John Shirreffs, trainer of Zenyatta and Giacomo,

John Shirreffs, the soft-spoken giant who educated Zenyatta, maybe the best mare of all-time, died in Southern California on Thursday. He was 80. No trigger of death was announced.

Shirreffs was one of the top trainers in Southern California with 3,589 begins, 596 of them wins ensuing in $58.5 million in purses.

He was a acquainted face around local tracks, often ponying his horses to the observe during morning training and then avoiding the highlight when his horse gained by staying on the racing floor and not going to the Winner’s Circle, leaving the punditry to his spouse, Dottie Ingordo.

Shirreffs first grabbed national consideration when he gained the Kentucky Derby with Giacomo at odds of 50-1 in 2005. The horse was partially owned by legendary file producer Jerry Moss, the M along with Herb Alpert in A&M data. Shirreffs remained Moss’ major trainer until his death in 2023.

Then after Giacomo got here Zenyatta, whose persona and talent gained the hearts of Southern California race-goers in her 19-race profitable streak that included an “un-believe-able” (according to race caller Trevor Denman) last-to-first win against the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in 2009.

Shirreffs, a Marine veteran, fell into horse racing by accident.

“When I got back from Vietnam, I had no place to go, but I had a friend who knew somebody, so they they said, ‘Come on out West,’” Shirreffs told The Times before last 12 months’s Kentucky Derby.

“So here I’m in New York, I don’t know anything about [horses] except I’ve seen a lot of cowboy movies. So here comes Jim Matthews, pulls up in his trailer, he has his horse set and he it backs his horse out of a trailer.”

Shirreffs admits to probably not realizing what he was doing.

“A week or so later, Jim’s just calls me and says, ‘Do you want to come to work for me?’ I said ‘Yeah, that’d be great,” Shirreffs said. “So, I went to work for him and didn’t get paid anything, just room and board. He soon said, ‘I’ll give you this horse and if you sell it, you can make some money.’

“So I’m riding this horse across this field and I get stuck in this mud box. I get the horse out of the mud and Henry Freitas [at Loma Rica Ranch in Central California] asked if I would like to work for him. I said, ‘Well, sure, I get paid here, right? This is great.

“I worked there about 11 years, and one day in he says, ‘John, you wanna take my horse to the fairs?’ I said, ‘Sure, I’d love to do that.’ And that’s how it all started. You know, I never planned it and the opportunity just presented itself each time and when I was fortunate enough, and had some experience with horses, and that’s how it started.”

Shirreffs was requested if Vietnam or training horses was more tough.

“Well, we don’t want to talk about that,” Shirreffs said.

Santa Anita issued a assertion relating to Shirreffs’ death.

“Every horse who races at Santa Anita must first pass by the statue of John’s greatest trainee, the wonderful mare Zenyatta. While John’s victories were plentiful and prestigious, what he accomplished with Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic was a masterpiece and deservedly was voted as the top moment in Santa Anita Park’s 90 years. Our deepest condolences are extended to John’s wife, Dottie, and his family, including those horsemen and women who worked closely with John for so many years. May his memory be a blessing.”

No funeral preparations have been announced.