With the Breeders' Cup races fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at the heart-pounding edition of the 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff. It was perhaps one of the most dramatic Breeders' Cup races I have ever seen, and although this year’s lineup is looking fierce for the Distaff, I doubt it will be able to equal the scintillating finish provided by Songbird and Beholder in the fall of 2016.
It was a race for the ages. Two champions facing each other for a showdown in one of the biggest races of the year. Songbird was undefeated. Eleven races, eleven wins, all by open lengths. At two she scored in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies and went on to be named Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. At three, the filly continued to be so incredibly dominant in her races that she had yet to be challenged. Some brave fillies tried to match her, but each and every one failed. They simply could not keep up. Songbird would shoot them down and fly home solo, each and every time. Not even competing at Saratoga, the “Graveyard of Champions”, could blemish the filly. She won the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama Stakes in style there before taking down her competition in the Cotillion Stakes at Parx, her final prep before the 2016 Distaff. The Distaff would be Songbird’s first time taking on older mares, but her perfect record spoke for itself. She could hold her own against the best.
Beholder was coming into the 2016 Distaff off of three consecutive runner up efforts. Although some may have felt she was losing a step, it would be wise not to count her out. At the age of six, she had already accomplished more than most. This mare was a force to be reckoned with because she carried her unparalleled brilliance with her every year she ran. She was the rare kind of horse you could always count on to run her race.
As a two year old Beholder won three of her five starts, including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. That win earned her the title of Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for 2012. As a three year old she claimed victory in five of her seven races, including the Breeders' Cup Distaff, making her the first horse to win both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Her dominating season catapulted her to win her second championship, as she was named Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 2013.
As a four year old, Beholder struggled with various injuries and illnesses, and as a result only raced three times, winning two of them. But the following year she rose back to power, winning all five of her starts. That same year, she took on the males in the Pacific Classic, leaving them destroyed in her wake as she etched her name into history as the first mare to win the Grade 1 event. The season ended with Beholder being named Champion Older Dirt Female Horse.
At that point, Beholder had accomplished way more than most mares will ever achieve, and her career was coming to an end. The 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff would be her final start, and there she would show no mercy. Her string of second place finishes in her final racing season meant nothing. The old Beholder was still in there.
Anticipation was heavy on the track when the horses paraded to post for the 2016 Distaff. It was a very accomplished field of horses lining up to do battle. Along with Songbird and Beholder, you also had the steadily improving Forever Unbridled, multiple grade 1 winner Curalina and Stellar Wind, who had defeated Beholder in their last two meetings. It was predicted to be one of the biggest races of the year, and the field of intrepid champions would not disappoint.
When the starting gates sprang open Songbird bolted out and immediately went to the lead, determined to show the way. As she dauntlessly led the stampede around the track, Beholder carefully tracked her in fourth, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Although the quality of this field led you to believe that any one of them could win it, Songbird and Beholder decided to turn it into a match race.
With the final turn waiting ahead, Beholder began to roll her way up beside Songbird. Sensing the oncoming challenge, Songbird valiantly kicked it up a notch, maintaining the lead into the stretch. But Beholder wasn’t going anywhere. She charged up beside Songbird and it was on from there. For the first time in her life, Songbird met a foe who could keep up with her. But this champion was not going down without a fight.
The pair relentlessly went at each other tooth and nail, pushing themselves harder and faster with every frenzied pump of their legs. In dramatic style, Songbird roared down the stretch, desperately holding onto the lead. Beholder was bearing down on her with each and every stride, breathing down her neck and pushing her even faster. Neither horse was willing to yield and neither one was about to cave under pressure. In incredible fashion the pair put on one of the most intense, pulsating stretch duels Santa Anita had ever seen. It was two champions, head to head, fueled equally by the desire to win, duking it out in one of the biggest events the sport has to offer. It was like something out of a movie. You had Songbird who had never been passed and Beholder, a champion trying to end her storybook career in style. And neither one was giving an inch.
The match up between the two heavy weights of the sport couldn’t have been more intense. Songbird desperately did not want to give up her lead and showed a dimension to her that no one had seen before. She showed her unwavering courage to fight back. Sure, in the past she beat up her competition, easily running them off their feet. But when it came down to a challenge, Songbird now proved that she was not only willing, but also highly capable of fighting for victory. Then you had Beholder, who had already won the Distaff before. Already had made herself legend. This was her final race. Her swan song. It was as if she knew she would never race again, and had been saving it all for this one moment, when a win counted the most. After all she had already accomplished, it would be perfect to see her go out as a winner.
Songbird gallantly kept herself one step ahead of Beholder as they stormed down the stretch. Both fillies abandoned any fatigue they had and only focused on each other. There was no going back for either of them at this point. Both were determined to finish what was started. But as the wire drew closer, so did Beholder. Giving it all she had, Beholder strained her neck out, throwing herself forward, and right as they approached the finish line, they drew even. It was impossible to look away from the duo. It looked like the win could go either way. In fact, it looked like there could even be a dead heat! Both horses flung their heads down at the wire in an epic photo finish, leaving all who witnessed it in awe. It was a battle so prodigious with a finish so unbelievably close, it did not deserve a loser. Both horses ran a winning race. Both horses went above and beyond, pursing the same prize that unfortunately only one could claim. Their display of tenacity and courage is what racing is about. It’s about the heart of the thoroughbred and the will to win. It is safe to say that what Songbird and Beholder did on the track that day will never be forgotten.
In the end, the photo went to Beholder. In her final season of racing when people were starting to count her out, she jumped up to remind everyone that she will always be a champion. And as for Songbird, she lost absolutely nothing in defeat. How could she when she ran a winning race herself? In fact, her first defeat proved just how great she is. To hold her own against a horse like Beholder is a feat that few horses can say they’ve done. And to her credit, Songbird technically wasn’t passed. She and Beholder crossed the wire together, side by side in thrilling fashion.
No matter how many times I watch the replay of the 2016 Distaff, I am left on the edge of my seat. No matter how many times I see it, it still blows my mind that such a finish had a “loser”. But in my opinion, they both won that day. They both showed the world what they’re made of. They each left their mark in history as Breeders' Cup legends.
Photo credit goes to Eric Kalet http://erickalet.zenfolio.com/