Soaring Softly is an American Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 Champion

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. She was bred and raced by Joan Phillips and her son John of the renowned Darby Dan Farm

Darby Dan Farm

Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath , it was expanded from an original farm into a 4,000...

. Her sire is Darby Dan's outstanding stallion Kris S.

Kris S.

Kris S. was an American Thoroughbred race horse who is best known as a highly successful sire. He was a son of the 1972 Epsom Derby winner Roberto who was a sire of international influence descending from the Hail to Reason branch of the Nearco sire line...

, a son of the Darby Dan Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an star grass racer Roberto

Roberto (horse)

Roberto was an American-bred Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed in Ireland and England.-Background:Roberto was bred by Galbreath at his Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The son of the successful sire Hail To Reason out of the dam Bramalea, Roberto's grandsire was Turn-To, a...

. Her dam is the farm's own mare

Mare

Female horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...

 Wings of Grace, who was a daughter of the 1972 American Champion 3-Year-Old Colt, Key to the Mint

Key to the Mint

Key to the Mint was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred by Paul Mellon and raced under his Rokeby Stable colors, Key to the Mint was trained by future Hall of Fame inductee, Elliott Burch.-Racing Career:...

.

At age two

Soaring Softly was conditioned for racing by Jimmy Toner

James J. Toner

James J. "Jimmy" Toner is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.At age nineteen in April 1960 he got his first win as a trainer, making him the youngest to ever win a Thoroughbred horse race in State of New York. He won the 1999 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf with Soaring Softly.-References:*...

. She made her racing debut at age two on October 18, 1997, with a third-place finish in a seven-furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

 event for maidens on the dirt track at Belmont Park

Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...

 in Elmont, New York

Elmont, New York

Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...

. She won her second and final start of the year in a one mile event for maidens at Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...

 on November 11.

At age three

Soaring Softly made six starts at age three, winning her first outing on April 24, 1998, at Keeneland Race Course

Keeneland

Keeneland is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Operated by the Keeneland Association, Inc., it is also known for its reference library on the sport, which contains more than 10,000 volumes, an extensive videocassette collection, and a substantial...

 in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. She then returned to Belmont Park for the June 7 Grade 1

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 Acorn Stakes

Acorn Stakes

The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $250,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiara and is followed by the Coaching Club American Oaks...

, in which she finished fourth behind winner Jersey Girl before running sixth in the June 27 Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes

Mother Goose Stakes

The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt, the Grade I race offers a purse of $250,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a sixteenth, it was lengthened to a mile and an eighth in 1959...

, again won by Jersey Girl. Soaring Softly did not start again until November, when she returned to competing in allowance races at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning two third-place finishes in mile events. In her final start of 1998, on December 5, Soaring Softly ran second in a mile and a sixteenth allowance race.

At age four, a Champion on turf

Wintered in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, after she won just one minor race in six starts on dirt in 1998, Soaring Softly's handlers made the decision to test her on the turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 course at Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....

. The result was instant success that ended with a Championship year. Soaring Softly won her first five starts before finishing fifth in the Diana Handicap

Diana Handicap

The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and up willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on...

 at Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

 in early September. Then, under new jockey Jerry Bailey, she won the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap at Belmont Park, notably defeating runnerup Coretta

Coretta

Coretta is a Thoroughbred racemare who competed in the United States. She was bred and raced by Gerald Leigh, proprietor of England's Eydon Hall Stud. Leigh owned and bred her dam, Free At Last, who was a daughter of the 1978 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, Shirley Heights...

. She capped off the year with her seventh win in eight starts, gaining a second straight victory over runnerup Coretta in the mile and three-eighths Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf

The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....

, hosted that year by Gulfstream Park. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=154806 Voted the 1999 American Champion Female Turf Horse, after developing a tissue strain that would have required therapy and a lengthy recovery, on January 1, 2000, a notice of Soaring Softly's retirement from racing was announced. http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2000/January/01/Champion-Soaring-Softly-retired.aspx

As a broodmare, Soaring Softly was bred to top class stallions such as Storm Cat

Storm Cat

Storm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....

, Gone West

Gone West (horse)

Gone West is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Dr. William O. Reed, Gone West was a son of the very influential sire, Mr. Prospector, his dam, Secrettame, was a daughter of the legendary 1973 U.S...

, Seeking The Gold

Seeking The Gold

Seeking The Gold is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by the leading stud, Mr. Prospector, who in turn was a son of Raise a Native, out of the mare, Con Game....

 and Distorted Humor

Distorted Humor

Distorted Humor is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and a successful sire.-Bloodline:Distorted Humor's sire is Forty Niner, 1987's Eclipse Award winning Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse by the champion sire, Mr. Prospector. Distorted Humor's dam was Danzig's Beauty by Danzig. Distorted...

. She produced seven foals between 2001 and 2007, none of which have met with much success in racing.