Racing Icon Personal Ensign Dead

[tonysam]

Blood-Horse:

Personal Ensign, a champion on the track and in the breeding shed, died April 8 at the Hancock family’s Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky. She was 26.

Pensioned from broodmare duty since 2006, Ogden Phipps' homebred daughter of Private Account–Grecian Banner, by Hoist the Flag died of natural causes.

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Trained by Hall of Fame Shug McGaughey, Personal Ensign’s most memorable season came as a 4-year-old in 1988, when she repeated in the Beldame, beat males in the Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga, and emerged victorious in four other grade I events. But the most memorable moment of the great mare’s campaign occurred in her final race, the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. I) at Churchill Downs. Seemingly beaten on a sloppy track, Personal Ensign roared down the stretch in the final stages of the race to catch free-wheeling Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Winning Colors by a nose. Personal Ensign retired after that effort as the champion older mare of 1988 with $1,679,880 in the bank.

"She was a wonderful filly who overcame injury to win 13 straight races," McGaughey said. "She was certainly one of my all-time favorites. She was a career maker."

The 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff was one of the all-time great races.

Here is a YouTube link of the race:

1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff

[Earth Bound Misfit]

1. Great filly, I saw her race once.

1988 Maskette Stakes at Belmont (now the Go For Wand @Saratoga) Winning Colors had an even bigger lead in that race (IIRC) than she did in the Breeder's Cup & Ensign ran her down in the final strides. A true champion.

[tonysam]

2. Eleven of her thirteen races can be seen on this YouTube site

from the New York Racing Association:

Personal Ensign Collection