director Charlie Whiting to seek clarification of what is and is not a

Zenyatta was born on April 1 -- no kidding -- and she made her racing debut on Thanksgiving. Youre welcome.After such delightful coincidences of the calendar, anything was possible. So, why not 19 straight wins and nearly a 20th, three championship seasons and Horse of the Year, international fame and adoration, and a place on the Hall of Fame wall in Saratoga Springs in her first year of eligibility?Those of us lucky enough to witness the emergence of Zenyatta as a filly of consequence attach our memories to special moments. For this reporter, Zenyatta was always a necessary stop, if only to stand at her stall and wonder aloud how it was possible for anything so big to be so fast and so sweet.Though counterintuitive in Americas culture of speed, Zenyatta was a racehorse who led from behind. She turned races upside down, requiring race-callers to account for her every stride at the back of the pack as if that is where the action was truly unfolding, because it was.Her athleticism in full flight was a sight to behold. Here is Zenyatta skipping lightly over the heels of stablemate Life Is Sweet when Garrett Gomez tried to sucker Mike Smith to the rail on the backstretch of the 2009 Milady Handicap. Here is Zenyatta looking right and then diving left to hit a narrow hole in the 2010 Santa Margarita Handicap. Here is Zenyatta knifing between horses on the turn of the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic before picking her seam and running down Gio Ponti.It was inside the sixteenth pole, said Ramon Dominguez, who rode Gio Ponti that day and will be inducted on Friday as well. Thats when I heard the commotion from the public. I looked over and saw her and thought, Okay. There was nothing I could do.Zenyatta was 5 for 5 when she had her first tough day in the 2008 Vanity Handicap, her first race at nine furlongs. She washed out, fussed going to the post, and pulled herself up once she hit the lead to beat Tough Tizs Sis by only half a length.You want them to be challenged, said her trainer, John Shirreffs, in the wake of that race. You dont want them to have it easy all the time, especially not when theyll be facing much tougher opposition as you go along.Zenyattas opposition often was maligned as moderate, a function, no doubt, of the ease with which she devoured most of her fields in hand. Let the record show, however, that her beaten opponents included champion Gio Ponti, champion Summer Bird, champion Ginger Punch, Breeders Cup winner Life Is Sweet, Santa Anita Handicap winner Einstein, and the major stakes winners Switch, Hystericalady, Music Note, Cocoa Beach, St Trinians, and stablemate Zardana, who upset Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans, the same Rachel Alexandra being inducted alongside Zenyatta.The Hall of Fame spotlight will be on Zenyattas owners, Ann and Jerry Moss, as well as Shirreffs and his wife, Dottie. And, of course, Mike Smith, who rode Zenyatta with the confidence of a man running for a train he knew hed always catch.Shes the best thing that ever happened to me, thats for sure, Smith said.The sentiment is echoed, especially by Jerry Moss, who bought the daughter of Street Cry as a yearling for $60,000.She was big and beautiful, Moss said. She just had this skin rash. We were prepared to go much higher for her, and when the hammer stopped, I just wanted to make sure it was us. Kiss a frog, see what happens.Call it kismet. Call it a fairy tale. Give it whatever name you like.I take no credit other than to admit I am a very lucky man, Moss said. If some of my luck seems to have gotten into the equine part of my life, so be it. Ill accept the credit for being lucky.Moss would be the first to spread the credit around. The list of people who deserve praise for Zenyattas care and well-being also includes Mario Espinoza, Frank Leal, Felipe Rivera, Michelle Jensen, Freddy Miller, and Steve Willard. If their names are not on her Hall of Fame plaque, they should be.I also have to attribute a lot of her success to David Flores, Shirreffs once said, referring to Zenyattas jockey through her first three starts, before Smith took over. He was so patient with her in those earlier races. She would break slow, and he did nothing to rush her or ask her to do anything she wasnt ready to do. She won anyway, but the experiences were positive and helped her a lot.Zenyattas narrow loss in her final start to Blame in the 2010 Breeders Cup Classic proved that she was, at last, human after all. The race still stings, perfection being so very close, but nothing is held against her.To have a horse of this nature, this stature, is a dream come true, Moss said upon her retirement. I just love her. I just hope shes happy and healthy and goes on to be all shes suppose to be.As her plaque is presented on Friday and the crowd at Saratoga stands in ovation, Zenyatta will be lolling about in her 15-acre pasture at Lanes End Farm in Kentucky, probably finding some shade. She is in foal to Medaglia dOro, a Travers and Whitney winner, after having lost her fourth and most recent foal last April to postpartum complications.They certainly mourn the loss of a foal, said Todd Claunch, Lanes End assistant manager. But you could tell, when we brought her back and put her in her paddock, she put her head up, looked around, and said, Im home now. You could see the release in her eye.When she was a maiden mare, Id never seen such a muscular horse, Claunch added. She was like a gladiator. She doesnt exercise herself as much now, but shes still in great shape.Its really nice having her here at the farm. But watching her train and race, that must have been really spectacular.Yes, it really was. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Darren Woodson Youth Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Chuck-Howley-Cowboys-Jersey/ . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Connor McGovern Womens Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Robert Newhouse Cowboys Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe says Lewis Hamiltons decision to seek clarity on Nico Rosbergs Hungary pole lap from the FIA and not his own team was regrettable.Rosberg pipped his Mercedes teammate to pole in Budapest despite going purple through a middle sector at a time when there were double-waved yellows in effect. Hamilton and other drivers, including Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, had been ahead of Rosberg on the road and had slowed dramatically in accordance with the cautions.Afterwards, Hamilton went to FIA race director Charlie Whiting to seek clarification of what is and is not allowed under yellow flags, which was then followed by the stewards investigating Rosbergs lap. Lowe does not think Hamiltons approach had any influence on the stewards deciding to look into the lap but wishes the world champion had simply asked for advice ffrom the Mercedes team.ddddddddddddIts my understanding that Lewis did go and see Charlie, but it wasnt in any way to seek a review of Nicos lap, Lowe said. It was for his own understanding of what should be done in the future, how that should work for him in the future.I think that was regrettable, personally, he should have kept to advice from the team and we can obtain that from Charlie as necessary. But I dont think there was any harm done, it was just a misjudgement from that point of view.Following the double yellow controversy in Hungary, Whiting has enforced new rules for this weekends German Grand Prix. A double yellow situation will instead be replaced by a red flag, something Hamilton does not believe is necessary. ' ' '