She's a Tiger (foaled 10 May 2011) is an American

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 ...

racehorse. In 2013, racing exclusively in California, she won three of her six races including the Del Mar Debutante Stakes and was disqualified after finishing first in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for 2013.

Background

She's a Tiger is a bay filly with a narrow white blaze and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in Kentucky by Rodney Orr. Her sire, Tale of the Cat, was a high class racehorse who won the

King's Bishop Stakes The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The ...

in 1997 and finished second to

Awesome Again Awesome Again (March 29, 1994December 15, 2020) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and stallion. As a three-year-old, he won the Queen's Plate in Canada and the Jim Dandy Stakes in the United States. He was undefeated at age four ...

in the

Whitney Stakes The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

a year later. At stud, his most successful performer to date has been the multiple

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

winner

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti ( ͡ʒo18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a ...

. Her dam, Shandra Smiles, has produced several other winners including the leading sprinter Smiling Tiger, the winner of the

Bing Crosby Stakes The Bing Crosby Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The Grade 1 race is open to horses three years of age and up. It is run on Dirt at a distance of six furlong and presently of ...

Ancient Title Stakes The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old or older over the distance of six furlongs on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. ...

and

Triple Bend Handicap The Triple Bend Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age four years and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in June. The race currently offers a purse of ...

. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

, the filly was consigned by Warrendale Stables to the September sale at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...

where she was bought for $150,000 by Mersad Metanovic Bloodstock.

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

She's a Tiger made her racecourse debut in a maiden race over five

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton wa ...

. The race proved to be little more than a workout for the filly, who started at odds of 1/5 and won by nine lengths. Three weeks later the filly appeared on the 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 trac ...

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...

and started 3/5 favourite for the Landaluce Stakes over six furlongs. Ridden in her debut by Frank Alvarado she took the lead soon after the start, went clear of her rivals in the straight and held off the challenge of E Equalsmcsquared to win by three quarters of a length. In the following month, She's a Tiger was moved up in class and distance for the Grade II

Sorrento Stakes The Sorrento Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event currently carries a pu ...

on the

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 trac ...

surface at

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 foundi ...

. She led the field in the straight and fought back after being headed, but was beaten half a length by the Canadian-bred filly Concave. On September 1, over the same course and distance, She's a Tiger (wearing blinkers for the first time) and Concave met again in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes, a Grade I event which also attracted the highly regarded fillies Awesome Baby and Fascinating. Gary Stevens rode the filly for the first time and disputed the lead with Awesome Baby from the start, before opening up a two and a half length advantage in the straight. She was challenged in the closing stages but "ran on gamely under pressure" to win by half a length from Fascinating. After the race, her trainer Jeff Bonde commented "She got stronger, and when we added (blinkers) she got more focused. She was very professional in the paddock. A lot of Tale of the Cats can get a little hot, but she's got such great mentality and I'm really pleased with her". The filly then moved to racing on dirt when she contested the Grade I Chandelier Stakes over eight and a half furlongs at

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 ...

on September 28. She's a Tiger took the lead on the

backstretch Backstretch refers to either: (1) the portion of an oval racetrack on the far side of the grandstand, parallel to the homestretch, or, (2) particularly in North America, the area near the racetrack where horses are stabled and the daily work of main ...

and took a clear lead but was worn down by the

Rosie Napravnik Anna Rose "Rosie" Napravnik (born February 9, 1988) is a former American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey and two-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks. Beginning her career in 2005, she was regularly ranked among the top jockeys in North America in ...

-ridden Secret Compass in the closing stages and beaten a head, with Fascinating finishing strongly to take third place. She's a Tiger ended her first season in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita in which she was again ridden by Stevens. She started at odds of 4/1, level with the

Spinaway Stakes The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs (1,408 metres) on dirt. ...

winner Sweet Reason and behind the Frizette Stakes winner Artemis Agrotera, who was favored at 7/2. She took an early lead and went four clear of her rivals on the final turn. In the straight the 40/1 outsider Ria Antonia emerged as the only serious challenger and the two fillies were level with fifty yards to run when She's a Tiger edged away from the inside rail and bumped her rival. She's a Tiger crossed the line a nose ahead of Rio Antonia, but after an inquiry by the racecourse stewards, she was disqualified for causing interference and demoted to second. Bonde described the result of the inquiry as "just heartbreaking". In January 2014, She's a Tiger was named Champion Two-Year-Old Filly at the

Eclipse Awards The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

, taking 212 of the 249 votes.

2014: three-year-old season

On her first appearance as a three-year-old, She's a Tiger started as the 13/5 second favorite for the Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs on 2 May but finished seventh of the nine runners behind Fiftyshadesofgold.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 5-g Eclipse Award winners