In 2024, nearly 17,000 Thoroughbreds were born in North America, while England and Ireland welcomed a little more than 13,000 foals. Of those, less than half will win a race in their lifetime, while approximately 3% will win a stakes, and an even smaller percentage, less than 1%, will win a graded stakes. Imagine the odds of an English classic and Breeders’ Cup victor foaling a Derby winner who then sires classic and Breeders’ Cup winners of his own?

With a stellar pedigree as her foundation, Ouija Board forged a championship career on the racetrack, making her presence felt at the Breeders’ Cup through both her own wins and the victories of her descendants.

Group 1 winner Cape Cross has passed on his talent to progeny like Sea The Stars, a QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Famer and leading stallion in England; Golden Horn, winner of both the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe; and a bay filly with a dot of white on her forehead named Ouija Board.

Bred by the late 18^th Earl of Derby, John Stanley, her name was a combination of her homebred dam, Selection Board, by stakes winner Welsh Pageant, and her grandam, Ouija. She raced in the colors of Edward Stanley, the 19^th Earl of Derby, and was trained by Ed Dunlop, who also conditioned 2010 English and Irish Oaks winner Snow Fairy.

Lord Derby, left, leads Ouija Board to winner's circle. (Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

When she arrived at Dunlop’s Gainsborough yard, Ouija Board was “a tall filly; a bit weak; a bit on the leg; nicely made, but immature,” as Stanley recalled the trainer’s assessment. Since it was clear that she needed time to mature, the filly did not debut until October 2003 and got three races in during her juvenile season. She won her second start at Great Yarmouth and finished third in her other races, both at Newmarket.

Ouija Board opened her 3-year-old season in 2004 with a six-length win in the R. L. Davison Pretty Polly Stakes, a 1 ¼-mile stakes that prompted Dunlop and Stanley to consider either the Prix de Diane, the French version of the Oaks; or the Oaks at Epsom, an English classic whose twin, the Derby, was named for her owner’s title. The filly trained so well that her connections opted for the English Oaks rather than risk the trip to France. Though her pedigree did not necessarily scream 1 ½ miles, Keiren Fallon, who rode Ouija Board in the Pretty Polly, told the Stanleys that she could get the distance and they took his opinion to heart.

At Epsom Downs, the Cape Cross filly went off at 7-2 odds with Fallon again in the saddle. The field was only seven, with three being Aiden O’Brien’s Coolmore contingent and two from Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

Ouija Board winning 2004 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. (BloodHorse Library)

Carrying the traditional black silks and white cap of the Stanley family, Ouija Board lingered toward the back of the pack early, and then, as the field turned for home, the white cap took off, Ouija Board picking off horses as she made her bid for the lead. With a quarter of a mile to go, she found the front and winged away to a seven-length win over the favored All Too Beautiful. It was the family’s ninth win in the classic founded by the 12^th Earl of Derby in the late 18^th century, the list including Quashed, who won in 1935 and then beat Triple Crown winner Omaha in the Ascot Gold Cup the following year.

Six weeks later, Ouija Board again came home the winner in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh and then ventured to Longchamp to face males in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s premier weight-for-age race where she finished third, and ahead of that year’s Derby winner North Light (fifth), after a traffic-heavy trip. Facing a talented field that included older horses and finishing in the money despite her difficult trip, Ouija Board showed both owner and trainer that she had serious chops and merited a spot in the Breeders’ Cup, held that year at Lone Star Park in Texas.

The filly weathered the long trip from Newmarket to the Dallas-Fort Worth area well and came into the race as the favorite of 12, over Grade 1 winners Wonder Again, Film Maker, Megahertz, and Riskaverse. With Kieren Fallon back in the saddle, Ouija Board tracked the pace early and then made her bid on the far turn, passing Moscow Burning inside the final furlong to win by 1½ lengths. It was her third Grade or Group 1 victory of her 3-year-old season and a fitting end to her European Horse of the Year campaign. Even better, the filly was set to return and defend her Breeders’ Cup success at age 4.

After collecting awards in both England and America — a 2004 Eclipse Award as champion turf female — a splint delayed Ouija Board’s return to the races until mid-June and Royal Ascot. Held that year at York while a new grandstand was under construction at the historic racetrack, she was entered in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes against males. Ouija Board lost a shoe and never factored in the race, finishing seventh of eight. Puzzled by her performance, Ouija Board returned to Gainsborough and received a full veterinary workover, which revealed a stress fracture in her near fore cannonbone. The filly would be out of commission for months, possibly for good.

Thankfully, Ouija Board healed without incident and returned to the track in late September, trying the 1 ½-mile Princess Royal Stakes at Newmarket. She had no trouble handling a field of 12 others females, jetting home by 2 ½ lengths with Frankie Dettori in the saddle. With that prep under her belt, the 4-year-old Cape Cross filly crossed the Atlantic to New York and Belmont Park seeking a repeat victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

With both Dettori and Fallon unavailable, Jerry Bailey got the mount on Ouija Board, jumping ship from Grade 1 winner Intercontinental because he did not think she would excel at the 1 ¼-mile distance. Little did he know that she absolutely could; the Juddmonte homebred 5-year-old mare took the lead from the break and never relinquished it. Ouija Board launched her customary rally in the stretch and was able to get within a 1 ¼ lengths of her rival at the finish line while running second. Four weeks later, she tried the Japan Cup, where she endured a bump from Heart’s Cry in the stretch and stayed on to finish fifth. Ouija Board rounded out her 2005 season with a start in the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin. She was last of 12 approaching the stretch, appearing hopelessly beaten, but somehow Keiren Fallon found room to run; Ouija Board accelerated to the front and won with ease, 2 ¾ lengths in front of Six Sense. Though her 2005 season had not quite lived up to the previous year’s standard of excellence, she had recovered from her injuries and was primed for one more year of racing in 2006.

Ouija Board started the year with three Group 1 races – the Sheema Classic, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and the Coronation Cup – going from Dubai to Hong Kong to Epsom with no wins, but two top-three finishes. A trip to Royal Ascot yielded her first win at age 5: she faced Electrocutionist, the 2006 Dubai World Cup winner; highly regarded German-bred Manduro; and familiar foe Ace in the 1 ¼-mile Prince of Wales’s Stakes and beat them all, defeating all of those top males by a half-length. A trip to Sandown Park for the Eclipse Stakes yielded a traffic-troubled fifth, but Ouija Board came out of the race in fine fettle, if a little scratched up, so Dunlop booked her for the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood in early August. In a humdinger of a race, she dueled with Alexander Goldrun in the final furlongs and eked out a victory by a nose.

In the Irish Champion Stakes, Ouija Board had the lead in the race’s final strides, but Dylan Thomas, that year’s Irish Derby winner, caught her just before the finish line. Dunlop then shipped the 5-year-old mare to Churchill Downs for the 2006 Breeders’ Cup, her goal to notch another Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf win. In the mix was familiar foe Film Maker as well as multiple Grade 1 winner Wait a While, but the race looked like it was ripe for the taking. Contested at 1 3/8 miles, a furlong longer than in previous years, jockey Dettori patiently reserved Ouija Board toward the back of the pack early, angled out five wide in the stretch, and the duo rallied powerfully to win by 2 1/4 lengths, securing her second Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf win in three tries.

Just three weeks later, Ouija Board was back in Tokyo for the Japan Cup, seeking a victory there to add to her already deep résumé. There she ran into the hugely popular 2005 Japanese Triple Crown winner Deep Impact and Heart’s Cry, the winner of the Sheema Classic in which Ouija Board had finished fourth. Though he star mare finished third to Deep Impact, 2 ½ lengths back — Dettori reported how upset she was to lose the race — her connections gave her lots of love to cheer her up after her disappointing run.

To cap her stellar career, Dunlop sent her to Sha Tin for one more turn in the Hong Kong Vase, but soreness in her left front leg prompted her withdrawal and subsequent retirement. For her 2006 season, an eight-month campaign in which she ran nine times and won three races and placed in four others, she earned another European Horse of the Year award, an Eclipse Award as outstanding turf female, and European champion older horse.

Ouija Board during a stay at Lane's End. (Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

Retired to broodmare life, Ouija Board produced five foals, including Australia, by the great Galileo. Winner of both the Irish and Epsom Derbys as well as the Juddmonte International Stakes, Australia retired to Coolmore in Ireland, where he has carried on the classic genes. His son Lambourn won the 2025 Epsom and Irish Derbys, while another son Order of Australia won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Mile, their accomplishments echoing their grandam’s excellence on both English and American racetracks.

Ouija Board’s remarkable career, marked by her exceptional versatility and determination, solidified her place as one of the best horses in recent memory. Her Group 1 victories across multiple continents and her prestigious titles, including twice European Horse of the Year, underscore her rare talent and enduring legacy. Beyond the track, her successful transition to motherhood promises to extend her influence through future generations of champions, cementing her lasting impact on racing.