Poof She’s Gone made headlines when she passed the $1 million mark in seasonal earnings, joining the late Snow White as the only other freshman filly to achieve that distinction. There was a time when fillies, particularly freshmen, labored for pennies, but the plethora of lucrative races designated for them makes it possible to strike it rich with a young filly.
A perfect example is that while Poof She’s Gone is the leader in earnings in this division, the Muscles Yankee filly Costa Rica just missed millionaire status as she closed her season with $970,161 in earnings.
Poof She’s Gone and Costa Rica: two freshman trotting fillies earning more than $2 million in a single season. A few years back no one would have dreamed of such a thing.
That’s indicative of the earning potential for a freshman trotting filly. Snow White is still the leader by virtue of the $1,252,646 she banked in 2007.
In harness racing history, only 18 freshman trotting fillies have earned $500,000 or more and this has all happened in the last 25 years. Davidia Hanover was the first to bank a half-million in 1984.
Then Britelite Lobell edged past $500,000 in 1985 and the third filly to enter this select list was the mighty Peace Corps in 1988.
Then came the Illinois-sired Koochie, a winner of $698,937 in 1996. (No, you’ve probably never heard of Koochie. She never actually earned a purse check larger than $47,170, but she received an astonishingly-large bonus for performance in Illinois races. So her earnings show at $698,937 although on the track she earned less than $125,000.)
A decade ago in 1999, the 2-year-old trotting filly Dream Of Joy earned $826,601 despite winning only three of her 10 seasonal starts. But Dream Of Joy had remarkably good taste in selecting which races to win: she won the finals of the Merrie Annabelle, Breeders Crown, and Goldsmith Maid. And then never raced again.
Freshman trotting fillies earning more than $500,000 is definitely a 21st century thing. In 2000, a pair of Hanover-bred granddaughters of Valley Victory, Spellbound Hanover (Donerail) and Syrinx Hanover (Lindy Lane), banked well over $500,000.
The next year Cameron Hall joined the list. In 2003, Forever Starlet and Peaceful Way became members of the club. The next two years---2004 and 2005---Solveig and Passionate Glide banked more than $500,000 in their first season at the races.
In 2006, we once again had twins in the Half-Million Dollar club in Pampered Princess and Possess The Magic. Then came Snow White in 2007, Honorable Daughter in 2008, and this year we have Poof She’s Gone and Costa Rica.
In terms of ranking, Snow White is still the leader in freshman earnings with $1,252,646 and she is followed by Poof She’s Gone, Costa Rica, Honorable Daughter, and Dream of Joy. Note that the top four fillies have raced in the last three seasons.
Also, it’s interesting to note that of the 18 fillies in this list, six of their names begin with the letter P. That would be Poof She’s Gone, Peace Corps, Peaceful Way, Pampered Princess, Possess The Magic, and Passionate Glide. So take that into consideration when you’re naming your filly trotting foals of 2010.