Stonewall Stallions’ Doneraile Court enjoyed many highlights in 2008 but none was more notable than the emergence of Cocoa Beach (Chi), a globe-trotting filly who raced at the highest level and showed up every time en route to being recognized as one of the finest female performers of the year in two different divisions by the Eclipse Award committee.

A southern hemisphere 3-year-old in 2008 by virtue of being bred in her native land of Chile, Cocoa Beach was recognized as a 4-year-old in North America and showed that the age difference didn’t mean anything in way of performance, impressively defeating such older racing stalwarts as champion Ginger Punch, who she beat in the $600,000 Beldame S. (G1).

Her 2008 campaign closed out with a versatile win on grass in the $500,000 Matriarch S. (G1), giving her Grade 1 wins on both turf and dirt. She was also a valiant second on the synthetic surface to Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. Her Matriarch triumph was impressive enough to make her a finalist for champion female turf horse, while the addition of her Grade 1 Beldame score and fine runner-up effort in the Breeders’ Cup made her a finalist for champion older female.

Owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Cocoa Beach sported an impressive record of five wins from eight starts with a pair of runner-ups and one third-place showing – never finishing off the board in 2008. She earned $1,621,170 through that campaign which also included a win in the Love Sign S. in her North American debut at Belmont. Cocoa Beach was also a champion in Chile in 2007, and she was a champion in Dubai for 2008 following a pair of flashy wins in the $250,000 UAE Oaks and $250,000 UAE 1,000 Guineas. She has career earnings of $1,650,831.