Putting together an extended winning streak is difficult in Thoroughbred racing. But every so often, a horse simply refuses to lose. And before we know it, one win is followed by another. And another. And another until the record reaches several victories.

Songbird and Beholder are among those in recent years to go many starts without a defeat, and of course Zenyatta crafted her legendary run of nineteen consecutive wins over the course of about three years.

Another horse enjoyed a lengthy run without a blemish for about eight months, and in that time picked up stake after stake as no one could get in front of her at the wire.

Debuting at Del Mar's Bing Crosby Season in the fall of 2016, Sircat Sally wasted no time getting into the win column. Taking command promptly, she took the field around the main course going 6 furlongs while winning handily in a good debut performance. She made the step up to minor stakes company next time out when trainer Jerry Hollendorfer sent her to the Soviet Problem at Los Alamitos, and the Cal-bred daughter of Surf Cat proved to be even more impressive in her follow-up race.

The jump in class, the sprint-to-route angle, trying a new track, not of that intimidated Sircat Sally. Like she did on debut, she grabbed the lead after an early duel and led her rivals around Los Alamitos before surging to a huge margin of victory in the stretch. Now two-for-two, Sircat Sally was being noticed, as evidenced by her being named the year's Top Two-Year-Old Cal-bred filly by the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association.

It was a perfect start to her career, but there was plenty more to follow.

Stationed at Santa Anita for the track's 2016/2017 winter/spring meet, Sircat Sally's momentum did not slow down. In fact, her talents grew. Competing solely on turf and exclusively routing, the gorgeous dark bay filly did nothing but win. She won from leading early. She won from tracking the leader. She won with either decent or slow fractions. She won with different jockeys. She won after a horse challenged her near the top of the stretch. She did it all.

Among the most significant races during Sircat Sally's tenure in Arcadia was the Grade III Providencia Stakes. Not only did it signify her first graded stakes win, it also marked the first time Sircat Sally defeated open company after taking on Cal-breds in her other starts beforehand. She did that twice more at Santa Anita, picking up another Grade III in the Senorita and later the Grade II Honeymoon Stakes.

Once the meet concluded, her record stood at five wins at just that one track, and the turf course had been her stage. Throughout the winter and spring, Sircat Sally assumed the role of versatile performer. There was nothing one-note about her. She won at a mile and a mile and an eighth while adapting to different pace scenarios, and that was on top of her winning on dirt and sprinting as a two-year-old. Without question, Sircat Sally was one of the leading horses at Santa Anita that year.

Back at Del Mar in the summer of 2017, Sircat Sally sought to continue her streak in the Grade II San Clemente Handicap, also on turf. Though several lengths behind as the leader went far out in front early on, Sircat Sally managed to get third place, but her impressive run of victories stopped at seven. As it turned out, a fracture in one of her legs was discovered after the race, and she was subsquently retired. "She's not going to run anymore. She's already done a lot for me, so she's going to be a broodmare," said owner Joe Turner.

After seven wins and a third in eight starts, Sircat Sally collected a couple of more trophies. At the 2017 CTBA Awards, she was voted Top Three-Year-Old Cal-bred Female and Cal-bred Horse of the Year after a brilliant first half of the year. As for her new career as a dam, it was reported early in 2018 that she was in foal to multiple Grade I winner Arrogate. If any of Sircat Sally's horses go on to possess her versatility, they will do quite well like their mom did.

She could do it all on track, and while there is a sense of what might have been that surrounds her, no one can deny that Sircat Sally made herself a prolific horse in the span of a few months. And she should be deservedly remembered as one of the top Cal-breds during the bottom half of the 2010s.

Sources:

"She's not going to..." Balan, Jeremy. "Madame Dancealot Closes From Last to Win San Clemente." BloodHorse, July 23, 2017. https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/222711/madam-dancealot-closes-from-last-to-win-san-clemente

in foal to Arrogate. No author named. "Sircat Sally in Foal to Arrogate." California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association. March 14, 2018. https://ctba.com/sircat-sally-in-foal-to-arrogate/