2018 Eclipse Awards: Marley's Freedom

After Marley’s Freedom finished a non-threatening sixth in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie on the Pegasus World Cup card in January in her first start as a 4-year-old, few could have guessed the filly would blossom into a major player in the filly-mare sprint division.

Trained at the time by Bob Hess Jr., Marley’s Freedom then finished second in March in the Grade 2 Santa Monica at her home track, Santa Anita, before powering to victory in a second-level allowance in April.

Turned over soon thereafter to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert by the Cicero Farms LLC of Ron and Barbara Perry, Marley’s Freedom shifted her game into high gear. She won the Grade 3 Desert Stormer at Santa Anita by 7 1/4 lengths in May, earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure, then captured the Grade 2 Great Lady M. at Los Alamitos in July.

Then came her defining moment: a resounding 3 1/4-length triumph as the favorite in the Ballerina on the Aug. 25 Travers undercard at Saratoga, giving the Perrys their first Grade 1 win while remaining unbeaten in three starts for Baffert.

:: 2018 Eclipse Finalists: Profiles and photos for all categories

“She was in great shape when I got her, so I can’t take a lot of credit for it,” Baffert said after the Ballerina. “I just kept her in that form. But the way she won those first two races was pretty impressive. It told me the quality was there.”

Baffert then considered the L.A. Woman in October as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Sprint before deciding just to train Marley’s Freedom at Santa Anita straight into that pivotal Nov. 3 race at Churchill Downs. There’s no way of knowing what impact that decision had on the filly’s BC effort, but in any case, luck was not on their side.

Sent away the 9-10 favorite in a full gate of 14, Marley’s Freedom quickly found herself playing catch-up after getting away a half-step slowly from post 13. Hung wide the rest of the trip with Mike Smith aboard, she closed steadily but still could manage only to finish fourth in a bang-bang finish, beaten just a half-length by the victorious Shamrock Rose.

Even after capping her season with a victory under Smith in the Grade 3 Go for Wand, a one-mile race at Aqueduct in December, Baffert said: “I’m still sick about the Breeders’ Cup.”

From eight starts on the year, Marley’s Freedom won five times, including four in graded races, for earnings of $718,550. In all, she has seven wins from 14 starts and a bankroll of $815,935.

Her 2018 season netted her spots as an Eclipse Award finalist in the filly-and-mare sprint division and the older dirt female division.

Marley’s Freedom, by Blame out of Relaxing Green, by Formal Gold, was bred in Kentucky by Jack Swain. Following the Go for Wand, she was kept in active training at Santa Anita, where Baffert said he was considering longer races for her as a 5-year-old.