Desert Vixen

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Desert Vixen

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Sire: In Reality
Dam: Desert Trial
Damsire: Moslem Chief
Sex: Filly
Foaled: 1970
Country: USA
Colour: Dark Bay
Breeder: Muriel Vanderbilt
Owner: Harry Mangurian Jr.
Trainer: Tommy Root, Sr.
Record: 28: 13-6-3
Earnings: $421,538
Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards
Major Racing Wins
Alabama Stakes (1973)
Delaware Oaks (1973)
Monmouth Oaks (1973)
Test Stakes (1973)
Gazelle Handicap (1973)
Beldame Stakes (1973 & 1974)
Matchmaker Stakes (1974)
Racing Awards
U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Filly (1973)
U.S. Champion Older Female Horse (1974)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1979)

Infobox last updated on: October 29, 2006.

Desert Vixen (1970-1982) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. The Filly began racing at age two but met with limited success, winning only one of her five starts. At age three, Desert Vixen was the dominant filly in her class, winning eight straight races including a number of important Grade I stakes and tying a track record. Her performance earned her the 1973 Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly.

At age four, Desert Vixen started slowly but then earned three impressive wins in her eleven races. One her three 2nd place finishes came when she raced on turf for the first time in her career in the prestigious Washington, D.C. International. In the prestigious Grade I race, she finished behind winner Admetus but ahead of the superstar filly Dahlia who had won the race in 1973. She won her second Beldame Stakes by 12 lengths and tied the Monmouth Park track record in winning the Matchmaker Stakes. Her 1974 performance earned her her second Eclipse Award as U.S. Champion Older Female Horse.

In 1979, Desert Vixen was inducted into the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. She died in 1982 and is buried at Breckinridge Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.


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