Ce Ce

Ce Ce, a filly by Elusive Quality owned and bred by Bo Hirsch, won her career debut in impressive fashion on April 12, 2019, taking a six-furlong race at Santa Anita Park by 2 ¼ lengths. The Mike McCarthy trainee then finished second by a neck in a Santa Anita allowance race and fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes after shipping to Saratoga, but then was sidelined for the rest of the year.

The filly returned for her 4-year-old bow in a 6 ½-furlong allowance race at Santa Anita on Feb. 17, 2020, which she won by 4 ¼ lengths. She then stepped up to Grade 1 company in the Beholder Mile on March 14, and took command in the stretch of the two-turn race to score an emphatic 3 ¼-length win over 3-5 favorite Hard Not to Love. She followed with a hard-fought win by a head over Ollie's Candy in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap April 18 at Oaklawn Park.

Ce Ce earned her first graded stakes win of 2021 on July 3 at Gulfstream Park. She won the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Invitational Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths, rating off the pace and drawing off in the stretch. For her win, Ce Ce earned a berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on November 6. 

McCarthy kept Ce Ce on the East Coast for her next start, and she finished third in the Ketel One Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga in late August. She returned to her California base on Oct. 3 for a final Breeders’ Cup tune-up and romped by five lengths in the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at odds of 1-5.

Ce Ce pulled off the 6.20-1 upset in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6. While favorites Gamine and Bella Sofia dueled with each other in the early stages, Ce Ce rated off them. She made her move in the four-path as they entered the stretch, and drew away to victory. 

Ce Ce’s dam is Grade 1 winner Miss Houdini, by Belong to Me, who also produced Arkansas Derby winner and millionaire Papa Clem.