Her first year at the races consisted of one start. Her second year saw her thrive on turf. And her third year gave racegoers a good look at her versatility as she worked her way towards becoming a champion.

Guided by Jerry Hollendorfer and owned and bred by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, Top Kisser began her career with a good second place finish while sprinting over Hollywood Park's main track during the 2012 autumn meet. She would compete at short distances again, but not until much later down the road.

When it came to distance throughout her 2013 campaign, Top Kisser went routing from start to finish. And every single one of those starts came on turf. She shined during the Santa Anita meet, finishing second in her initial try at a mile over the grass before reeling off three consecutive victories over the Arcadia lawn.

Beating both maiden special weight and allowance company at that time, she ventured back to Hollywood Park that spring, where she took third in the Fran's Valentine in her stakes debut before stretching out to a mile and one-sixteenth over the same turf course to defeat allowance foes. Her streak of top three finishes came to a halt in Del Mar's Osunitas Stakes that summer, where she finished sixth despite not losing by very many lengths.

A proven router and winner on turf when she returned to racing in 2014, Top Kisser showed she could do even more. She got the year started with another stakes win in the Spring Fever at Santa Anita while going six furlongs. Despite having a history of liking to create the pace early, Top Kisser was not a need the lead type; she tracked the pace in the Spring Fever before making her move to win. And it would not be the last time she did that.

Her lone attempt over Santa Anita's hillside turf course resulted in a sixth in the Mizdirection Stakes, but Top Kisser got things on track again with a trip to Pleasanton in Northern California. In two starts at the Oak Tree meet, she took third in the Oak Tree Distaff (after uncharacteristically being off the pace) and came back to take the California Governor's Cup at a mile and one-sixteenth while again following the leader.

Top Kisser's lone visit to Del Mar in 2014 saw her gain a measure of redemption when she took second in the C.E.R.F. Stakes. But then came the biggest triumph of her career in her return to Santa Anita.

Entered in the Grade III L.A. Woman Stakes, Top Kisser again let the early pacesetters move fast up front. The race set up well for her, the fractions quite swift as the field moved around the main track. In the far turn, she made her move. The leaders had nothing to counter her rally, and she caught them before winning her final start in nice fashion.

After retiring with a record of seven wins, three seconds and two thirds in fourteen starts, Top Kisser capped off her career with one more trophy. Her body of work as a five-year-old netted her the title of Top Older Female Cal-bred as she won stakes while sprinting and routing.

Even before she became a champion, however, Top Kisser had shown she was a complete package as a racehorse. She handled turf, dirt and synthetic surfaces; she shipped to another circuit and found success there; she could take on different distances, and she had class as she netted both black-type and graded stakes while also winning at different tracks.

In addition, Top Kisser was not averse to staying off the lead, and fans saw she could be right at home producing the race tempo. And she had no trouble teaming up with various jockeys. Russell Baze, Rafael Bejarano, Julien Leparoux, Corey Nakatani and Elvis Trujillo all had their pictures taken with Top Kisser. And her record obviously highlights her consistency. She just showed up to work and did her best whether she won or lost. You can't ask for more than that.

Top Kisser was simply a talented racehorse who deserved all that she achieved. And any Thoroughbred owner would love to have a horse like her.