Zenyatta's million-dollar half brother rescued at auction

Only a month before Zenyatta won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, her then-yearling half brother went through the Keeneland sales ring and hammered for $1.15 million.

By Giant’s Causeway and out of Vertigineux, the chestnut came to be known as Souper Spectacular and raced for the lofty connections of Live Oak Plantation and trainer Bill Mott, winning three of his nine races and earning $108,510.

Almost 10 years later, Souper Spectacular went through the auction ring again, this time in a livestock sale in a small Georgia town. Unrecognizable from his racetrack days, Souper Spectacular sold for only $390.

Winning bidder Mistie Lewis told award-winning reporter Margaret Ransom, writing for US Racing, how she came to leave the auction with Souper Spectacular -- now called “Seven.”

Lewis told Ransom she had not wanted to go to the auction, as they can be sad, but her daughter Hannah insisted they tag along with other people from the barn where they ride. Lewis did not know much about racing – she didn’t even know who Zenyatta was – but she had developed a love for Thoroughbreds by riding and showing them in Georgia’s Hunter/Jumper circuit. When one of her daughter’s friends told her there was a Thoroughbred at the auction, Lewis’s agenda changed.

“As we headed back there, I didn’t want to see him because I knew I’d want to take him home,“ Lewis told US Racing. “And when I went around the corner and saw him standing there in all that filth, that was it, I knew he was coming home with me.”

Souper Spectacular, who went through the sale at hip 27, then became “Seven” not only because of his hip number, but also because the total cost of purchasing him with a few supplies totaled $427.

Although Lewis gave him a new name, she wanted to track down who he really is. She called The Jockey Club and a representative helped her identify part of the tattoo on the inside of Seven’s lip, although the numbers were no longer easy to read. With part of the tattoo readable and a description of his markings, the representative told Lewis she had Souper Spectacular, a half-brother to champion Zenyatta.

Learning about Zenyatta and his past, Lewis tried to contact Live Oak Plantation and is hoping to hear back from owner Charlotte Weber.

“I do believe they thought they placed him successfully and had no control over how he ended up where he was,” Lewis said. “I can say with confidence he did not leave their property looking this way.”

Souper Spectacular supposedly went to be trained for a second career. It's unknown how this chapter of his career came to be written. After all the horse has been through, Lewis described his personalist as sweet. She plans to continue caring for him.

Donations for Seven can be given on the Go Fund Me page “Saving Souper Spectacular!” and his progress can be followed on Lewis’ daughter’s Facebook page.