Havre de Grace named Horse of the Year on 16 January, 2012.
First it was Rachel Alexandra in 2009, then it was the most prolific runner, Zenyatta, in 2010, and now for the third straight year a female was crowned Horse of the Year, Havre de Grace, the daughter of the 2005 Horse of the Year, Saint Liam.
It was a struggle for the 5-year-old mare as most of 2010 was spent fighting a worthy adversary, Blind Luck.
The heated rivalry was too close to call sometimes, because three of Havre de Grace's four victories resulted in photo finishes.
Embroiled in one of the most watched rivalry, Havre de Grace came out of it with her head held high, and on 16 January, 2012, Fox Hill Farm’s mare took home top honours at the annual Eclipse Awards dinner, when she was crowned Horse of the Year.
“She is the perfect racehorse,” said Rick Porter, who owns Fox Hill Farm. “She did it her way. She won the big races when it counted.”
Trainer J. Larry Jones, who also trained Saint Liam, was never shy of running Havre de Grace against males, and like the previous two Horse of the Year females, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, the current Horse of the Year scored most her victories against males.
Winning the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, but attempting to down the males in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, she couldn’t win, finishing no better than fourth.
In 2010, she raced against Blind Luck, when the Jerry Hollendorfer trained filly kept Havre de Grace at bay in the first two meetings, in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks and the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes.
Havre de Grace came to terms with it and downed Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Fitz Dixon Cotillion at Parx Racing.
Havre de Grace came back to even out the score when she defeated Blind Luck in the Grade 3 Azeri Stakes, after the two rivals were denied by Unrivaled Belle in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic in 2010.
However, the best of all was when the two met in Havre de Grace’s backyard, at Delaware race course in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap, where Havre de Grace was almost a certain winner in the stretch, but Blind Luck came out of nowhere to nose her nemesis out.
Blind Luck retired, but Havre de Grace still pushed forward and defeated the males once again and challenged them in the Classic. She now stands with a bankroll of a whopping $1,623,000, and in 2011, she won five out of seven starts.
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