Goodnight Olive (foaled April 30, 2018) is a retired champion American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse who won consecutive runnings of the

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong (1408 m) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year- ...

in 2022 and 2023. She was named the 2022 and 2023 US Champion Female Sprint Horse.

Background

Goodnight Olive is a dark

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

or brown mare who was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings and Clearsky Farms and was a $170,000 purchase at the 2019 October Keeneland sale by Steve Laymon's First Row Partners. Goodnight Olive is by 2004 Horse of the Year

Ghostzapper Ghostzapper (foaled April 6, 2000) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a track record time of 1:59.02. His gate-to-wire Classic victory completed a 4-for-4 season, ...

. She is the third foal out of the

Smart Strike Smart Strike (May 21, 1992, in Ontario – March 25, 2015) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. The son of the Champion sire, Mr. Prospector, and out of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare Classy 'n Smart, Smart Strike is a half-brot ...

mare Salty Strike, who won the Grade II Dogwood Stakes in 2011 and the Grade III Gardenia Stakes in 2012 along with numerous other listed and black-type stakes races. Goodnight Olive is trained by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown.

Racing career

2021: three-year-old season

Goodnight Olive broke her maiden at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

in her second career start off of a layoff of seven months. She then handily defeated allowance company at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

in her final start of the year.

2022: four-year-old season

In 2022 Goodnight Olive was undefeated in four starts. Coming off of a layoff of seven months, she won allowance/optional claiming sprints at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

and

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

before being entered into the Grade I

Ballerina Stakes The Ballerina Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Spr ...

, which she won by lengths at odds of 5-1 under the lowest weight of 118 pounds. She was then rested up until the

, which she won en route to honors as American Champion Female Sprinter.

2023: five-year-old season

In 2023 Goodnight Olive resumed her career with an impressive win in the Grade I

Madison Stakes The Madison Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older, over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky during ...

, her seventh career win and third straight Grade I victory. Staying at the 7-furlong distance, she placed in the

Derby City Distaff Stakes The Derby City Distaff Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early May on the Kentucky Derby day meeting at Churchill Downs ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

, won the Bed O' Roses Stakes at Belmont, and finished second in the Ballerina Stakes behind

Echo Zulu Echo Zulu (April 7, 2019 – February 18, 2024) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and 2022 Fair Grounds Oaks, and was named the 2021 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Background Echo Zulu ...

. Goodnight Olive successfully defended her title in the

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

as the favorite, winning by lengths in what was thought to be her final career start. Three days after her repeat win at the Breeders' Cup, Goodnight Olive went to the auction ring at the

Fasig-Tipton The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an American auction house for Thoroughbred horses. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky, Elkton, Maryland, and Saratoga ...

November Sale as a broodmare and racing prospect. She was sold for $6 million, with the winning ticket signed by Gavin O'Connor for Resolute Bloodstock owner John Stewart. Stewart said after the purchase that he intended to keep Goodnight Olive in training for a 2024 campaign. He added that he knew there was foreign interest in the horse, and there was no price to keeping her in the United States. After a successful campaign in 2023 Goodnight Olive was awarded an

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

as the U.S. Champion Female Sprint Horse for the second time.

Retirement

Following the 2023 Breeders' Cup, Goodnight Olive returned to Chad Brown's barn at Payson Park in preparation for a 2024 campaign. However, on February 6, 2024, Resolute Farm announced in a

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

that Goodnight Olive had been retired from racing and would be bred to

Not This Time Not This Time (foaled April 26, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire of Epicenter (horse), Epicenter the 2022 American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse. Background Not This Time is a dark Bay (horse), bay or brown horse ...

, the sire of 2022 champion 3-year-old

Epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

. Gavin O'Connor said that while they had hoped to continue her racing career, "unless Chad and his team thought she could continue to compete at (the highest) level, we always knew this was a likely path for her. She really doesn’t have anything else to prove."

Statistics

''Notes:''
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Goodnight Olive was the post-time favourite.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 2-d American Grade 1 Stakes winners Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winners