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Hall Of Fame : Owl Let You Know
Original article written by Ren Marston posted 2 years 2 weeks agoThe name alone is enough to make a sim player with even the barest experience perk up with curiosity and wonder at the legend of a mare. She is a living legend, the continuation of a vast and scenic empire of success. From her stellar pedigree, to her unforgettable career on the track, to her ongoing success in the shed, Owl Let You Know is the example to follow. One of the truest examples of a ‘perfect’ racehorse.
One could argue it all started with a mare named Goodwill, but if you click back all the way to the beginning, each mare had success with either winning her own stakes, or producing a foal to win stakes for them; the trend continues to the very first mare in the pedigree called Fitnah, now 71 sim years old and having just one foal by the name of Dreams Gallore. It was in this filly that the whisper of a legend was born.
Goodwill was bred by Bryan Price and sold as a yearling to the tune of 3.25m to Kris Bobby. She ran a prosperous 3 season track career, taking home 7 wins of which 5 were in stakes company. Though she retired with $415,900 track earnings, her real success came off the track. She was leased to Stephen Saratoga year 47 to produce her second to last foal, by the legend and king of broodmare siring, James Dean.
The first race of career was understated…merely a 100 speed figure and a 7½ length margin to win her first time out. She went straight to the stakes, winning the California Five Fading Lights Stakes in near exact same fashion as her maiden. She was unchallenged in her third, a prep for the stewards cup in the Long Island 250k G1 Bubbly Stakes, winning by 4 lengths and a 96 speed figure against the boys. Next came one of many big wins in the Stewards Cup Juvenile Fillies. A $2,000,000 purse, a 7 horse field, and a so far undefeated career. Out of the gate she shot to the lead as per her usual running style. She stretched her lead more and more with each call, from 1 length, to 2, to 3, to a win at a 4 length lead. Uncatchable.
As a 3yo she kicked off the season with two easy wins in the Tremendous Stakes and the Kentucky Blue Stakes. Her next start was to be the Louisville Derby. One of the biggest races of the season, equal to that of the classic. This was where she met one of the biggest threats to her career; Kris Bobby’s The People’s Horse. His career mirrored that of Owl’s, just with fewer races, and a contrary running style as he enjoyed coming from behind in his wins. He sported quick workouts, quick race times, and a threatening pedigree. Out of the gate in the derby was Owl Let You Know, tearing around the track. As she came to the second call, she followed her usual protocol and lengthened her lead further. Then it was The People’s Horse, soaring from 9th to 7th in a matter of moments. Then he was in second, burying Everlasting Doom with Mr. White Socks in hot pursuit. Owl Let You Know battled off the colts, sticking a nose out in front and- she won!
A week of rest is a sure way to injure a horse in most cases, but the Triple Crown forces you into it as it runs its three race spread over just three weeks. Owl Let You Know was game, arriving in Baltimore for the Baltimore crown hot off her derby win. As if to let The People’s Horse know he hadn’t given her such a run for her money, she won it in style with a 2 ¼ length lead. The People’s Horse did not attempt to claim victory in the Long Island Classic, leaving Mr. White Socks on his own to attempt defeating the super mare. He could not complete the task, and Owl Let You Know further solidified her place in history as she claimed the title of the only filly to date to win the sim triple crown. To drive the point home, she closed out her 3yo season with the $2m Steward’s Cup Distaff victory followed by opening her 4yo season by winning the $2m Pegasus Classic.
A friend of mine recently spoke wise words 'Almost every great horse has at least one loss to their credit.’ This rang true for Owl Let You Know. She walked into the gates at the Y51 Arcadia Million with a 12 race winning streak and left with a 3rd place defeat. She ran her usual way, leading all the way, until the final call when an unmerciless Mr. White Socks and a strong Noctis poked a head and a nose in front of her, closing her out of their place and leaving her with her first defeat. Having now tasted defeat could have slowed the super mare down, but this was not to be born. She returned with two stakes wins in the Baltimore Special and Louisville Classic. Twice more she came second in her next two starts, The James Bond Memorial Stakes and the Long Island Gold Cup. Was she slowing down? Was her spark gone despite still running valiantly against tough competition? The test would come in a final showing at the Steward’s Cup Ladies Route. A 1½ course and $1,000,000 purse on the line, she proved herself to be the winner she always was and blew away the competition with a 6 length lead and a 100 speed figure; nearly mirroring her maiden win.
She retired after that, closing out her career with a record with no losses outside of placing and $7,568,500 in total earnings. Her very first son would defeat this, out of Kris Bobby stud Gladiator was born Delirium who would earn $8,338,500 before retiring to an already successful stud career. She has produced 3 other millionaires as well, including the very popular now stud Owlpha Romeo, 4yo filly Owltitude, and broodmare Owl Bet It All. With a continuously growing herd of colts and fillies awaiting the track, there are sure to be more to come. She earned 7 simmy awards and with a fresh earning of placement in the Hall Of Fame, it's hard to imagine a horse that could rival this mare.