Winter Memories (foaled April 24, 2008 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia 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 ...

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 ...

. As a two-year-old, she won the

Miss Grillo Stakes The Miss Grillo Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds filles over a distance of miles on the turf track scheduled annually in late September at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event currently offers a pur ...

and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Next year, she returned with the win in the

Appalachian Stakes The Appalachian Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on the turf held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky during the spring me ...

, the Sands Point Stakes, the

Lake George Stakes The Lake George Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one mile on the turf course scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event current ...

, and the

Garden City Stakes The Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade I event open to three-year-old fillies, it is raced on turf over a distance of a mile and a quart ...

. As a four-year-old, she won the

Beaugay Stakes The Beaugay Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and older over a distance of one and one-sixteenth of a mile at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York. History The event was i ...

and the

Diana Stakes The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and ...

. She is now retired and living at

Darby Dan Farm Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath (19 ...

. Owned and breed by Phillips Racing Partnership, she is trained by James J. Toner. Winter Memories has been ridden by

Jose Lezcano Jose Lezcano (born April 20, 1985 in Panama) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He rides in New York in the spring, summer and fall and spends the winter in Florida. His big break came in 2008 when he won a Breeders' Cup race. Car ...

until she lost in the

Lake Placid Stakes The Lake Placid Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-eighths miles on the turf course scheduled annually in late July or early August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Sp ...

when he was replaced with

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977, in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano began his riding career in 1996 at Santa Rita and La Rinconada racecourses in Venezuela. In June 1997 he ...

. Winter Memories was sired by El Prado, who also sired

Paddy O'Prado Paddy O'Prado (February 15, 2007 – October 22, 2018) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, he finished third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His regular jockey was Kent Desormeaux. Racing career Paddy O'Prado ...

. She is out of

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 ...

mare Memories Of Silver.

Racing career

2010 season

On September 3, 2010, Winter Memories won her first start and defeated nine other opponents. She broke her maiden in a Maiden Special Weight going 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga. She was ridden by Jose Lezcano, carried 119 lbs and won by 1 1/2 lengths. On October 3, 2010, Winter Memories won the 1 1/16 miles

by 5 lengths at Belmont Park. On November 5, 2010, Winter Memories finished 2nd in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf as a favorite to

More Than Real More Than Real (foaled on April 15, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Out of the mare Miss Seffens, More Than Real was sired by More Than Ready. She is owned by Bobby Flay and trained by Todd Pletcher. More Than Real won the Breeder ...

2011 season

On April 21, 2011, Winter Memories won the 1 1/16 miles Grade 3

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 it ...

. She was ridden by

and won by a neck carrying 123 lbs. On May 30, 2011, Winter Memories traveled back to

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

where she won the Sands Point Stakes. Winter Memories went on to win the Grade 2

on the July 27, 2011. She broke slow and was last in the six horse field. She had been stopped, but than she went to the outside and won by 4 1/2 lengths. Winter Memories won her first grade 1 in the

at Belmont Park. Like her other races, she made a late charge, but she had to overcome major traffic issues to win in a time of 1:51.06. Her late charge was so strong that racetrack announcer Tom Durkin called her a "grey bullet".

2012 season

Winter Memories began her four-year-old campaign with a win in the

in May but then disappointed in the Just A Game Stakes behind Tapitsfly. On July 28, 2012 Winter Memories took her second grade I in the

accelerating at the final bend for a length and half victory. The win saw her emulate her dam Memories of Silver, who won the race in 1998. After the race, her owner John Phillips described her as "a very, very good horse".During the home stretch of the

, however, Winter Memories jolted to the right and appeared to be injured. This spurred on extensive veterinary examinations in the days after the race. It was discovered that Winter Memories had been suffering form a degenerative bone disease for quite some time. On August 9, 2012, owner Phillips Racing Partnership and trainer James J. Toner announced her retirement from racing.

Broodmare career

Winter Memories was bred to top stallion Street Cry in 2013, successfully foaling a chestnut colt by him the following year. As of 2017, the colt, named Make Memories, has not yet raced. She Foaled A filly Winter Sunset by Tapit on January 26, 2016. She won her maiden just like her mother on November 29, 2018. She foaled a colt by Tapit on January 17, 2017 at Darby Dan Farm. The colt will likely be gray, just like his parents.

Career statistics

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2008 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 4-r