In this new TDN column, Christie DeBernardis will tell the story of formerly famous and/or successful racehorses who are now enjoying second careers as showhorses, racehorses, etc.
The first two ponies in the mighty Zenyatta, Cozmic One (Bernardini) and Ziconic (Tapit), have never been a winner’s finalist in their brief careers on the track, but both are thriving in their second careers as jumpers and athletes. porcelain for the Thoroughbreds terrain team.
The oldest brother, Cozmic One’s second career is fully documented in these pages (Cozmic One: Shine a new light on OTTB and Register on Cozmic One) before, but we checked with Sergio de Sousa of Hidden Brook Ranch and his daughter Isabela for the latest update.
When the Cozmic One first arrived at de Sousas, he was Isabela’s curator. A successful equestrian, Isabela repeatedly received the blue ribbon with her OTTB at the Annual Thoroughbred Sheltering Competition, which was her first goal with “Coz” in 2018.
When Isabela started traveling to pursue her professional equestrian career, Sergio took over Cozmic One. The two have competed in jump shows, centered on the Take2 program, which is a partnership with the American Equestrian Federation’s ranked horse programs that provide hunter and jump rope squads. rating C, limited to purebred breeds registered with the Jockey Club. They will also compete at the Real Rider Cup for the second time this year in the new Kentucky-based event on July 9.
“Isabela is coming around this summer, so if she wants to dance him she can, but he’s basically my fun pony right now,” said Sergio. “I just want to keep having fun with him and doing things like the Real Rider Cup. We did .85 [meter jumpers] last week at [Kentucky] Horse Park. I hope to qualify for the Take2 final with him at Horse Park in September.”
The Cozmic One is now 10 years old, considered old for racehorses, but the most important age for racehorses.
Sergio said: “He has really matured. “He is a much stronger horse now and I have improved my riding. We are just having fun and enjoying each other.”
“Coz is doing great and he and my dad are developing a lovely partnership,” added Isabela. “Both are learning from each other and enjoying doing it.”
Ziconic & Sarah Pollock | Tell in movies
While Cozmic One was enjoying the lush green Kentucky grass, his half-brother Ziconic still on West Bank when he left coach John Shirreffs’ cage three years ago. He was placed in the care of Linda Moss and her husband George Bedar, who had been a Shirreffs intern campaigned by Zenyatta’s owners, Jerome and Ann Holbrook Moss, in her barn in Milyone (Maria’s Mon).
Linda Moss became friends with Ann Holbrook Moss and Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs in 2011 when she honored Zenyatta at a local conference for business women.
“I am a board advisor to California’s Professional Women Entrepreneurs, and we hold the conference every year,” explains Moss. “The theme for our conference in 2011 was Connect, Explore, Inspire, and I was responsible for producing the inspirational piece. I wanted a special woman to represent the inspired part and I chose Zenyatta to do it.”
The next thing Moss did was go to Santa Anita to meet the queen.
“Not long after the conference, I went down to the track and met Zenyatta,” said Moss, who has owned Arabs in the past but has always loved purebred dogs. “My older purebred Milyone was there, about three stalls from Zenyatta. He kept calling me as I was walking down the aisle of the warehouse. When I went to his stall, he just put his head on my neck. John said, “He’s never done that to anyone before.” I joked, ‘Well, if he needs a house, he’ll have one.’ A year and a half later, Dottie called me and said, “Do you still want Milyone?”
Of course, Moss said yes. Then, in June 2019, she received another call from Ingordo-Shirreffs.
“When Ziconic was about to retire, Dottie called me and said that John and I felt he should come see you,” Moss said. “We talked about it and that’s how we got him exactly three years ago.”
According to Moss, Ziconic is well aware of his royal heritage and receives the attention that comes with it.
“Ziconic is the kind of horse that knows who it is and loves special treatment,” she says. “He is extremely proud. It’s probably the smartest horse I’ve ever had. He is also very playful and loves the audience.”
Moss said Ziconic lived a very good life. He started training again as a diver with trainer Sarah Pollock and the pair even won their first show together in 2020. Unfortunately, the showtimes show Ziconic was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and an outbreak of EHV in the state of California.
“He’s really enjoying his off-track life,” Moss said. “We give him a lot of variety. He is the king of the ranch he is currently on, the Eclipse Equestrian Sports Therapy Center in the Santa Ynez Valley. He was originally on a sports horse ranch, training with a great trainer, Sarah Pollock. She’s done an incredible job converting him. ”
She continued, “He really enjoys dancing and being in the arena, getting all the cheers and being photographed. It has been an unstable performing career for him because of COVID and the EHV outbreak. We gave him winter break. Now he’s back in a dance show with the goal of showing off in the fall dance circuit. We will probably start him back at 0.80 or 0.85 [meter]but he jumped a meter before that. “
Under the care of Moss and de Sousas, both of Zenyatta’s sons found their calling. They have brought the athleticism and winning attitude they inherited from their superstar dam to new locations, shining a brighter spotlight on off-track Thoroughbreds teams everywhere in the process.
