![]() ![]() On that screaming day at Santa Anita, with Songbird and Beholder flying like one eight-legged airplane, everyone was lucky. If I’m lucky maybe I’ll get to ride some of her babies one of these days.” “Now she gets to retire and I’m sure she will be a fantastic mom. “She was beautiful, smart, sweet, well-behaved, and she would do anything you asked of her. “I will always look at her as the total package,” Smith said. All but one of her wins was in a Grade 1 Stakes or higher, and she won Eclipse Awards as a two and a three year old. Last year she won the Santa Anita Oaks by nearly four. The previous year she won the Breeders Cup’ Juvenile Fillies by nearly six lengths. “I don’t think she knows she didn’t win that race,’ Smith said. Songbird came within a nose hair of beating Beholder and going 8-for-8 in 2016. Who’s to say how she would have done? But I wasn’t worried about her getting hurt.” You could get hurt training in the morning. “I don’t look at it that way, though,” Smith said. Fox Hill Farm purchased her for 400,000 from Hill n Dale Sales Agency at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tiptons select yearling sale in New York, in. Better to protect Songbird and, if necessary, let her get to the barn intact. Songbird was bred in Kentucky by John Antonelli. No horse owner or trainer forgets the aftermath of that. Porter had a filly named Eight Belles who broke both ankles after she crossed the wire second at the 2008 Kentucky Derby. In one sense, Songbird’s troubles in 2017 could be seen as vindication for Porter, who steadfastly kept Songbird out of the Triple Crown picture last year. For me it was an honor to ride her and to be the only one to ride her, in all those races.” “Depends on how you look at it,” Smith said. I didn’t have any idea this would happen.” Then Joel got by her quick and Songbird didn’t have quite enough room to catch up. He kept her just far enough back and away that Songbird never saw her, because if Songbird had sensed she was there, she would have started racing her. Smith said Songbird ran very well at Saratoga. Although she won her first two races of 2017, she had developed a tendency to bone-bruise, and Porter and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer never thought she was back in form. Songbird has raced and won at Newbury-GB, Newmarket-GB, Saint-Cloud. She was trained by Lady Jane Cecil and retired -> race for Sir Robert Ogden, and was bred in Add Data by Add Data. ![]() She was sired by Danehill Dancer out of the Galileo mare Mine Excavation. We’ll never know what price Songbird paid for racing Beholder so bravely. Songbird is a 14 year old mare that was born in 2009 and retired -> race in 2013. Come Monday morning 'She's here' Timber Town announced, calling the offspring 'a beautiful filly. ![]() “She might not always have finished first, but she ran a winning race every time.” Mandy Pope, who purchased the champion Songbird for 9.5 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, arranged the date with Arrogate, who retired after that year's Breeders' Cup Classic. “She won every race as far as I’m concerned,” Smith said on Thursday. ![]()
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