Songbird continues her march to greatness in the Santa Anita Oaks

One in a million. The phrase gets thrown around all too often, but every once in a while, it fits. They’re running a Grade 1 race Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita Park, but for all intents and purposes, the Santa Anita Oaks has already been run. Sure, a horse race is never over until it is over, but in this case, only the most monumental of upsets can interrupt Songbird from her date in the winner’s circle. Rather, it’s just the next step in her march to greatness.

In 2015, American Pharoah may well have reached that rarefied air to be called one in a million, and now one year later, a young filly has started her career in such a way as to draw comparisons to the greatest female horses ever to have been saddled. What Songbird has done in six electrifying starts to begin her racing life has sent a jolt through the racing world. With power and grace, and perhaps most importantly, efficiency of motion, the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro has run away from the best in her division with devastating ease. Simply put, there have not been many fillies to start their career so sensationally in the history of the sport. Two days out from her next test, let’s look back at the stunning filly’s rise to superstardom …

July 26, 2015 (Del Mar) – Purchased for $400,000 by Fox Hill Farms as a yearling, Songbird was well bet in her career debut. Under Mike Smith, she went right to the lead, where the turf meets the surf, and smoked a maiden field of nine by 6 ½-lengths. At 2-1, this has to date been the only time that the hugely talented filly has not been sent to the starting gate as the favorite. For now, and quite a while I imagine, Tiz a Tommy Town, who finished second in the six-furlong affair, is the answer to the trivia question as the only horse ever to be bet below Songbird.

September 5, 2015 (Del Mar) – Everyone saw the debut, so it was no surprise when Songbird was sent off an 11-10 choice in her second career start, despite moving right up into Grade 1 company. The Del Mar Debutante adequately established her as the Princess of the West Coast, as she looked the graded stakes winner Pretty N Cool in the eye through fast fractions, before drawing away in mid-stretch to a 5 ¼-length statement victory in the seven-furlong test.

September 26, 2015 (Santa Anita) – Stretching out to a second turn did nothing to scare the bettors from backing the impressive juvenile filly. Pounded down to 1-5 in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes, Songbird only used the longer distance to make things look even easier. Land Over Sea rallied for second, 4 ½-lengths behind the winner, but nearly ten lengths ahead of the third place finisher. Her third eye-catching win, and her second in a Grade 1, sent the fleet filly to Kentucky as strictly the one to beat in the World Championships.

October 31, 2015 (Keeneland) – Her first race away from Southern California, while facing a deep cast of successful stakes fillies, would seem like cause for concern for most young runners, but alas, Songbird was not just any run of the mill, Grade 1 winning two-year-old. Once again running faster than the male champion Nyquist did in victory on the same day, the 3-5 favorite made it look all too easy. Taking the race right to her competition early, it looked to be a full grown woman against the girls, as she toyed with her well regarded competition to the tune of a 5 ¾-length runaway in the most important race for her division. It clinched a championship, but more than that, it began to show just how special Songbird may really be.

February 6, 2016 (Santa Anita) – What would the Jerry Hollendorfer trained filly bring to the table as a three-year-old? That question was answered emphatically and enthusiastically, as Songbird tore away from the field on the far turn, opening up ten lengths on her Grade 2 Las Virgenes competition in the stretch. Any doubts as to whether she would be the same filly who so captivated us all at two, were quickly put to bed. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Derby talk ramped up, but was also quickly squelched by her connections.

March 5, 2016 (Santa Anita Park) – The final margin of victory might have been a career low 3 ¾-lengths, but in actuality, it was an effortless display of domination, as familiar partner Mike Smith let the 1-20 favorite coast home the entire length of the stretch in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel. For the third time in her career, Land Over Sea rallied up to be clearly second best. After this race, and in her first start away from Songbird since winning last July, Land Over Sea was a much the best winner of the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 26.

April 9, 2016 (Santa Anita Park) – Songbird will break from the rail under Mike Smith as the prohibitive choice in the Santa Anita Oaks, and using her first six races as a guide, you can expect to see nothing short of brilliance, as the young champion strolls to the wire easily the best of the field of seven. Next stop – the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.