2020 Eclipse Award Champion
Three-Year-Old Filly
Swiss Skydiver delivered one of the most thrilling Triple Crown moments of recent memory when she beat the boys in the 2020 Preakness Stakes. She was foaled in 2017, a daughter of the stallion Daredevil out of the mare Expo Gold. She was bred and owned by Peter Callahan, the longtime racing fan who had spent decades waiting for a horse this special, and she was trained by Kenny McPeek, the Kentucky based horseman who had a knack for getting fillies to run with the boys. Robby Albarado rode her in the biggest moments of her career.
Swiss Skydiver had a busy and bold three year old campaign in 2020, racing in just about every state with a major three year old prep. She won the Gulfstream Park Oaks and the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga among others, building a championship resume across the country. She finished second in the Kentucky Oaks to Shedaresthedevil by a nose. Kenny McPeek then shocked the racing world by entering her against the colts in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico that fall, where the Triple Crown calendar had been scrambled by the pandemic.
The 2020 Preakness Stakes turned into one of the great battles of recent decades. Swiss Skydiver went head and head with the Bob Baffert trained Kentucky Derby winner Authentic down the entire Pimlico stretch. Neither horse would back off. With Robby Albarado urging her on every stride, Swiss Skydiver stuck her neck in front at the wire to win by a neck. She became the first filly to win the Preakness since the great Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and only the sixth filly ever to take the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
For her brilliant year, Swiss Skydiver was named the 2020 Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. She retired at the end of her four year old year and headed to the breeding shed, joining the family of Peter Callahan broodmares. Swiss Skydiver is remembered as a true throwback, a tireless filly who ran in race after race and kept getting better, and as the fearless mare who took down the boys in one of the most exciting Preakness finishes anyone has seen in many years.
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