Champion Sistercharlie to Return for Another Season

Sistercharlie, the champion turf female of 2018, will remain in training for 2020, owner Peter Brant said Dec. 12. The 5-year-old mare who added three more grade 1 wins this season and is a contender for a second consecutive Eclipse Award will return for another season for Brant and trainer Chad Brown.

"Sistercharlie is a horse of a lifetime, and I am so excited for her to get to continue to thrill fans for another year," Brant said. "Her 2019 campaign was extraordinary, including her track record at Arlington. She has proven herself against the strongest competition, and working with Chad and his team, I can't wait to see what 2020 holds." 

One of the brightest stars in Brown's barn, Sistercharlie returned to racing in July after a freshening following her resounding victory in the 2018 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) and won the Diana Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course for the second consecutive year. She became the first horse in history to win consecutive editions of the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) at Arlington International Race Course with a three-length victory over an international field, setting the course record with a time of 1:52.43 for 1 3/16 miles. In her penultimate start of the season, she won the Flower Bowl Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park—her sixth consecutive grade 1 victory—before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

"Sistercharlie is extraordinarily talented and consistently brilliant. She's a true champion and a rare horse. It's very exciting—a gift, really—to have another year with her," Brown said. "She'll tell us when she's ready to go again, and we're looking forward to a successful, healthy 2020 campaign."

In 2019, Sistercharlie had three wins from four starts and earnings of $1,086,400 with victories on the turf from 1 1/8 miles through 1 1/4 miles. Her career record is 10-3-1 from 15 starts, with $3,662,003 in earnings. Seven of her victories have come against grade 1 competition. 

"Horses like Sistercharlie don't come along very often," said regular rider and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. "For her to run race after race like she does, always in the top races against the best competition, shows how fantastic she is. I am thankful for the opportunity to ride such an incredible horse."