BC Distaff 2016: Songbird Hopes to be 3rd Undefeated Winner

The 2016 Breeders’ Cup Distaff is a race that will be filled with the best distaff fillies and mares in the U.S. Among the pre-entries are Beholder, Stellar Wind, I’m a Chatterbox, Curalina, Forever Unbridled, and the very special three-year-old filly Songbird.

Songbird has remained perfect throughout her 11 career starts for her connections Fox Hill Farms, Jerry Hollendorfer, and Mike Smith; and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is about to be the toughest test she has ever faced. Not only is she racing against older fillies and mares for the first time, but she is facing two other Eclipse Champions in Beholder and Stellar Wind.

Even though Nov. 4 will present Songbird with a big challenge, the brilliance she has shown at ages two and three cannot be denied. The Medaglia d’Oro filly looks to become only the third Distaff winner to be undefeated, joining two Hall of Fame mares, Zenyatta and Personal Ensign, with the latter being the only one to retire undefeated.

Personal Ensign and Songbird took different paths in their racing careers, with Songbird racing predominately on the west coast and Personal Ensign on the east, but the top class races were never avoided if it could be helped.

Personal Ensign, a homebred for Ogden Phipps, won her debut at Belmont Park in the fall of 1986 before going on to take the Grade 1 Frizette. Unfortunately, the daughter of Private Account suffered a fractured pastern after her second start. She missed the Kentucky Oaks and did not race until 11 months after the Frizette. Trainer Shug McGaughey brought her back in two Belmont allowance races, in which she was victorious, before sending her back to stakes company. To wrap up her three-year-old year, Personal Ensign took the Grade 2 Rare Perfume Stakes and the Grade 1 Beldame against older fillies and mares.

Although Personal Ensign had already showed talent, what she did at age four proved she was one of the best race mares in history. She opened her season on three straight wins, taking the Grade 1 Shuvee, the Grade 1 Hempstead Handicap, and the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher.

Personal Ensign next took on male rivals in the Grade 1 Whitney, versing Gulch and King’s Swan on a sloppy track. She started out behind her two rivals, but when asked to go, she was unstoppable. Gulch tried to fight back, but finished 1 ½ lengths back in second. Personal Ensign also took the Grade 1 Maskette and repeated in the Beldame.

Heading into the last race of her career, Personal Ensign loaded into the gate for the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff with a 12-for-12 record. That year’s Kentucky Derby winner, the filly Winning Colors, was also entered in the Distaff. She was second to Personal Ensign in the Maskette, but found herself loose on the lead in the Distaff while Personal Ensign raced further back. In the homestretch it looked like Winning Colors would take the race gate to wire, but Personal Ensign surged on the outside with a powerful kick and won her final race by a nose. To cap off her career, Personal Ensign also received Champion Older Mare honors in 1988.

Twenty-seven years later, Songbird loaded into the gate for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She had won her three starts prior to that, including a maiden score, the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, and the Grade 1 Chandelier. The field was no challenge, and Songbird swept up her fourth victory and was named Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.

At age three, Songbird kicked off the season by winning the Grade 2 Las Virgenes, the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel, and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks. Unfortunately, like Personal Ensign before her, the Kentucky Oaks would not be in the cards for Songbird. She came down with a fever and did not make the trip from California to Kentucky. Despite the derailed plans, Songbird came back to win the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks before skipping past the Graveyard of Champions, where she took Saratoga’s premier three-year-old filly races, the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and the Grade 1 Alabama. She also went on to take the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx.

Now with 11 wins in 11 starts, Songbird has the chance to become only the third undefeated Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner in history. In less than a week, the magnificent filly will make her twelfth career start against the best of the best. If she can pull off the win, she could possibly go down in history as one of the greatest fillies on the track.

By Christine Oser