Valedictorian

New Jersey-bred Valedictorian needed four starts to earn her first career victory, running second twice and third once before a front-running three-quarter-length win in August 2016 at Monmouth Park. Valedictorian was unplaced in her turf debut and final start as a 2-year-old.

As a 3-year-old, Valedictorian opened her season with three straight wins, including two on the grass, before a fifth-place finish in the Honey Ryder Stakes in May 2017 in her stakes debut. Overall, she won five of nine races at three.

Valedictorian ran second twice in her first three starts in 2018 before a breakthrough stakes win in the Jersey Girl Stakes in July at Monmouth Park. She added a second stakes win in September at Laurel Park when she posted a 1 ½-length win in the All Along Stakes.

Valedictorian opened her 5-year-old season with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Marshua’s River Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January 2019. In her next start, Valedictorian led from start to finish to post a breakthrough graded stakes win in the Grade 3 Suwanee Rivers Stakes at Gulfstream Park, powering away late to prevail by 2 ½ lengths.

Valedictorian raced twice more during Gulfstream’s Championship Meet during spring 2019, losing by a half-length in the Grade 3 Honey Fox Stakes and winning the listed Sand Springs Stakes. She then shipped to Churchill Downs and finished a disappointing seventh in the Grade 2 Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes, but rebounded when sent to Monmouth Park in early summer. With Paco Lopez aboard, Valedictorian powered clear in early stretch and cruised to her third stakes win of the year, and her fourth overall win at Monmouth Park in five starts.