In storybook fashion, Goodnight Olive has delivered a repeat performance, giving owners First Row Partners (Steve Laymon) and Team Hanley (Jay Hanley) a second straight Eclipse Award in the female sprinter category. In 2023 the gutsy mare gave lifetime best performances, collecting three wins, a second, and a third, all in graded company.
The 5-year-old Ghostzapper mare capped her achievements with a second victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita Park in November, running an impressive 100 Equibase Speed Figure against the nine-horse field. Under the guidance of trainer Chad Brown and regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., the dark bay/brown kicked clear around the three-sixteenths pole to prevail by 2 3/4 lengths over Yuugiri and Three Witches . The second victory over the seven-furlong test was closed in 1:22.97, and her bankroll was improved for 2023 to $1,176,250.
Goodnight Olive made her 2023 debut with a victory the Madison Stakes (G1) in April at Keeneland by one length over Maryquitecontrary and Society . She traveled to Churchill Downs and ran third by two lengths to Matareya and Wicked Halo in the Derby City Distaff Stakes (G1).
She summered in New York, winning the Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) by a neck in June over Wicked Halo and placed in the Ballerina Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course to Echo Zulu . The seven-furlong dirt specialist has accumulated $2,196,200 in earnings over three years on the track and has never been off the board in 12 starts.
At 4, she was undefeated in four starts and captured the 2022 Ballerina Handicap en route to her dominating performance in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint over Echo Zulu and Wicked Halo, putting 2 1/2 lengths between herself and the competition.
Bred in Kentucky by the prolific program at Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Goodnight Olive was plucked by astute bloodstock agent Liz Crow from the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale in 2019 for $170,000 for her racing connections. Making her debut at 3, she was second in a Gulfstream Park maiden race and won on next asking at Keeneland and Aqueduct Racetrack.
The mare is slated to start her next racing chapter following her purchase during the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale for a co-sale-topping $6 million to Gavin O’Connor, agent for John Stewart. Her new owner indicated she would return to Brown’s barn at the racetrack in 2024, hoping to continue the mare’s winning ways.
