Soaring Softly
| Soaringly Softly | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (1999)
Breeders' Cup wins:Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (1999) |
| Awards | |
| American Champion Female Turf Horse (1999) | |
| Honours | |
| Grade III Soaring Softly Stakes (2016– ) at Belmont Park | |
| Last updated on 30 May 2022 | |
Soaring Softly (1995 in Kentucky – 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose biggest win came in the 1999 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She originally raced on dirt, with limited success. Switched to turf at age four, she won seven of eight starts and was named the American Champion Female Turf Horse.
Background
Soaring Softly was bred and raced by Joan Phillips and her son John of the renowned Darby Dan Farm. Her sire is Darby Dan's outstanding stallion Kris S., a son of the Darby Dan European star grass racer Roberto.[2] Her dam is the farm's own mare Wings of Grace, who was a daughter of the 1972 American Champion 3-Year-Old Colt, Key to the Mint. Wings of Grace is from the family of Softly, one of Darby Dan's most influential broodmares.[3]
Racing career
At age two
Soaring Softly was conditioned for racing by Jimmy Toner. She made her racing debut at age two on October 18, 1997, with a third-place finish in a seven-furlong event for maidens on the dirt track at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. She won her second and final start of the year in a one-mile event for maidens at Aqueduct Racetrack on November 11.[1]
At age three
Soaring Softly made six starts at age three, winning her first outing on April 24, 1998, at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. She then returned to Belmont Park for the June 7 Grade 1 Acorn Stakes, in which she finished fourth behind winner Jersey Girl. She then finished sixth in the June 27 Mother Goose Stakes, again won by Jersey Girl. Soaring Softly did not start again until November, when she returned to competing in allowance races at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning two third-place finishes in mile events. In her final start of 1998, on December 5, Soaring Softly ran second in a mile and a sixteenth allowance race.[1]
At age four, a Champion on turf
Wintered in
After developing a tissue strain that would have required therapy and a lengthy recovery, Soaring Softly was retired from racing.[4]
Retirement
As a
Soaring Softly died in a paddock accident in September, 2015, at the age of 20. The Soaring Softly Stakes at Belmont Park is named in her honor.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "Soaring Softly - Equibase Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Kris S. Euthanized; Sire of 63 Stakes Winners". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ Avalyn Hunter. "Pedigree Analysis: Soaring". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Avalyn Hunter. "Soaring Softly (horse)". American Classic Pedigrees. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Soaring Softly Offspring". www.pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Survivor Manitoulin Lands Hollywood Turf Cup". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.