2011 American Horse of the Year
May 12 - Havre de Grace
She was raced by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farm and finished her racing career as Horse of the Year. Grace became one of the anchors of Mandy Pope's broodmare band when she went through the Fasig Tipton sales ring for $10 million.
Fasig Tipton asked what Mandy would like as a "thank you" present and her answer was a Yorkshire Terrier. She was given a puppy that was named "Gracie". (Yes, that is Gracie in the painting with Grace.)
Havre de Grace was one of the few female Horses of the Year. She was also out of the first foal crop of another Horse of the Year, Saint Liam. He passed away in a farm accident leaving very few offspring to carry on his legacy and the greatest hope was Havre de Grace.
In the group painting, Havre de Grace is on the left with Groupie Doll in the center and Plum Pretty to the right.
Havre de Grace was a brilliant champion mare who became the 2011 Horse of the Year, only the third female ever to win American racing's top honor. She was foaled in 2007 and trained first by Larry Jones and later by Tom Albertrani for owner Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farms. Her sire was Saint Liam, the 2005 Horse of the Year, and her dam was Easter Bunnette, a daughter of Carson City. She was a powerful chestnut mare with a high cruising speed and a will to win that set her apart.
Havre de Grace developed through her three year old year in 2010, picking up wins in the Cotillion Stakes and the Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap, and finishing second in the 2010 Breeders Cup Ladies' Classic. Her four year old season in 2011 was the year that made her a legend. She won the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park and the Obeah Stakes, then took the Delaware Handicap by 4 lengths in dominant fashion.
The signature win came in the 2011 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. Havre de Grace ran the boys off their feet and beat top male handicap stars like Flat Out and Tizway in front of a wild Saratoga crowd. She added the Beldame Stakes at Belmont as a tune up for the 2011 Breeders Cup Classic, where she ran fourth against the boys behind the speedy Drosselmeyer. Even with that loss, the rest of her year had been so dominant that voters named her 2011 Horse of the Year and Eclipse Award Champion Older Female.
Havre de Grace retired soon after with 9 wins from 16 starts and earnings of over 2.5 million dollars. In November 2012 she sold at Fasig Tipton for 10 million dollars, the highest price ever paid for a broodmare prospect at that time, to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. She has since become a producer in the breeding shed. Havre de Grace is remembered as one of the greatest American mares of the 21st century, a champion who took on the boys at Saratoga and won, and a true Horse of the Year in every sense.
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