Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s 4-year-old filly Ahead of Her Time, who was named Louisiana’s 2007 champion 3-year-old filly, recently fractured a sesamoid during a morning training session and was euthanized.
Bred by the estate of Dr. Jackie Huckabay, Ahead of Her Time raced her first seven starts for trainer Jerry Hardin and Dwight Fugate, four of which were stakes victories. She was purchased privately late last year by Bill Heiligbrodt, who campaigns horses with his wife, Corinne, under his Heiligbrodt Racing Stable banner.
“That’s part of racing,” Heiligbrodt said of the death of his filly, who raced just twice in his colors. In her last two starts, Ahead of Her Time was saddled by trainer Steve Asmussen to win the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Stakes at Fair Grounds in December, and the Jan. 5 Camelia Stakes at Delta Downs Racetrack & Casino by a combined margin of nearly 22 lengths.
“She was probably the soundest, most unproblemed mare I had, especially for a 4-year-old,” Heiligbrodt said. “You might expect this on certain horses, but certainly not on her, so it was just a freak accident.”
The only two losses in Ahead of Her Time’s career were runner-up efforts on the turf last year at Harrah's Louisiana Downs. The daughter of Leestown earned $340,100 from nine lifetime starts.
“Mr. Hardin did a fantastic, unbelievable job on that mare,” said Heiligbrodt, who had followed the filly’s career since she started racing and always knew he wanted to own her. “If you look at the times and look at what she did and how she did it, and how she was improving with the last two races, I don’t think there were many fillies in her category, certainly not in Louisiana. Besides that, she was a gorgeous individual.
“She had so much talent that we were mapping a race plan out of Louisiana for her--she was that good.”
Heiligbrodt said he's fortunate to own Ahead of Her Time’s half-sister, Hisse, a dual stakes winner in her native Louisiana. Both fillies are out of the Dixie Brass mare Street Beat.
“We’re lucky to have Hisse, just to keep that bloodline,” Heiligbrodt said. “I don’t know if she’s in the same class as Ahead of Her Time, but she is a major stakes winner, and she has done exceedingly well.”
