Zenyatta's former exercise rider, Steve Willard, dies
ARCADIA, Calif. – Steve Willard, a former jockey who later exercised such notable runners as Gate Dancer, Gentleman, and the famous mare Zenyatta, died Tuesday, according to trainer John Shirreffs.
Willard was 71. He died at a local hospital. Willard had been treated for pancreatic cancer in recent years, Shirreffs said on Friday.
Willard was closely associated with Zenyatta through her racing career from 2007-10. Willard said he planned to retire when Zenyatta left the track at the end of 2010, but he stayed with Shirreffs into 2011.
“He galloped some of the best horses on the racetrack,” Shirreffs said.
Willard grew up in Illinois and rode at tracks in the Midwest, including Fairmount Park, until the early 1980s. Shirreffs recalled on Friday that Willard worked for Marion Van Berg and his son, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, after he quit riding races.
In the 1990s, Willard worked for another Hall of Fame trainer, Richard Mandella, who at the time had Gentleman among his top older horses.
“He was one of the best I ever had,” Mandella said on Friday. “He was a good rider and a good horseman. He could ride one or gallop one.”
Willard began working for Shirreffs in the 2000s and was with the team when Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby.
Willard rose to prominence in 2009 and 2010 through his association with Zenyatta, the 2010 Horse of the Year. He was her regular exercise rider and rode her in some workouts. When Zenyatta’s career ended in late 2010, Willard was among the group that traveled to Kentucky with the mare.
Shirreffs said that no services have been scheduled.
From the DRF archives
:: Hovdey: Willard maintaining tight rein on a tough one
:: Zenyatta's people: Exercise rider Steve Willard