January 17 2017

Songbird wins Eclipse Award for three-year-old fillies

Second in as many years for daughter of Medaglia d'Oro

Dual Eclipse Award winner Songbird

"And the Eclipse Award goes to..." Just to be nominated for one of our industry’s top awards and to have a chance at winning is every owner, breeder and trainer’s dream. At this year's awards ceremony it was more of the same for Medaglia d'Oro's daughter Songbird as she added yet another Eclipse Award to her glowing resume by taking home the hardware as the nation's best three-year-old filly. The Fox Hill Farm color-bearer won seven Stakes races from eight starts – four G1s - with her only defeat coming to the mighty Beholder in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in arguably the year’s most exciting race. Songbird becomes only the sixth filly since the inception of the Eclipse Awards in 1971 to win both the two- and three-year-old awards for fillies, following:

Beholder (2012 & 2013)
Silverbulletday (1998 & 1999)
Go For Wand (1989 & 1990)
Open Mind (1988 & 1989)
Ruffian (1974 & 1975)

Medaglia d’Oro’s reputation as a consistent source of world-class thoroughbreds was exemplified over and over again in 2016 as his progeny logged 27 total stakes wins (third among all sires).

New Money Honey

Medaglia d’Oro's daughter New Money Honey was nominated for top two-year-old honors and although she may not have won the Eclipse title, trainer Chad Brown didn’t discount a possible surface switch saying, “It’s not out of the question that we give her a spin on the dirt to see how she handles it before the Kentucky Oaks.” With just three trips to the post, she made the most of a lightly-raced year when taking the G3 Miss Grillo Stakes in her second start then rallying from just off the pace to win the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.