Sometimes, champions start their careers not at one of the most prominent tracks in Thoroughbred racing, but rather at a smaller-tier venue. That was how it began for this Cal-bred daughter of Swiss Yodeler.

Her debut came in the early days of the 2013 Fairplex Park meeting, which was held in between Del Mar's summer season and Santa Anita's autumn action. Trained by Michael Pender at the time, she went to the front early and never gave it back, winning at the Pomona bullring before heading over to the stable of Jerry Hollendorfer.

From there, Swiss Lake Yodeler added to her budding resume. She proved herself to be diverse with various distances, too. Following a second in her next race at Santa Anita against allowance company at six furlongs, Swiss Lake Yodeler rattled off a win in Santa Anita's one-mile Golden State Juvenile Filles before taking her place as one of Hollywood Park's last stakes winners when she took the seven-furlong Soviet Problem on the penultimate day of racing at the legendary track.

Though she had limited starts in 2013, Swiss Lake Yodeler made an impression, for she was voted Champion Cal-bred Two-Year-Old Filly thanks to her accomplishments across the Southland.

As for Swiss Lake Yodeler's sophomore season, that was a completely different story. She did not win once in six starts, the lone bright spots being a pair of third place results. The first came on an off track in the Grade III Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita, and the other came on the same surface (though it was not touched by rain) in the Melair nearly two months later. She made one final start in early 2015 against allowance optional claimers, but that resulted in her finishing out of the money as well.

For some reason, Swiss Lake Yodeler's career peaked with the Soviet Problem. She was consistently within striking distance of the front in subsequent starts, but she seemed to find herself well beaten at the wire in what was a complete reversal of her 2013 campaign. She made one turf start that year, and again found a mix of sprints and routes. Maybe she didn't like the grass? And perhaps she was just better at six furlongs or less (the majority of her races were a mile or longer after 2013, and none were below seven furlongs).

But even with that disappointing year, Swiss Lake Yodeler was not without success when she was retired.

As mentioned before, she won at different distances. In addition, she picked up victories at Fairplex Park, Santa Anita and Hollywood Park, which made her proficient on both dirt and synthetic. And she won a pair of stakes as a juvenile before placing in a Grade III. What's more, Swiss Lake Yodeler could team and win with multiple jockeys, for she got her picture taken with no less than three riders.

Going back to her first year at the races, you could find Swiss Lake Yodeler in the leading group early. The bay filly did not waste time after the bell rang, and her effort paid off with three wins and a second. She made an effort the next year, too. You could find her not far from the leaders, but she just could not sustain her run like before.

Though the latter part of her career did not match what she achieved at two years of age, Swiss Lake Yodeler still had talent, and it shined for a few months in the summer and fall of 2013.

And as a result, she earned the honor of being a Cal-bred champion.