Zipse: Quietly, She Feels Pretty becomes a deserving champion

The announcement of the Eclipse Award for Champion Female Turf Horse on Thursday evening may have lacked the fanfare of the categories which went to Sovereignty, Forever Young, and Ted Noffey, but the winner was no less deserving. She Feels Pretty is a champion in every sense of the word.

A more consistent horse would be difficult to find. The daughter of Karakontie runs her race every single time she takes to the track.

A $240,000 yearling purchase of Lael Stable, of Barbaro fame, She Feels Pretty was an excellent 2-year-old. She flew home in a maiden sprint on the Ellis Park turf to win at first asking and then became a Grade 1 winner at Woodbine in only her second career start.

Trained by rising star Cherie DeVaux, She Feels Pretty was narrowly beaten as a lukewarm favorite when she ventured west for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). She finished third, beaten only a half-length in a field of 14. In only three races as a juvenile, it was clear that the pretty chestnut filly had a big future.

She did not return to the races until Preakness Day the following spring, but the anticipation of her return proved worth the wait. A dominant 5 3/4-length win in the Hilltop Stakes kicked off her 3-year-old campaign.

As she had done the previous season, She Feels Pretty immediately moved right into the highest level of racing next and was beaten by less than a length by the classy European Cinderella's Dream when stretched out to 1 3/16-miles in the Belmont Oaks (G1).

Perhaps the most disappointing race of her stellar career came next when she was upset at Saratoga. Still, she was right there at the finish, losing the Lake Placid Stakes (G2) by a neck to Grayosh. The sting of that defeat would not last long, however.

With regular rider John Velazquez in the saddle, She Feels Pretty took things to a new and exciting level in her final two starts at 3. At her home base at Keeneland, she turned a ten-horse field in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) into a one-woman show, winning off by six emphatic lengths.

A return trip to California resulted in another powerhouse performance as the DeVaux-trainee dominated the 10-furlong American Oaks (G1) to close out her second season at the races.

A finalist for two Eclipse Awards as a sophomore, She Feels Pretty did not take home either the Female Turf Horse award or the Three-Year-Old Filly award, but she would not be denied as a 4-year-old.

Her clear-cut victory in the 2025 Eclipse Award voting followed a racing season that began with an easy score in the Modesty Stakes (G3) on the Kentucky Oaks card. From there it would be a steady diet of Grade 1 races for the turf star.

She Feels Pretty handled her first bog of a turf course next by earning a fourth career Grade 1 victory in the New York Stakes on Belmont Stakes weekend. The win at 1 3/16-miles over a rain-soaked turf course was another stage of progression in her outstanding career.

She would suffer her first defeat as an older horse in a head-bobbing thriller with Excellent Truth in Saratoga’s Diana Stakes (G1). She Feels Pretty displayed her toughness in that loss and did the same when she bounced back to win the E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1) at Woodbine in another tough battle.

That victory sent her to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) where she was sent off as the 3-1 second choice in an international field of 13. The favorite was her old rival Cinderella’s Dream, who failed to fire on Nov. 1.

The same certainly could not be said about She Feels Pretty, who ran her race. Involved right away from her outside post, she took command in the stretch only to be passed late by the young European star Gezora.

Valiant in defeat, she again ran big at the Breeders’ Cup but will have to wait another day for victory at the World Championships.

As it stands now, She Feels Pretty boasts an impressive career record of 13: 8-3-2. She has earned $2,550,592 while running in nothing but stakes races since winning her debut.

Most telling of her class and consistency, 9 of her 13 career starts have come in Grade 1 races. She Feels Pretty has never finished out of the money, and in her five career defeats, she has only been beaten by a combined 2 1/4-lengths.

In 2026, She Feels Pretty will not need to travel to California for the Breeders’ Cup. This year the World Championships will be hosted at Keeneland. It’s where the now 5-year-old mare spends most of her time. The European contingent is always tough, but America’s best will be running in her own backyard this time around.

Excellent at 2, better at 3, and a champion at 4, She Feels Pretty should be celebrated as one of the best American turf females we have had in recent years, and she is not done yet.