Her name seemed to suggest she was a can't miss Thoroughbred. When her career was said and done, she indeed fulfilled that suggestion.

She was also a can't miss Thoroughbred for another reason. When in action, one ever had trouble locating her. With her gray coat and affinity for racing in the back, she stood out in every race she started.

Fearless on a racetrack, she never hesitated to run when called upon. Total self-belief ran inside this Tapit filly, and it showed as she collected Grade I events in Southern California.

She never did so on the front end, though. Her modus operandi consisted of catching opponents from several lengths back. Wide trips were common with her, too. But none of that affected her. She had far too much drive and focus.

And for much of her career, Stardom Bound put those characteristics to good use with her electrifying rallies in the stretch.

Originally owned by Charles Cono LLC, Stardom Bound made five starts in 2008, all with Christopher Paasch as her trainer and Mike Smith as her jockey. Her first three races were at Del Mar, and Stardom Bound stated her intentions from the very beginning. Her first two starts, both sprints, saw her spot the leader many lengths before she began her comeback. She took down rival after rival, closing with a rush to finish second both times. Her class was evident early; she took second in the Grade III Sorrento Stakes, an impressive performance considering she was still a maiden.

But she did even better in the Del Mar Debutante. Again far back, Stardom Bound rocketed to the front despite a wide trip in the stretch to outclass her competition and win going away. It was a tremendous performance, and all the more noteworthy due to the fact she graduated in a Grade I.

What the Del Mar fans saw from Stardom Bound in the Del Mar Debutante was what the Santa Anita crowds witnessed during the Oak Tree meet. The filly repeated her Debutante effort in the Grade I Oak Leaf Stakes, getting the mile and one-sixteenth in her initial foray into routing while racing wide in the stretch. But the crowning achievement of her first year at the races was the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. As usual, she stayed well behind the pacesetter early on. The difference this time, however, was she did not wait for the stretch run to go for the lead.

The big stages summon big runs from Thoroughbreds, and Stardom Bound delivered exactly that. She mowed down most of her rivals in the far turn, and had her eyes set for the lead straightening into the stretch. She seized it and ran with a confident air about her as she took the Juvenile Fillies en route to the Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Award for her exciting juvenile campaign.

When Stardom Bound launched her 2009 season, she did so with a new trainer in Bobby Franke and a new ownership group that included IEAH Stables. With Smith remaining as rider, the team got the year started with a win in the Grade I Las Virgenes at Santa Anita. The next destination was the Grade I Santa Anita Oaks, and this race gave Stardom Bound her first true test.

After running in the back, Stardom Bound went very wide in the stretch. Several horses were ahead of her with a sixteenth of a mile to go, but the filly was not going to finish the race without making a challenge. She cut into the lead, and it seemed almost like she did it in slow motion. It was as if ice water was flowing through her, for she handled the moment with a cool demeanor. After a mile and one-sixteenth run around Santa Anita's main track, Stardom Bound got up in time to take the Santa Anita Oaks by a head in what was easily her most hard-fought victory.

Stardom Bound raced twice more in 2009, but did not pick up any more wins. Now in the Richard Dutrow, Jr. barn, she finished third in the Grade I Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, coming on late to get the show. Her last start of the year came in the Grade I Gazelle at Aqueduct, where she finished fifth after never being a factor the entire way.

Back at Santa Anita in 2010, Stardom Bound found her closing kick once more when she took second in the Grade II El Encino Stakes. That was her best finish of the year. After two off the board finishes, one at Santa Anita and the other at Keeneland, Stardom Bound retired with five wins, three seconds and a third in twelve career starts.

She earned all of those results, but she also earned respect. Stardom Bound had immense amounts of courage and fight in her, and it showed in those stretch runs. No one intimidated her. Wide trips were nothing to her. She just went out and raced, and it did not matter who was on track.

That is the attitude of a champion.

She may have been given the name Stardom Bound. But at the end of the day, her refusal to give anything less than her best resulted in her achieving stardom.