However, that same year also provided another legendary champion of the time to American racing fans for the first time.
Dahlia demonstrated the strength of a filly at any level of competition long before females like Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, and Havre de Grace defeated males in their Horse of the Year campaigns. Shipping elite European mares and fillies to the United States for stakes races became famous because of her success in the country. Dahlia, a champion in Europe and the United States, was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1981 and is regarded as the first filly to win over $1 million.
Dahlia was a royally bred daughter of Vaguely Noble who began her career in Europe. She was owned by American Nelson Bunker Hunt, whose family amassed wealth in the oil and mining industries, and was trained by Frenchman Maurice Zilber. On August 6, 1972, she won the first race of her career as a 2-year-old in Deauville, France. However, she had to endure three losses before winning her first group stakes race, the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte at Longchamp.
That triumph ended her 2-year-old season and laid the groundwork for a challenging 3-year-old season. Dahlia competed in seven Group 1 prizes throughout her eight races in Europe, winning three of them. The highlight was a six-length win over male competitors in the renowned King George VI race.
That day's runner-up was no less of a competitor than Rheingold, who took home the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Ed Bowen includes a Tony Morris article from "The Bloodstock Breeders' Review" that praised Dahlia for her stunning victory in King George in his book "Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders."
Morris penned, "This was no defeat for the guys." "It was embarrassing. They set the pace that led to their demise. The intense pressure caused them to crumble. The filly ate them up after waiting patiently in the back until that burst of deadly pace made her Ascot performance one of the best seen - anywhere. Fans of the Secretariat can contact me at The Bloodstock.
Dahlia raced in the 1973 Arc de Triomphe but also oddly underperformed and came in 16th out of 27 competitors.
There weren't many possibilities for Europeans to compete in American stakes back then, but the Washington D.C. International at Laurel Park was typically a top priority. Zilber and Hunt decided to send Dahlia to America as a member of the international team in Laurel's mile-and-a-half test after her unsatisfactory performance in the Arc.
Big Spruce, who had just finished second to Triple Crown champion Secretariat in the Canadian International at Woodbine, was one of her competitors in the test on November 10, 1973.
The French filly surged away in the stretch to win by 3 14 lengths over Big Spruce, with Scottish Rifle third. Ultimately, Big Spruce finished as second-best to both Secretariat and Dahlia that year.
In 1973, Dahlia was chosen as the best 3-year-old in Europe and the best Horse in the U.K. At age 4, she reached her full potential. Dahlia had a rough start to the year, dropping her first three races, but then she pulled off three straight Group 1 victories, including a repeat victory in King George.
Silber decided to forgo the Arc and plan a journey back to the United States after a close defeat in the Prix de Prince d'Orange at Longchamp.
She arrived this time in October and competed in the Grade 1 Man o' War at Belmont Park. She defeated Crafty Khale and London Company by a two-length margin after being declared the 2-1 favorite.
She next traveled up to Woodbine in the north, where she defeated Big Spruce, an old foe from a year prior, to win the Canadian International by a length.
She attempted to win the D.C. International twice. Still, she came in third behind the French gelding Admetus, a 31-1 chance, and Desert Vixen, the 1973 Eclipse Award winner for the best 3-year-old filly in North America.
Dahlia won the Eclipse Award for 1974's turf champion despite the setback. There was just one Eclipse Award available at the time for grass experts.
Despite competing for two more years, Dahlia could not recapture the stellar form she displayed at ages 3 and 4. In 1975, she finished last in Canadian International and Washington D.C. International after only one victory out of nine starts in Europe.
She lived in the United States for an entire year at age six under the supervision of Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham. She raced 13 times, winning twice, including a half-length victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Invitational Handicap. She also tried her luck on dirt four times.
Dahlia finished her career with a record of 15 wins and three seconds in 48 starts, but her distinction as the first filly to earn more than $1 million stood out more than the sum of her victories and best demonstrated her class. She ended her career with earnings of $1,543,139 and a reputation as one of the best turf runners of her generation, regardless of gender.
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