Earhart, the Filly That Can Fly

These are the dog days of the racing season at Woodbine. The weather is cold, the meet is winding down and the circuit's best horses have been turned out waiting for the spring. Some have headed to Florida.

But there was a reason to be excited about last Saturday's card, even if it were run in a snowstorm. Owned by LNJ Foxwoods, trained by Josie Carrolll and having sold for €1.4 million at the 2022 Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, the 3-year-old filly Earhart (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) was a dazzling winner in her debut a month earlier in a Woodbine maiden, earning 'TDN Rising Star' status. But was the first race a ceiling for the sales-topping filly or was she just getting started? Barely visible against the back drop of the snow, she answered that question with an 11-length win.

She has a long way to go and much more to accomplish, but she might just be one of the best of her generation, even if she took a strange route to get there. That's how impressive she was.

“It's been very exciting,” said Jamie Roth, who oversees her family's stable. “It's been more of relief. It kind of goes to a theme of ours. Give the horse time, don't push things. It's been very rewarding and exciting, but I am trying not to get ahead of myself.”

Patience became a necessity as Earhart had one small problem after another. LNJ Foxwoods bred the filly along with Henri Bozo and it took the €1.4 million at the sale to buy him out. The Roths had her with trainer Tim Donworth in France, but there was one small setback after another.

“We had her in France training with Tim and he loved her,” Jamie Roth said. “She would start, stop, start, stop. There was always something bothering her. We couldn't really figure it out. With so many stops and with her showing so much ability when she was training, we figured let's just get her back to the U.S. and see what's going on.”

Initially, it was more of the same.

“The same thing was still kind of happening,” Roth said. “She'd be ok to train and then she would get a little sore. When she was finally ready to go we sent her to Josie Carroll at Woodbine because we wanted her to run on a synthetic track. We knew Josie would take care of her. She is meticulous, communicates well and often. Earhart's mom broke her maiden on a synthetic track in France because the race was in the wintertime when they run over synthetic surfaces there.”

Unable to get to the bottom of the various problems, Carroll and her vet decided to do an MRI on the filly. They found the answers they were looking for.

“Finally, our vets decided to do an MRI of her withers,” Roth explained. “Turns out she probably had an accident as a foal and there was degenerative cartilage. We did exploratory surgery and took the debris out and have never missed a beat since. I think she missed just two weeks of training. I have to give Josie and her vet all the credit for deciding to do the MRI.”

If Earhart is to turn out to be a major star, she will have taken an unusual path to get here. With her having run only on a synthetic surface and never beyond seven furlongs, there's a lot left to prove. Roth said she will be sent to Turfway Park for the winter so she can continue running on and training on a synthetic surface. She'll have at least one start there. Then what?

“She will go to Turfway and aim for stakes there,” Roth said. “We'll see. We are open to a lot of options. But we will learn a lot about her at Turfway, where she will obviously run against better competition. We'll start there. She obviously is a very promising filly.”

We may see her next in the Jan. 25 Wishing Well Stakes at Turfway, which is run at 6 1/2 furlongs. With another win on a synthetic track, there figures to be a clamoring for her to try dirt. In this country, stars are not made on synthetic surfaces. Roth said that the question of dirt has come up with bloodstock agent Alex Solis, but she is not thinking yet beyond her next race. Some day, she's probably going to have to also prove that she can handle a distance race.

“We've been down this road before,” Roth said. “We had a horse named Super Majesty who broke her maiden and won an allowance by a combined 21 1/2 lengths. Her first two races were spectacular. She did win the Grade III Dogwood Stakes, but then things started to change. That's why I try to keep my expectations and excitement in check. But, yes, this is a very exiting filly and Josie thinks this is one of the best fillies she has ever trained.”

She's unbeaten and cost a whopping €1.4 million at one of the most prestigious sales in the world. Earhart (her dam is Aviatress {Ire}) could be destined for stardom. But can she run on dirt or, even, turf? No one knows. All of which makes her a fascinating horse to watch in 2025.

“Jot Her Down!” – @WoodbineGeller

#8 EARHART (FR) ($2.50) soars down the @WoodbineTB stretch in Race 9 and displays an impressive victory for @jcarrollracing and owner @LNJFoxwoods. pic.twitter.com/NqXOL2VT5k

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) December 7, 2024