Soldier Girl - by Nathan Robert

Although the dam My Flag would prove to be quite a prolific mare – she eventually produced two millionaires and a half-dozen graded stakes winners – she was an unknown quantity when owner Jennifer Stewart was first breeding her. My Flag’s first two horses were Banner Boy and Soldier Girl. After a few disappointing starts for Banner Boy, who wouldn’t excel at the track until he as four years old, Jennifer Stewart put half-sister Soldier Girl on the sales page for a very reasonable price. In her only previous start, Soldier Girl had finished a disappointing eighth.

New player Jess Paquette, who had been in the game for literally a few days, picked up Soldier Girl and the two-year-old promptly broke her maiden in a six-furlong dirt sprint in California. Although that maiden victory would put Soldier Girl in contention on the two-year-old stakes circuit for the remainder of the season, Year 4 wasn’t a highly successful season for the young filly. Soldier Girl lost her remaining three races of the year, finishing fifth, third, and fifth, respectively to Serena Sleet, Awesome Dancer, and again to Serena Sleet. That final fifth place finish was in the Year 4 Steward’s Cup Juvenile Fillies race at Toronto Race Course. The three young fillies would battle in the seasons ahead and their offspring would continue to rival each other in the years to come as well.

Undeterred, Jess Paquette kept Soldier Girl on the east coast to continue to compete in stakes races. Dropping the now three-year-old filly back to a sprint race in Year 5 Week 1 did the trick as Soldier girl romped home in the six-furlong “Dearly Precious Stakes” at Brooklyn Raceway. A week later, Soldier Girl and rival Serena Sleet dead-heated in the Lexington Stakes, a major three-year-old prep race for the Louisville Derby. That performance by Soldier Girl was enough to convince Ms. Paquette that her filly had what it took to go after what is arguably horse racing’s grandest prize, the ‘Run for the Roses’ at Louisville Downs.

In the Louisville Derby, Soldier Girl defeated some of the games best future stallions, including Memorex Victory, Derby Dancer, and The Natural. The same week that Soldier Girl won the Derby, her fast developing arch rival, Awesome Dancer, took down the Louisville Oaks. Fueling the rivalry between the horses was an ongoing game of “oneupsmanship” between Ms. Paquette and the owner of Awesome Dancer, Jon Xett. While Soldier Girl took home the ultimate prize in winning the Derby, she may have won the battle, but lost the war. She would not be the same horse for the remainder of Year 5.

Soldier Girl finished third in the Baltimore Crown, behind the aforementioned Memorex Victory and Derby Dancer (half sister and Jon Xett stablemate to Awesome Dancer) and second in the Jim Dandy later that summer. After giving her all to win the Louisville Derby, Soldier Girl didn’t have anything left in the tank for the rest of her three-year-old campaign. Making matters worse, Awesome Dancer was making it look easy in the major races for three-year-old fillies. After winning the Louisville Oaks, she had won the Baltimore Oaks the same week that Soldier Girl Faltered in the Baltimore Crown.

The two horses would reunite at The Spa to clash in the Midsummer Oaks. Frustratingly for Ms. Paquette, Mr. Xett’s Awesome Dancer won the race handily while Soldier Girl finished a disappointing fourth. Ms. Paquette made the tough but completely reasonable decision to shut down Soldier Girl for the remainder of the year. By doing so, she essentially ceded three-year-old filly-of-the-year honors to Mr. Xett and Awesome Dancer who sealed the award with a victory in the Steward’s Cup Distaff.

The rest at the end of Year 5 proved valuable for Soldier Girl as she won six of seven races as a four-year-old. Her only loss was to stablemate and ‘superhorse’ Forever Risk, one of the most exceptional racers and broodmares in the game. Soldier girl earned nearly $2 million in Year 6 alone. She twice took on the boys and won, winning the 10 furlong Oaklawn Park Handicap and a week later the Stephen Foster Handicap.

In a poetic finish to their incredible racing careers, Soldier Girl and Awesome Dancer hooked up one final time in the Steward’s Cup Distaff at Louisville Downs at the end of Year 6. Soldier Girl avenged her failures of the previous season, edging Awesome Dancer and earning $1.2 million in the process. She earned honors as America’s Champion older mare and ended her career as the queen of her sport.

In the shed, Soldier Girl proved to be even more valuable than she had as a racehorse. Her lineage still permeates the game and her presence in a horse’s pedigree can make that horse an instant stallion prospect. She produced thirteen foals; twelve raced, and eleven were stakes winners (the twelfth won a maiden race) and they collectively made $15 million. Her first foal, Bishoujo Senshi earned over $5.5 million on the track and won the Dubai World Cup. Her second foal, The Princess, foaled the prodigious stallion For What It’s Worth and Royalty, whose blood was passed on to five millionaires among her five foals. Great stallions such as Yume Senshi, Change the Past, Oak Park, and Braveheart can be traced directly to Soldier Girl.

Soldier Girl, winner of the Louisville Derby and the Steward’s Cup Distaff, was a Champion Older Mare and is a member of the SIM’s Hall of Fame.