Nashoba's Key (March 26, 2003 – May 28, 2008) was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Silver Hawk ''Silver Hawk'' is a 2004 Hong Kong-Chinese superhero film directed by Jingle Ma and starring Michelle Yeoh, Richie Jen, Luke Goss, Brandon Chang, Adrian Cooper Lastra and Michael White. Yeoh plays the title character, a masked comic book s ...

(

Roberto The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

) out of Nashoba (

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

) who went undefeated in her first seven starts in the Southern California racing circuit, before placing 4th in the 2007

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championship ...

. Bred and owned by 79-year-old Warren B. Williamson and trained by

Carla Gaines Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

, Nashoba's Key went from an untested 4-year-old maiden to a Grade I winner in less than 6 months. With her first three starts on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

with jockey

Garrett Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez (January 1, 1972 – December 14, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career. Racing career Early career Gomez learned to ride by watching his fathe ...

aboard, she earned her first big win in the June 3, 2007, Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap on Hollywood Park Racetrack's new synthetic

Cushion Track The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common track ...

. Seventeen-year-old jockey

Joseph Talamo Joseph "Joe" Talamo (born January 12, 1990 in Marrero, Louisiana) is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Born and raised in Marrero on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, ...

drove her to a surprise victory against Grade I winners Hystericalady and Balance in this race. A month later, on July 7, 2007, Talamo rallied Nashoba's Key to her first Grade I victory in the

Vanity Handicap The Beholder Mile Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and up. It is run over a distance of one mile on the dirt each year in March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. History The event was ...

, again defeating Balance and Hystericalady on Hollywood's All Weather Track. On August 5, 2007, the filly won the Grade II

Clement L. Hirsch Handicap The Clement L. Hirsch Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for Filly, fillies and Mare (horse), mares age three years and older over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt track, scheduled annuall ...

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...

's new

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common track ...

. Nashoba's Key was bumped at the start of the race and was then boxed in on the stretch, but she escaped and outkicked Balance for another win. Owner-breeder Warren B. Williamson commented on the race, "I don't know if you'd call it a conspiracy, but it looked like it. They tried everything to beat her and it didn't work. She was gone." The 4-year-old returned to the turf for the GI

Yellow Ribbon Stakes The Rodeo Drive Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is run at Santa Anita Park with a current purse of $300,000 and is contested over a distance of . Originally named the Yellow Ribbon ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

's Oak Tree meet on Sept 29 for a win against the slimly favored Citronnade. Nashoba's Key stalked the pace-setting Citronnade until the top of the stretch, where the pair dueled and Nashoba's Key pulled ahead by 3/4 of a length. On Oct. 27, 2007, Nashoba's Key ran in the prestigious

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

and received her first defeat. After a good break, the filly was forced to take an inward position along the rail amid a traffic jam of other horses on the rain-soaked turf. Jockey

said, "She was on the worst part of the turf the whole way around there. It was probably 6 inches deep along the rail." Nashoba's Key had gone off as the second favorite, but was unable to rally enough to catch the leaders along the stretch and finished 4th, two lengths behind the surprise winner Lahudood. Nonetheless, Nashoba's Key was awarded

California Horse of the Year The California Horse of the Year is an American horse racing honor awarded annually since 1973 by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) to a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in the state of California. Winners *2021 - Lieutenant Dan * ...

honors by the

California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA), founded in 1937, is a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of thoroughbred breeding and racing in California. It is governed by a board of 16 directors elected by the associati ...

for the 2007 season. Nashoba's Key made her 2008 racing debut on January 26 in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf at

. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite with jockey

aboard, the 5-year-old mare was unable to catch the leader, Quite a Bride, down the stretch and finished 1{{fraction, 3, 4 lengths behind, placing 2nd. On March 9, 2008, Nashoba's Key won the GI

Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap The Santa Margarita Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California for fillies and mares age four and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one and one-eighths miles. ...

at Santa Anita by over four lengths under jockey

, which pushed her earnings past the $1 million mark. On May 28, 2008, Nashoba's Key was euthanized after breaking her left hock in her stall at Hollywood Park. The 5-year-old was expected to be one of the favorites for that fall's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. She was known for her feisty demeanor, and she apparently kicked the stall, shattering her left

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

. Visitors were often warned against getting too close to Nashoba's Key to avoid angering her. Trainer Carla Gaines issued a short statement: "In a freak accident at 5:30 a.m. this morning at Hollywood Park, Nashoba’s Key kicked the wall of her pen and broke her hind leg. She was euthanized shortly thereafter. She brought a lot of joy to everyone’s lives that were lucky enough to be associated with her and we will all miss her very much."

References

Nashoba's Key Stats and BioNashoba's Key PedigreeNashoba's Key euthanized after breaking a leg
2003 racehorse births 2008 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 4-n