Personal Ensign: Thoroughbred Legends

I really enjoyed this book because it gave great insight into the personal life of the champion. What a great racemare, I hope people read it and recognize that fillies can be special too.

Anyone who loves the superfilly and admires the job her handlers and owners have done shouldn't hesitate in purchasing this book. Not only does it tell her story from birth to undefeated champion to broodmare of the year, it tells the stories of the Phipps family, trainer Shug McGaughey and Shug's assistant trainer Buzz Tenney, all of whom clearly cooperated to a great degree in the writing of Ensign's story. I thank them all for such a wonderful tribute to a magnificent filly, and for sharing their stories.

I saw Personal Ensign race at Belmont and she was such an awesome racehorse, one of the best I was privileged to see. I also saw her Breeder's Cup on television and when everyone thought she was beaten, she displayed a tremendous amount of courage and passed Winning Colors at the last second. She is one of the very few American champions that have an undefeated record; when she retired she was 13 for 13. What is even more incredible is that Personal Ensign was injured at two and recovered from an operation to correct the damage and came back from the injury better than ever. She was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame several years later and produced three stakes winners, including the outstanding filly, My Flag, who also won a Breeder's Cup race. She was also named "Broodmare of the Year" because of her outstanding record. Bill Heller captures the grace and poise of the champion racemare in his excellent contribution to the Thoroughbred Legends Series. He describes her pedigree and presents biographical background about her owners, trainer, and jockey. Some remarkable champions appear in her pedigree notably Damascus, Buckpasser, Numbered Account and Hoist the Flag. Included are: her pedigree chart, a Daily Racing Form past performances chart and several pages of photographs. Some rare photos are provided including those of Personal Ensign with some of her offspring, including My Flag as a foal. Personal Ensign is one of the best mares to race in the 20th Century and Bill Heller's book is well worth reading.