Last Wednesday, former horse of the year 7-year-old Zenyatta made a trip from Lane’s End to Jonabell Farm where she was bred to Bernardini. Veterinarians had previously examined her to check her ovulation status and according to what Dottie Ingordo Shirreffs wrote in the mare’s official website, the covering was textbook.

The statement in the website also said that Zenyatta was “unbelievably professional, especially for a maiden mare”. In fourteen days approximately the mare will undergo ultrasound to determine if she is pregnant. Gestation in horses lasts 11 months and since the official birthdates for registered thoroughbred foals' is 1st January, many owners try to mate their mares so that foals are born between January and March.

At the beginning of the week, 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra was bred to Curlin, who won the Horse of the Year title twice. Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke are the owners of the two horses. “The privilege of owning these horses is like lightning striking twice,” Ms. Banke commented. “Rachel Alexandra and Curlin are true champions.”

Curlin retired after the Breeder’s Cup Classic in 2008 with a record of $10,501,800 in career earnings. On the other hand, Rachel Alexandra won the 2009 Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational and besides being horse of the year she was voted 2009 champion three-year-old filly.