A Thoroughbred Filly Named for Eva Cassidy?
In 2015 I heard a rumor about an especially promising two-year-old racehorse named Songbird. Could this filly, my equestrian friend mused, have been named for Eva? As it turned out, YES!
This blog post from Victoria Keith at the Fox Hill Stable confirmed, ‘We’ve had some inquiries about Songbird’s name. It’s a lovely name in itself, but we did name her in honor of the late Eva Cassidy. For those not familiar, Cassidy was a largely undiscovered talent when she lost her life to Melanoma at age 33. She achieved fame after her death when a radio station in the UK played her rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” The song took off and became a chart hit. As a result, a compilation of her work was released on an album entitled “Songbird.” The album was aptly titled not just due to her version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” which is on the CD but it’s also a description of Cassidy herself. Her voice is incredibly beautiful in its clarity and tone. She was an extraordinary talent who was lost too soon.’
Songbird won race after race. In the summer of 2016, I reported:
UPDATE ON SONGBIRD (THE RACEHORSE): Eva’s thoroughbred namesake is still in the news. The undefeated filly won the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 24th, 2016, at Saratoga in New York State, and the Alabama on August 20th.
The word seems to be out about the Eva Cassidy connection, also. Here is an article from the racing website “Bloodhorse.” Blogger Steve Haskin writes a little about Eva’s history, then explains, It was the name of that title song on Cassidy’s CD that eventually became the inspiration for one of the most brilliant young fillies seen in America in many years. Songbird, owned by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm, is now undefeated and untested in eight career starts, and is as mellifluous in action as the song and CD for which she is named…. Eva Cassidy never became a star and was relatively unknown when she died. But she has since developed a following of admirers, whether they are just music lovers who have discovered her through her “Songbird” CD, her renditions of “Over the Rainbow,” “What a Wonderful World,” and “Songbird” on YouTube or artists and producers within the industry. Now, the beauty of her voice may live on in through the beauty of a magnificent filly.
A few months later, the Cassidy family and the Webmaster were invited to see Songbird in action!
TRAVELING TO MEET SONGBIRD THE RACEHORSE: This weekend, Songbird will be competing in another major race for fillies, the million-dollar Cotillion Stakes, at Parx Racing outside Philadelphia. Eva’s sister Anette and I will both be there to cheer on this remarkable thoroughbred, who was named for Eva. What fun! I did a couple of interviews to talk about the Eva Cassidy connection (we are a family of shy people, so it was a matter of “You do it!” “No, you do it!” and I lost the battle). Here’s an article from Philly.com and the Philadelphia Inquirer which quotes me. Here’s the other, from Bloodhorse.com. Both of the reporters were so nice, and didn’t seem offended that I asked them to call back later because I was watching Jeopardy!
‘”We are just thrilled and honored that Eva is the inspiration for the naming of this horse,” Laura Bligh said.’
Here’s my report after the race.
SONGBIRD LIVE: The racehorse, that is. What an amazing day we had, attending the races to see Eva’s namesake thoroughbred filly in action. We were guests of Songbird’s owners – Eva’s sister Anette and I, my daughter Claire, and friends Sallie and John. Owner Rick Porter and his family were so gracious to us. It was Porter’s assistant, Victoria Keith, who introduced the family to Eva’s music and suggested that their promising new filly be named Songbird in her honor. Anette brought a goody-bag of Eva CDs and notecards for the Porters and Victoria, which seemed much appreciated.
Here’s another lovely article about Songbird and her performance at the Cotillion Stakes at Parx in Pennsylvania.
It was a day we’ll never forget. The sole disappointment was that my photos didn’t come out very well. There’s a good reason why the racing photographers have very elaborate cameras and lenses. It’s really hard to get a good shot of a galloping horse.
A few months later, Songbird retired from racing.
As this article explains, X-rays revealed damage to her bones. After “13 wins from 15 starts,” and almost $5,000,000 in winnings, she will be retired from racing and begin a new life as a brood mare.
Her Wikipedia page reports, “Songbird was sold in November 2017 to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm for $9.5 million, a near-record price for a broodmare prospect (only Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, also sold by Porter to Pope, had ever sold for more). She was bred to Arrogate in 2018. On January 28, she had her first foal, a filly by Arrogate. In 2019 she was bred to leading sire Tapit.”
Here’s an article from 2020 titled “Songbird Continues to Thrive in Motherhood,” about Songbird and her second foal. ‘Although thriving in her role of motherhood, Songbird doesn’t hesitate to keep her onlookers on their toes. Every so often, she will give the Sweezey’s a glimpse of who she used to be, and in turn the foal will show what she could become. “This morning they were the last paddock we put up,” Sweezey said. “I watched Songbird kick into full gear going down the fence line and that filly ran along beside her, which made me shudder a little as fast as they were going, but great actions on both parts. I think this filly is going to be pretty special.”’
In 2023, Songbird was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing. This article from The Saratogian describes her career, and includes some wonderful photos.