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Hall of Fame - Embrace
Original article written by Lori Hamill posted 14 years 3 weeks agoWhen Mallory Claire decided to breed Magicalmercurystar (Tri Star) to Em’s Always Busy I wonder if she had any idea that the resulting foal would turn out to be as good as Embrace turned out to be?
Maybe she began to see something when the little bay filly with the straight legs and a spark in her eye first hit the ground. Maybe it was as the filly began filling out as a yearling and beating the other foals in the pasture. Or just maybe it was when the 2-year-old Embrace ran for the first time in a 4 furlong dirt maiden race against a full field and romped home six lengths in front. She must have realized she had one fast filly on her hands and began entering her in stakes. Three weeks after her maiden win she stretched her out to 6 furlongs in the Grade 3 Maryland Juvenile Championship for $200,000. She won by 2 lengths over another outstanding filly, Ara Davies’ Pennant. Three weeks later she showed how tough she could be in The Look Stakes Fil a Grade 1 at 6 furlongs. She battled down the stretch neck-and-neck with Jon Xett’s tiny speedster Girldressedinblack losing by a scant neck and still over 11 lengths in front of the rest of the field.
Barely two weeks later she was back in the Three Day Event Stakes where she was up against two other very good fillies in Look Radiant and She’s Watching You. This time Embrace got her nose in front as the three went under the wire for a photo finish. She finished up her 2-year-old season in the Kayak Stakes Fillie winning by a nose over Ara Davies’ Trance.
Embrace started her 3-year-old campaign in the Grade 3 San Ysabel Stakes winning by a nose over Robin Tan’s Britestaratnite, Gerry Hardie’s Tears on My Pillow and Bob Olivia’s Chasing the Dream. It seemed as though her hectic race schedule was beginning to take its toll as she finished 2nd in the Inspired Star Stakes losing by over 2 lengths to Brianna McKenzie’s Cherish and the following Sterling Apollo Stakes losing by a neck to Jon Xett’s Care to Share. Ms. Claire wisely realized that this determined girl needed a break and gave her a five week rest wrapping up the year with the The Dream Stakes and. where she took on some older horses, winning by a neck over Brianna Mckenzie’s Inspired Dance.
As a 4-year-old, Embrace started with a 2nd in the Distaff Steward’s Cup Handicap losing out by a neck to Bob Olivia’s She’s Watching You. She came back strong two weeks later in the Festival of Lights Stakes winning by more than 3 lengths over Ara Davies’ Seeking the Light. It seemed as if Embrace had lost a step or two as she finished 3rd in her next two starts, the Fantasy Land Stakes and the Ballerina Handicap. Maybe she was just losing her desire to run really fast, or perhaps she was thinking of having a little baby running at her side. She finished up her racing career with a gallant win in the “Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint” beating the likes of Return to Apremont, She’s Watching You and Seeking the Light.
Though she was done with racing, Embrace still had a lot to give and proved to be an even better broodmare than she was a racehorse. She was first bred to a new, young sire by Out of Focus, Trust, producing a bay filly Shetalkstoangels who went on to earn over 2 million on the track and receive a SIMMY award for Champion Female Sprinter. Her second offspring came from a mating with the incomparable Satelite a very new sire at the time. The resulting foal was a small grey colt who still impacts the SIM to this day as a sire, Villain. Not only did he earn over 2 million on the track and win a SIMMY award as Champion Sprinter, he sired such notable racers as Snake (European Champion Sprinter), Steal It and Light the Night.
Her third breeding was to the lightly raced but superior horse Symbol and produced a jet black filly named Happy Ending who went on to earn almost 2 million dollars in winnings. Happy Ending finished her racing career winning the Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint just like her dam and won the SIMMY award for Champion Female Sprinter.
Embrace went on to produce four more offspring that did well on the track but were not quite equal to their parents. Sadly Embrace passed away giving birth to her eighth and final offspring, a chestnut colt by Adjust the Lens named Be He Me who stands at stud at The Sunshine Farm in Florida.
Embrace earned over 1.5 million in her racing career and produced star offspring that continue to have a strong influence in the current day SIM. She is indeed a horse worthy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.