Zenyatta named Horse of the Year at last, but will we see her offspring in Europe?...

Zenyatta. Image courtesy: The New York Times

After failing by a nose in both the 2008 & 2009 contests, the incredible Zenyatta finally landed the Eclipse Horse of the Year for 2010 at Monday nights star-studded event in Miami.

In what was another enthralling chapter of her remarkable 20 race career, the much-coveted mare managed to gain retribution on the horse that had the audacity to inflict that career-ending defeat beneath the Twin Spires in early November.

Following the Breeders' Cup, there had been a vast amount of verbal and keyboard sparring from those within the game, many of whom of the opinion that Blame - the conqueror - was the logical choice for the Horse of the Year award.

Although seemingly nip and tuck for the last 10 weeks or so since Blame dished up that last-gasp Kentucky defeat, the winning distance at the wire in Miami was a number of lengths as Zenyatta triumphed with 128 votes, some 26 more than the Al Stall's flag-bearer.

As revealed by Joe Drape in last Thursday's brilliant New York Times piece, Zenyatta is now reportedly ready to begin the next stage of her career as a Broodmare in the Kentucky breeding shed of Lane's End Farm, and the rumours are that fellow Lane's Enders A.P. Indy ($150,000) and Curlin ($40,000) may be top of Jerry Moss' list of potential mates.

However, a quick play with 'MareMatch' over at the Werk Nick website, highlights Coolmore USA inmate Giant's Causeway ($85,000) as the highest rated prospective Kentucky based stallion for Zenyatta with a WerkNick rating of A+++.

 Giant's Causeway. Image courtesy: www.coolmore.com

This *Triple Plus* rating is based on the Giant's Causeway - Machiavellian cross, a 'Nick' that is, amongst others, responsible for the 2004 European champion juvenile Sharmadal and his son Lope de Vega, who emulated his sire when landing last year's Prix du Jockey Club - some five years after his sire's head victory over the errant Hurricane Run.

There are many reasons to believe that conquering Europe is almost definitely not at the top of Bronx-born Moss' priority list, but Zenyatta's record on synthetic surfaces could mean that a visit from such a proven turf influence as Giant's Causeway may produce a foal capable of competing on the highest stage in Europe.

The probability is extremely low, and I agree I may be guilty of more than a little amount of day-dreaming here, but if Zenyatta is currently the Queen of California, come October 2015 she could be responsible for the King of Longchamp.

Hollywood_G