Zenyatta gets tag-teamed in workout

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Zenyatta had two stablemates for targets in a six-furlong workout at Hollywood Park on Tuesday, and their presence gave the exercise a different look for the undefeated two-time champion.

Zenyatta was timed in 1:14.40, her third workout since her 17th career win in the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap on June 17. Tuesday's workout moved Zenyatta closer to a potential start in the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes over 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on Aug. 7.

Zenyatta worked in company with stablemates Theodora and Green Cat, starting at the back of the team. Theodora led by three lengths over Green Cat entering the turn, with Zenyatta another two lengths behind.

Entering the stretch, jockey Mike Smith guided Zenyatta three wide, and they quickly passed Green Cat and finished a half-length in front of Theodora, who was timed in 1:15.

"She went really good," Smith said of Zenyatta. "She finished strongly under the wire."

Green Cat was given a time of 1:02.20 for five furlongs.

Trainer John Shirreffs said he used two stablemates with Zenyatta to make the workout "more entertaining.

"I wanted to make it a little different," he said.

Since the Vanity, Zenyatta has worked a half-mile on June 27, five furlongs on July 5, and on Tuesday.

Shirreffs has been hesitant to commit Zenyatta to the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes, which is run over 1 1/16 miles. Zennyatta won the Clement Hirsch in 2008 and 2009, but Shirreffs has said repeatedly in recent months that he wants to see how the track's Polytrack synthetic surface behaves in the first few weeks of the meeting, which begins on July 21.

Tuesday, Shirreffs said that Zenyatta will spend minimal time at Del Mar in advance of the Hirsch, and will be based at Hollywood Park this summer. Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta has earned $6,074,580.