The wonderful filly who inspired my username has died. A two time champion/Eclipse award winner, Life's Magic passed away peacefully at Trackside Farm in Kentucky on August 21, 2007. She was 26 years old.

As a 2-year-old in 1983, Life's Magic won the prestigious Oak Leaf Stakes. The following year, her career really took off. She won the Beldame, Mother Goose, and Alabama Stakes, all grade 1 events and finished 2nd in the Breeder's Cup Distaff. These accomplishments earned her the Eclipse award as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly of 1984.

In 1985, she capped her season and her career by winning the Breeder's Cup Distaff by 6 1/4 lengths, beating her stablemate Lady's Secret, who would go on to be the 1986 Horse of the Year. She was rewarded with a 2nd Eclipse, this time as Champion Older Female.

Life's Magic also had an excellent record against the best males in the country. While she didn't hit the board in the Kentucky Derby or Santa Anita Handicap, she did finish 2nd in the Brooklyn Handicap and Norfolk Stakes, and 3rd in the Hollywood Futurity, again all grade 1 races, the highest level of race in the nation. She retired with 8 wins and $2,255,218 in earnings. Life's Magic was proud Mom to 7 winners, including Simon Pure, who finished 3rd in the 2007 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga.

To quote her trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, "I've had some great fillies, and she stands right there with the best."

Some info about one of the great fillies/mares of all time:

Lady's Secret was a daughter of 1973 Triple Crown champion Secretariat and the mare Great Lady M.

After successful campaigns at ages 2 and 3, Lady's Secret dominated the American racing scene as a 4 year old in 1986. She defeated the country's best male horses four times. In this championship season, she won 10 of her 15 starts, all of them graded stakes victories. Eight of those wins were in Grade 1 races, the highest level of race in the nation. No horse had won this many graded stakes races in one season since races first became graded back in 1973.

A small, grey horse weighing no more than 900 pounds, Lady's Secret had great speed, doing her best running on the lead. She also possessed true grit, heart, and determination. These qualities earned her the nickname "The Iron Lady." She was the first female horse to win the historic Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Racecourse since 1948 and finished her outstanding 1986 with a resounding victory in the Breeder's Cup Distaff at Santa Anita Park.

Her phenomenal record in 1986 earned her two Eclipse awards, outstanding Older Female and the coveted Horse of the Year title, an honor rarely given to fillies & mares.

Lady's Secret was retired in 1989 at age 5 with lifetime earnings of $3,021,325. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1992. The Blood Horse magazine ranks her #76 on their list of the top 100 US Thoroughbred Champions of the 20th Century.

Lady's Secret died suddenly in March 2003 as a result of complications from giving birth. Sadly, none of the Iron Lady's progeny came anywhere close to being as good a racehorse as Mom was.