Glorious Song
Encyclopedia
Glorious Song was a Hall of Fame
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who was a Champion in Canada and the United States and became an important broodmare. Bred by the prominent horseman E. P. Taylor
at his Windfields Farm
in Oshawa, Ontario
, she was sired by Halo
and out of the mare Ballade, who also produced U.S. Champion
Devil's Bag
.
Part of Windfields' annual consignment of yearlings to the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society
sale at Woodbine Racetrack
, Glorious Song was purchased for $36,000 by local businessman Frank Stronach
, who at the time was just beginning to build a very successful Thoroughbred racing stable.
Fred H. Loschke, at age two Glorious Song won her only start in impressive fashion that prompted Texas
businessman Nelson Bunker Hunt
to purchase a half-interest in her. In 1979, the three-year-old filly won five significant stakes races at Woodbine Racetrack, and the following year she was never out of the money in all of her eleven starts. The dominant horse in Canada and the top racing mare in the United States
, in 1980 she won races that included the first of two consecutive Dominion Day Stakes
at Woodbine Racetrack. Then, under new trainer Gerry Belanger, she raced in the United States, where her coast-to-coast wins included the Top Flight Handicap
at New York's
Aqueduct Racetrack
, the Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap
at Detroit Racecourse, and the La Canada Stakes
and Santa Margarita Handicap at California's
Santa Anita Park
.
Glorious Song's 1980 performances included three consecutive Grade 1 wins and victories over some of the top male horses on the continent. As well, she ran second to future Hall of Fame inductee and Kentucky Derby
/ Preakness Stakes
winner Spectacular Bid
in the 1980 Haskell Invitational Handicap
and earned another second against males in the Marlboro Cup. She was voted 1980 United States Champion Older Female Horse
and Canadian Champion Older Female Horse
, as well as the Canadian Horse of the Year
title.
In 1981, Glorious Song was assigned to trainer John Cairns. Although her 1981 racing season was hampered by various problems, she still earned a second-place finish in the Beldame Stakes
, and won the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap
at Santa Anita Park as well as her second Dominion Day Stakes, in which she set a Woodbine track record for a mile and one-eighth. That year, her career earnings topped the $1million figure, the first for a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. She earned her second straight Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
.
colt Rahy
, by whom she became the granddam of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly Serena's Song
and 2001 European Horse of the Year
Fantastic Light
. In addition, Glorious Song foaled Singspiel
by In The Wings
. Singspiel was voted the 1996 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse
and scored Grade I victories on three continent
s including the Canadian International Stakes
, Japan Cup
, Dubai World Cup
, Coronation Cup
, and International Stakes
.
Acquired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
, Glorious Song was at his Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, England
, when she died in July 2003 at age twenty-seven following intestinal
surgery
.
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who was a Champion in Canada and the United States and became an important broodmare. Bred by the prominent horseman E. P. Taylor
E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred race horses. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P...
at his Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
in Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, she was sired by Halo
Halo (horse)
Halo was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an important Champion sire. Bred in Kentucky by John R. Gaines, founder of the Breeders Cup, Halo was out of the mare Cosmah , which made him a half-brother to the Hall of Fame filly Tosmah. His sire was Hail To Reason, the U.S...
and out of the mare Ballade, who also produced U.S. Champion
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
Devil's Bag
Devil's Bag
Devil's Bag was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse who was syndicated as a two-year-old for US$36 million, the highest price for any 2-year-old in racing history.Bred by Canadian E. P...
.
Part of Windfields' annual consignment of yearlings to the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society
Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society
The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society is an organization headquartered in Toronto, Canada that was founded in 1906 to assist Thoroughbred horse breeders. Since 1982, there have been provincial divisions in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.-References:*...
sale at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
, Glorious Song was purchased for $36,000 by local businessman Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
, who at the time was just beginning to build a very successful Thoroughbred racing stable.
Racing career
Under trainerHorse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
Fred H. Loschke, at age two Glorious Song won her only start in impressive fashion that prompted Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
businessman Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt is an American oil company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.-Personal:Hunt was born...
to purchase a half-interest in her. In 1979, the three-year-old filly won five significant stakes races at Woodbine Racetrack, and the following year she was never out of the money in all of her eleven starts. The dominant horse in Canada and the top racing mare in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in 1980 she won races that included the first of two consecutive Dominion Day Stakes
Dominion Day Stakes
The Dominion Day Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually in July at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A Grade III event offering a purse of $200,000, it is open to horses aged three years and up. The race was run at a distance of 1⅛ miles from its inception until 1983 when...
at Woodbine Racetrack. Then, under new trainer Gerry Belanger, she raced in the United States, where her coast-to-coast wins included the Top Flight Handicap
Top Flight Handicap
The Top Flight Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The Grade II event is run in late November and is open to fillies and mares, age three and older...
at New York's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, the Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap
Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap
The Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the now defunct Detroit Race Course in Livonia, Michigan. A one time Grade II event raced on dirt, it was open to horses age three and older.In 1975, trainer S...
at Detroit Racecourse, and the La Canada Stakes
La Canada Stakes
The La Cañada Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
and Santa Margarita Handicap at California's
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
.
Glorious Song's 1980 performances included three consecutive Grade 1 wins and victories over some of the top male horses on the continent. As well, she ran second to future Hall of Fame inductee and Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
/ Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
winner Spectacular Bid
Spectacular Bid
Spectacular Bid was an American Thoroughbred race horse. "The Bid" as he was known was one of the most dominant gallopers of his time...
in the 1980 Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
and earned another second against males in the Marlboro Cup. She was voted 1980 United States Champion Older Female Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Female Horse
The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The Daily Racing Form began naming an annual champion in 1936. Starting in 1950, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations began naming its own champion. The following list provides the name of the horses...
and Canadian Champion Older Female Horse
Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
The Canadian Champion Older Female Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred Filly four years of age and older competing in Canada.Past winners:...
, as well as the Canadian Horse of the Year
Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year
The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honor in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing....
title.
In 1981, Glorious Song was assigned to trainer John Cairns. Although her 1981 racing season was hampered by various problems, she still earned a second-place finish in the Beldame Stakes
Beldame Stakes
The Beldame Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960...
, and won the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap
Santa Maria Handicap
The Santa Maria Handicap is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
at Santa Anita Park as well as her second Dominion Day Stakes, in which she set a Woodbine track record for a mile and one-eighth. That year, her career earnings topped the $1million figure, the first for a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. She earned her second straight Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
The Canadian Champion Older Female Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred Filly four years of age and older competing in Canada.Past winners:...
.
Broodmare career
A champion on the track, Glorious Song proved equally as successful as a broodmare. She notably produced the Blushing GroomBlushing Groom
Blushing Groom was a French Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by HH Aga Khan IV. A descendant of Nearco, Blushing Groom was sired by Red God and out of the mare Runaway Bride....
colt Rahy
Rahy
Rahy was an Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in England and the United States. Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Lexington, he was a son of the very important sire Blushing Groom and out of the Eclipse Award winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare, Glorious Song.Rahy was purchased as a...
, by whom she became the granddam of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly Serena's Song
Serena's Song
Serena’s Song is an American Thoroughbred race horse. She won 17 graded stakes races, including 11 Grade I , in three seasons for $3,286,388 in earnings....
and 2001 European Horse of the Year
European Horse of the Year
European Horse of the Year is an award in European Thoroughbred horse racing. Since 1991 the honor has been part of the Cartier Racing Awards. It is presented annually by Cartier SA to a horse of any age racing in Europe.-Honorees:...
Fantastic Light
Fantastic Light
Fantastic Light is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He was foaled in the United States but was trained in England and Dubai during his racing career, which ran from August 1998 to his retirement following the Breeders' Cup Turf on October 2001...
. In addition, Glorious Song foaled Singspiel
Singspiel (horse)
Singspiel was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. The Bay horse was out of the Eclipse Award winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare, Glorious Song...
by In The Wings
In the Wings
In the Wings: Behind the Scenes at the New York City Ballet is a book by Kyle Froman. It was released in September 2007 in hardcover.-Overview:In this book Kyle Froman explores the physically demanding life of New York City Ballet dancers...
. Singspiel was voted the 1996 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse
The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. In 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a Colt or Gelding, regardless of age, for their performance on grass race courses....
and scored Grade I victories on three continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s including the Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
, Japan Cup
Japan Cup
The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...
, Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, Coronation Cup
Coronation Cup
The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
, and International Stakes
International Stakes
The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 88 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
.
Acquired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...
, Glorious Song was at his Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, England
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, when she died in July 2003 at age twenty-seven following intestinal
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
.