2018 Eclipse Award Champion Female Sprinter
March 17- Shamrock Rose
Let's just say the fact that she was born on St. Patrick's Day might have something to do with her name.
This is her winning the fillies Breeders' Cup race at Churchill Downs in a blanket finish. I painted her twice, this one with only one other horse in the painting to emphasize "HER" and the other with all four horses hitting the wire together to emphasize "The RACE.”
Shamrock Rose was a flashy chestnut filly who went on a magical run in the fall of 2018 and ended up with a championship trophy on her shelf. She was foaled in 2015, a daughter of the stallion First Dude out of the mare Slew's Quality. She raced for Conrad Farms, the Florida based operation of Stephen Conrad, and she was trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse. With Irad Ortiz Jr. doing the riding for her biggest moments, she put together one of the great Cinderella stories of her year.
Shamrock Rose had been a modest stakes performer through much of 2018, but Mark Casse kept finding spots that fit her style. She broke through with a sharp win in the Charles Town Oaks in West Virginia, and she followed it up with a victory in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland against tougher older fillies and mares. Each performance built on the last, and she earned her ticket to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with momentum on her side.
The biggest moment came on Breeders' Cup Friday at Churchill Downs in November 2018. Shamrock Rose went off at long odds in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, but she ran a powerhouse race under Irad Ortiz Jr. to upset a strong field of older mares. She rallied through the stretch and collared the leaders right before the wire, giving Mark Casse another Breeders' Cup victory and Conrad Farms the biggest day of their racing lives. The win was an upset to most, but to her connections it felt like the natural finish to a perfect run.
For her brilliant fall campaign, Shamrock Rose was named the 2018 Eclipse Award Champion Female Sprinter, beating out several more famous names. She retired soon after with that championship in hand and went on to start a broodmare career, where her racing class and Breeders' Cup pedigree made her a valuable producer. Shamrock Rose is remembered as a true late blooming champion, a filly who came up just at the right time and walked away from the sport with one of its most prestigious year end honors.
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