Even in retirement, Zenyatta keeps working

The retired undefeated superstar Zenyatta worked a half-mile at Hollywood Park on Monday, but it does not mean that the winner of 14 races is going to have another start before being bred in 2010.

Trainer John Shirreffs said on Monday that Zenyatta needed the workout "to take the edge off a little." She breezed a half-mile in 50.40 seconds, the eighth fastest of 17 recorded works at the distance.

Zenyatta has not raced since becoming the first female to win the Breeders' Cup Classic, at Santa Anita on Nov. 7.

"She's just galloping every day," Shirreffs said. "We wanted to take the edge off of that. When they're fresh and feeling good, it makes them hard to handle."

Shirreffs did not rule out another workout for Zenyatta before she is scheduled to leave for Kentucky in January.

"That's a long time to keep her in the barn," he said.

Zenyatta, 5, finished her career in the Breeders' Cup. Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, she won five stakes this year, and is a along with the brilliant 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra.