While Giant’s Causeway was marketed as an iron horse, I believe Serena’s Song is a strong contender to have that title among Thoroughbred mares. The Hall of Fame inductee and 1995 champion three-year-old filly raced 38 times. Even in the mid-90s, that was not common for horses competing in the top tier races, and through the years since has become even less likely. When retired to become a broodmare, she had a multitude of foals back-to-back, barely missing a year. And on April 4 this year, she achieved another milestone of seeing the thirty-second anniversary of her foaling date. She is indeed a most durable individual, a testament to both the care lavished upon her at Denali Stud, where she is called the “Queen of Denali,” and to her own constitution.

As noteworthy as those details of her life are, however, what makes her shine more is her impact upon individuals who love racing and the reverence that evokes, much as everyone at Denali has for her that led to her royally-inspired title at the farm. She was offered peppermint cookies on April 4 to mark the occasion of her turning 32, and reading that she had reached that age filled me with awe all over again for her.

I am grateful that Denali has been gracious to share one-on-one time with her for her fans over the years, and that I have been able to visit her more than once in retirement. While I watched her races on TV, I was not in a position to attend any of them, so my first time in her presence was in 2010. I jumped at the chance to see her through a tour offered when the World Equestrian Games were in Lexington. In fact, I thought that tour was only possible as a special event while the Games were in town. Later I discovered how often Denali offered opportunities to visit her, but that never made it less special. Each visit was different too.

As could be expected from an “iron” horse, one who was dominant, Serena’s Song expected peppermints to have patience to stand for visitors. She was never mean, but she knew what she wanted and I was happy to feed her provided peppermints when I visited. Another time, the groom who brought her out of the stall for me handed me her lead rope and I alone got to handle her for pictures. That was a thrill beyond words, even more one-on-one than standing beside her for a photo. It was she and I, directly connecting with no one else involved. She was sleek and healthy as always, with an extra shine to her coat from the warmer days of that time of year and probably the added robustness of the grass responding to those same weather conditions. One other time I saw her stood out because I found a spot where she wanted to be scratched, and she was enjoying that thoroughly. That too felt like a more one-on-one connection than feeding her peppermints, as much as she liked those, for it was almost like providing care to scratch a spot she would have had difficulty reaching. It was a joy to give that care and see how she reacted to getting that itch scratched.

I am grateful I have had those moments in her presence. The mid-90s was when I first became most invested in racing and watching it at every opportunity. As one of the most noteworthy racehorses of that time, Serena’s Song made a strong impression. That made it even more special that I got to have those moments with her – I would have never dreamed I would when I watched her on TV in a state without horse racing.

Even though I have (reluctantly) moved away from Lexington, special moments with the renowned horses there like those recounted here stay with me. A toast to Serena’s Song for being one of the horses who gave me wonderful memories of the time I lived there, and here’s to her continued health!