Lady Eli

After winning her debut by a nose, Lady Eli jumped straight into stakes company in the Ms. Grillo Stakes. That move proved to be smart when she won the race by three lengths before going to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and blowing the field away by open lengths.

Her dominance continued as a 3-year-old when she won the Appalachian Stakes and the Wonder Again Stakes before capturing the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational with ease. An injury caused by stepping on a nail led the filly to contract laminitis after that race but just as she did on the track, Lady Eli courageously battled back to health and she has returned to training for 2016. Lady Eli finished second to Strike Charmer in the Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga, her seasonal bow, but in her next start she was back at her best form, winning the Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 8 and earning a qualifying berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park. 

In the Filly and Mare Turf, Lady Eli ran a terrific race but came up a nose short when second to Queen's Trust in a thrilling finish.

Lady Eli finished second in her 5-year-old debut in the Grade 1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes at Leeneland Race Course, but she regained her winning form in her second start of 2017 when she dug in determinely in the stretch to win the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita Park. She followed with a hard-fought victory over Quidura and stablemate Antonoe in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes in July at Saratoga.

The fan favorite closed out her Saratoga career in style on Aug. 26, powering through the stretch to win the Grade 2, $400,000 Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa Stakes by 1 ½ lengths several days after it was announced that she would be offered for sale at the Keeneland November breeding stock auction. She closed her career with an unplaced finish after a troubled trip in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Lady Eli was named the 2017 champion turf female after a 2017 season that saw her win three of five races, including a pair of Grade 1s. She won 10 of her 14 career races. She was offered in foal to War Front at the 2018 Keeneland November sale, where Hill 'n' Dale Farm bought her for $4.2 million.

A daughter of Divine Park out of the Saint Ballado mare Sacre Coeur, Lady Eli is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Bizzy Caroline.