries to win her 16th in a row. Rachel Alexandra, the other horse track president Charles Cella tried to lure, isn't here

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