2021 Schuylerville Stakes Winner Pretty Birdie Retired

Marylou Whitney Stables' graded stakes winning Kentucky homebred Pretty Birdie  has been retired, trainer Norm Casse told New York Racing Association publicity.

The 4-year-old Bird Song  gray or roan filly captured the 2021 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course as the highlight of a 13-race career in which she posted a record of 4-3-1 for purse earnings of $521,488. Her ledger includes a pair of stakes wins last year at Oaklawn Park in the Purple Martin Stakes and Poinsettia Stakes along with a strong second in the Eight Belles Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Pretty Birdie made four starts this year, hitting the board twice before a last-out seventh in her turf debut June 16 at Ellis Park.

"We tried her on turf one time and it seemed like she didn't appreciate that, so we decided it's time for her to be a mom. She doesn't owe us anything and we're proud of what we were able to accomplish with her," Casse told the NYRA publicity team.

Casse said he is already looking forward to seeing Pretty Birdie's progeny take flight. She is out of the Street Sense mare Bird Sense , a half-sister to the graded stakes-placed Bird Maker  and stakes-placed Cheechako .

"One of the coolest things about training for the Marylou Whitney Stable is that they breed to race," Casse added track publicity. "Now, two or three years down the line, I'll be training the babies of the horses that I've trained. Not too many ownership groups are doing it like that anymore and I'm proud of that."