Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hometown filly, Havre de Grace, named Horse of the Ye

Stanton, Del., January 17 2012 — A filly from the Mid-Atlantic region, who was stabled in barn 22 at Delaware Park much of this past year, achieved something that Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Barbaro, Hard Spun and Animal Kingdom could not. Havre de Grace, locally-owned by Richard Porter’s Fox Hill Farm, won 2011 Horse of the Year honors and became the first locally connected horse to win the award since the legendary Spectacular Bid won the honor in 1980. The announcement was made late last night at the 41st annual Eclipse Awards in Beverly Hills, California.

Havre de Grace was stabled at Delaware Park from April through late September. The Kentucky-bred trained by J. Larry Jones won the Grade III Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park before suffering her first lost of the year when she ran second, beaten by a nostril, against her arch-rival Blind Luck in what many have dubbed “The Race of the Year” in the $750,000 Grade II Delaware Handicap. Undeterred, the daughter of Saint Liam followed with a victory in the Woodward, against the boys at Saratoga, a win in the Beldame at Belmont and a fourth-place outing, versus males, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.


“Havre de Grace is an amazing filly. She had a fantastic year and she deserves the award,” said Michael Vild, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel at Delaware Park. “I congratulate Rick Porter, Larry Jones and the rest of team Havre de Grace in achieving this honor. Her victory in the Obeah Stakes was spectacular and the Delaware Handicap was one of the most memorable in the history of the race.”

The Delaware Certified filly finished the year with a record of five wins and a second from seven starts with earnings totaling $1,623,000. Her career record is eight wins, four seconds and two thirds from 15 starts, with earnings of $2,496,175.

“Her performance in the Delaware Handicap will be one I will never forget,” said John Mooney, Executive Director of Racing at Delaware Park. “Havre de Grace and Blind Luck were the two best horses in racing and they showed why in the Delaware Handicap. I applaud her connections for her campaign and Horse of the Year honors. Obviously, all of racing is very much looking forward to seeing her this year.”

Havre de Grace is currently stabled at the Fair Grounds, where she will likely make her 2012 debut in either the $100,000 New Orleans Ladies on March 17 or the $400,000 New Orleans Handicap versus males on April 1.

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