Although most people’s money was on A.P. Indy to sire the first of Zenyatta’s foals, today it was announced that the Mosses have chosen Bernadini, an A.P. Indy son, instead.

Bernardini was won the 2006 Eclipse Award for Best Male Horse after winning the Preakness Stakes, the Jim Dandy Stakes, the Travers Stakes, the Haskell Invitational and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Although he was favored to win the Breeders Cup, he lost by a length to Invasor.

Bernardini was the leading freshman sire in 2010 (judged by the number of graded/group winners and by the number of stakes winners).

If you are inspired by the match, the Thoroughbred Times is holding a contest to suggest a name for foal-to-be.

The person who submits the best name, as chosen by the Thoroughbred Times editorial staff, will receive a Zenyatta prize pack that includes a hard copy of the Zenyatta souvenir magazine as well as several back issues that feature her on the cover.

To enter, submit your suggestion in the comment section of the article (linked to above), and be sure to include a correct e-mail address. For those who like to divine names using pedigree, here is the hypothetical foal’s five-cross pedigree courtesy The Jockey Club.

The contest ends at 4 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 31st, and Thoroughbred Times will announce the winner on its website that week.