Soaring High Wins Second Start, Continues Songbird’s Elite Legacy

The pedigree was never in doubt. Soaring High finally gave it on-track proof, running down Phantom Blue to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs and collect her first victory in just her second start.

A Kentucky-bred bay filly foaled May 1, 2023, Soaring High is by Curlin out of Songbird, the two-time champion and nine-time Grade 1 winner who earned nearly $4.7 million and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2023. On Kentucky Oaks day, that bloodline mattered less as a pageant item than as a live racing force. Soaring High, owned by Whisper Hill Farm LLC and trained by Cherie DeVaux, settled in midpack while Phantom Blue controlled the pace, then moved from the rail, swung out to the four path and kept grinding until she got by late. Irad Ortiz Jr. had her in the right rhythm throughout, and the final margin was a neck in 1:43.40.

The result gave DeVaux a filly with real staying power rather than a flashy debutant built for a short burst. Soaring High had debuted at Churchill Downs on Sept. 25, 2025, in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and finished seventh. She returned from a layoff, came back to the worktab in late March and made her seasonal bow with first-time Lasix, then handled the added ground like a horse bred to keep going. The third-place finisher was more than seven lengths behind, which made the top two look plainly superior once they separated in the lane.

The win also deepened the case for Songbird as a broodmare whose influence is still unfolding. Thoroughbred Daily News noted that Soaring High was the second winner out of Songbird, whose seven-foal crop at the time of the filly’s September debut included only three starters and one winner, Rumours Have It. The family tree also includes a juvenile full brother named Mendoza, along with New Theory and a Justify colt at foot. Songbird’s value was underscored when Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm bought her for $9.5 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, then the second-highest price ever paid for a broodmare prospect at the time.

Soaring High turned that investment pedigree into a result that looked every bit like a stakes foundation. Equibase credited her with a record of 2 starts, 1 win, 0 seconds and 0 thirds, with earnings of $69,661 after the Churchill score, a number that fits a filly with options now opening up beyond maiden company.