Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
Mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
, foaled = 2001
, country = United States
, colour =
Dark Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...
, breeder = Stephen E. Quick Christopher J. Feifarek
, owner = Stephen E. Quick & Christopher J. Feifarek
, trainer = Chris Grove
, record = 36: 16-7-3
, earnings = $1,032,973
, race =
Maryland Million Oaks
Maryland Million Oaks was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1986 thru 2012 primarily at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, Laurel, Maryland or at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore. To be eligible fo ...
Maryland Million Distaff Handicap
Maryland Million Distaff Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in October since 1986 primarily at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland or at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. To be eligible for the Maryland Million Di ...
(2006)
Endine Handicap
The Endine Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid September at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. A Grade III six furlong sprint on dirt, the race is open to fillies and mares age three and older.
Inaugurat ...
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
) 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 c ...
mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
racehorse
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 ...
. She is sired by stakes winner, Diamond, who in turn was sired by leading North American sire, Mr. Prospector. She was out of the mare, Kattebuck, whose sire was the 1985 United States Horse of the Year, Spend A Buck.
Silmaril raced a total of 36 times, mostly in Maryland. She won 16 races, 11 of them stakes races. Silmaril is probably best known for defeating the Eclipse award winning filly,
Ashado
Ashado (foaled February 4, 2001 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racemare whose seven Grade I wins included the 2004 Breeders' Cup Distaff. She won Eclipse Awards as the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 2004 and Champion Older Female of 2 ...
twice, once in the grade two Pimlico Breeders' Cup Distaff Handicap (now called Allaire duPont Distaff Stakes) in 2005 and in the What A Summer Stakes in 2007. Ashado went on to become North America's second leading mare in career earnings with almost $4,000,000.
Silmaril was also a very popular mare at
Laurel Park Racecourse
Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades unt ...
and throughout Maryland. She won two different races on
Maryland Million Day
Jim McKay Maryland Million Day is an annual day of stakes races thoroughbred horse races operated by Maryland Million Limited, a company formed in 1985.
The Maryland Million is a one-day stakes program offering purses totaling $1 million, restri ...
, both the Maryland Million Oaks in 2004 as a three-year-old and the
Maryland Million Distaff Handicap
Maryland Million Distaff Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in October since 1986 primarily at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland or at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. To be eligible for the Maryland Million Di ...
in 2006 as a five-year-old.
Named for the "great jewels" of the
J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
tales, Silmaril is one of only five Maryland-bred mares to ever reach the million dollar mark in total earnings on the racetrack. She was retired back to her owners' breeding facilities in Maryland on January 12, 2008.