Glorious Song (CAN)
April 22, 1976 – July 2003
Halo (USA) x Ballade (USA), by Herbager (FR)
Family 12-c
April 22, 1976 – July 2003
Halo (USA) x Ballade (USA), by Herbager (FR)
Family 12-c
Glorious Song was slow to reach her best form, but it was well worth waiting for. The best Canadian racehorse of 1980, she also earned titles in both Canada and the United States as champion older female. She repeated as Canadian champion older female in 1981 and retired having won three Grade 1 races and over US$1 million. She was equally distinguished as a broodmare, her foals including 1996 American champion turf male Singspiel, the fine stallion Rahy and Grade/Group 1 producers Morn of Song, Ring of Music, and Chansonette.
Race record
34 starts, 17 wins, 9 seconds, 1 third, US$1,004,534
1979:
1980:
1981:
Honors
Assessments
Weighted at 123 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for Canadian 3-year-old fillies of 1979, 1 pound below champion Kamar.
Highweighted at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1980, 2 pounds above second-rated Misty Gallore.
Highweighted at 130 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for older females of 1980, 7 pounds above second-rated La Voyageuse.
Weighted at 124 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1981, 3 pounds below champion Relaxing.
As an individual
A tall, plain bay mare with a deep girth and a sharply sloping croup, Glorious Song had clean legs and good substance.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Glorious Song produced 13 named foals, of which 11 started and seven won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Ontario, Glorious Song was bred by E. P. Taylor at his Windfields Farm. She was purchased by Frank Stronach for CAN$36,000 from the 1977 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sale and made her only start as a juvenile in his colors. Prior to her 3-year-old season, Stronach afterwards sold a half-interest in the filly to Nelson Bunker Hunt for US$500,000; Hunt bought out Stronach's interest prior to Glorious Song's 1981 campaign. The mare was trained by Fred Loschke at 2 and 3, by Gerry Belanger at 4 and by John Cairns at 5. As a broodmare, Glorious Song was acquired by Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and was at his Dalham Hall Stud near Newmarket, England, when she died following colic surgery in July 2003.
Pedigree notes
Glorious Song is inbred 4x4 to Mahmoud and 5x5x5 to Blue Larkspur. She is a full sister to 1983 American champion 2-year-old male Devil's Bag and to Grade 2 winner Saint Ballado, the American champion sire of 2005. She is also a full sister to Angelic Song, dam of 2002 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sligo Bay (by Sadler's Wells), Japanese stakes winners Lady Ballade (by Unbridled) and Millennium Wing (by Sadler's Wells), and Group 3-placed English stakes winner Wolfe Tone (by Sadler's Wells); second dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Danon Ballade and French Group 2 winner Seachange; and third dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Air Almas and Grade 2 winner Yuugiri. In addition, Glorious Song is a half sister to stakes winner Thaidah (by Vice Regent), second dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Shakis and third dam of 2010 Indian Two Thousand Guineas winner Ocean and Beyond.
Glorious Song is out of 1992 Canadian Broodmare of the Year Ballade, a half sister to listed stakes winner Secreto's Glory (by Secreto; dam of the Red Bullet colt Forty Zip, a multiple champion in the Dominican Republic) and multiple stakes winner Vite View (by Reviewer; dam of listed stakes winner Glorious View, by Naskra). Also a half sister to Grade 1-placed Sweeping View (by Reviewer), dam of Grade 3 winner Worth Avenue (by Spend a Buck); to Heathers Surprise (by Best Turn), dam of stakes winner Lady Carson (by Carson City); and to Devil's Sister (by Alleged), dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Blacksburg (by Seattle Slew) and multiple Japanese stakes winner Hishi Natalie (by Seattle Slew), Ballade was produced from multiple stakes winner Miss Swapsco (by Cohoes), a half sister to 1982 Monmouth Handicap (USA-G1) winner Mehmet (by His Majesty).
Soaring, the dam of Miss Swapsco, is a daughter of Swaps out of 1950 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Skylarking II (by Mirza II), making her a half sister to 1958 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French Two Thousand Guineas) winner Yla (by Migoli). In addition to her two stakes winners, Soaring produced the important broodmares Far Beyond (by Nijinsky II), Pi Phi Gal (by Raise a Native) and Liberty Spirit (by Graustark).
Fun facts
Last updated: October 7, 2023
Race record
34 starts, 17 wins, 9 seconds, 1 third, US$1,004,534
1979:
- Won Belle Mahone Stakes (CAN-R, 9FD, Woodbine)
- Won Wonder Where Stakes (CAN-R, 10FT, Woodbine)
- Won Maple Leaf Stakes (CAN, 10FT, Greenwood)
- Won Ontario Damsel Stakes (second division) (CAN-R, 6.5FT, Woodbine)
- 2nd Duchess Stakes (CAN, 8.5FD, Fort Erie)
1980:
- Won Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- Won La Canada Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Top Flight Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, Detroit)
- Won Dominion Day Handicap (CAN-G3, 9FD, Woodbine)
- Won Canadian Maturity Stakes (CAN-R, 10FT, Woodbine)
- 2nd Marlboro Cup Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Amory L. Haskell Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Monmouth)
- 2nd Laurance Armour Handicap (USA, 9FT, Arlington Park)
- 2nd La Brea Stakes (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd El Encino Stakes (USA-G3, 8.5FD, Santa Anita; moved up from 4th by disqualification)
1981:
- Won Spinster Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Keeneland)
- Won Santa Maria Handicap (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Dominion Day Handicap (CAN-G3, 9FD, Woodbine; new track record 1:48)
- 2nd Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 2nd Beldame Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Belmont; dead heat with Jameela)
- 2nd Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (USA-G2, 8FD, Hollywood)
- 2nd Matriarch Stakes (USA, 9FT, Hollywood)
Honors
- Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1995)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian Horse of the Year (1980)
- Eclipse Award, American champion older female (1980)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian champion older female (1980)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian champion older female (1981)
Assessments
Weighted at 123 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for Canadian 3-year-old fillies of 1979, 1 pound below champion Kamar.
Highweighted at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1980, 2 pounds above second-rated Misty Gallore.
Highweighted at 130 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for older females of 1980, 7 pounds above second-rated La Voyageuse.
Weighted at 124 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1981, 3 pounds below champion Relaxing.
As an individual
A tall, plain bay mare with a deep girth and a sharply sloping croup, Glorious Song had clean legs and good substance.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Glorious Song produced 13 named foals, of which 11 started and seven won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Rahy (1985, by Blushing Groom) won the 1989 Bel Air Handicap (USA-G2). The champion English/Irish broodmare sire of 2000 and second on the American general sire list in 2001, Rahy sired 96 stakes winners from 1171 named foals.
- Rakeen (1987, by Northern Dancer) won the 1991 Allen Snijman Stakes (SAF-G2). He sired at least 24 stakes winners and was among the top 10 South African general sires three times including a runner-up finish in 1998/1999.
- Morn of Song (1988, by Blushing Groom) was a winner in England and the United States. She is the dam of 2003 Prix Vermeille (FR-G1) winner Mezzo Soprano (by Darshaan) and listed stakes winner Emirates to Dubai (by Storm Cat), the second dam of Japanese Group 3 winners Frere Jacques and Martinborough and French Group 3 winner Claremont, and the third dam of two-time Victoria Mile (JPN-G1) winner Verxina and 2016 Shuka Sho (JPN-G1) winner Vivlos.
- Singspiel (1992, by In the Wings) was the American champion turf male of 1996 and was highweighted among older males of 1997 in the United Arab Emirates over 9.5 to 11 furlongs. A good stallion, he sired at least 98 stakes winners from 1175 named foals.
- Ring of Music (1993, by Sadler's Wells) never raced but is the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Campanologist (by Kingmambo), the second dam of Australian Group 2 winner Well Rounded and South African Group 3 winner One Fine Day, and the third dam of Grade 2 winner Isabella Sings.
- Chansonette (2000, by Mark of Esteem) failed to win in five starts but is the dam of 2010 N.H.K. Mile Cup (JPN-G1) winner Danon Chantilly (by Fuji Kiseki).
Connections
Foaled in Ontario, Glorious Song was bred by E. P. Taylor at his Windfields Farm. She was purchased by Frank Stronach for CAN$36,000 from the 1977 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sale and made her only start as a juvenile in his colors. Prior to her 3-year-old season, Stronach afterwards sold a half-interest in the filly to Nelson Bunker Hunt for US$500,000; Hunt bought out Stronach's interest prior to Glorious Song's 1981 campaign. The mare was trained by Fred Loschke at 2 and 3, by Gerry Belanger at 4 and by John Cairns at 5. As a broodmare, Glorious Song was acquired by Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and was at his Dalham Hall Stud near Newmarket, England, when she died following colic surgery in July 2003.
Pedigree notes
Glorious Song is inbred 4x4 to Mahmoud and 5x5x5 to Blue Larkspur. She is a full sister to 1983 American champion 2-year-old male Devil's Bag and to Grade 2 winner Saint Ballado, the American champion sire of 2005. She is also a full sister to Angelic Song, dam of 2002 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sligo Bay (by Sadler's Wells), Japanese stakes winners Lady Ballade (by Unbridled) and Millennium Wing (by Sadler's Wells), and Group 3-placed English stakes winner Wolfe Tone (by Sadler's Wells); second dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Danon Ballade and French Group 2 winner Seachange; and third dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Air Almas and Grade 2 winner Yuugiri. In addition, Glorious Song is a half sister to stakes winner Thaidah (by Vice Regent), second dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Shakis and third dam of 2010 Indian Two Thousand Guineas winner Ocean and Beyond.
Glorious Song is out of 1992 Canadian Broodmare of the Year Ballade, a half sister to listed stakes winner Secreto's Glory (by Secreto; dam of the Red Bullet colt Forty Zip, a multiple champion in the Dominican Republic) and multiple stakes winner Vite View (by Reviewer; dam of listed stakes winner Glorious View, by Naskra). Also a half sister to Grade 1-placed Sweeping View (by Reviewer), dam of Grade 3 winner Worth Avenue (by Spend a Buck); to Heathers Surprise (by Best Turn), dam of stakes winner Lady Carson (by Carson City); and to Devil's Sister (by Alleged), dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Blacksburg (by Seattle Slew) and multiple Japanese stakes winner Hishi Natalie (by Seattle Slew), Ballade was produced from multiple stakes winner Miss Swapsco (by Cohoes), a half sister to 1982 Monmouth Handicap (USA-G1) winner Mehmet (by His Majesty).
Soaring, the dam of Miss Swapsco, is a daughter of Swaps out of 1950 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Skylarking II (by Mirza II), making her a half sister to 1958 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French Two Thousand Guineas) winner Yla (by Migoli). In addition to her two stakes winners, Soaring produced the important broodmares Far Beyond (by Nijinsky II), Pi Phi Gal (by Raise a Native) and Liberty Spirit (by Graustark).
Fun facts
- Glorious Song became the first Canadian-bred to top US$1 million in earnings in 1981. In 1980, she set a single-season Canadian earnings record of US$525,617.
- The Glorious Song Stakes was inaugurated at Woodbine in 1981 as a race for 2-year-old fillies. It is currently carded at 7 furlongs on the main track.
Last updated: October 7, 2023