Cy Fair: Boy-Beating Breeders' Cup Winner & Source of Smiles After the Texas Floods
- Kaeli Bartholomew
- Jan 15
- 5 min read
Cy Fair, a filly with dazzling speed and a love for competition, emerged in the summer of 2025 not only as a rising star on the turf, but as a source of light during one of the darkest moments her connections would face. Named for a Texas high school and co-owned by a family from the Lone Star State, Cy Fair’s debut came just days after catastrophic flooding devastated Hill Country. As her career continues to unfold, she serves as an example of the love and joy horses can bring people, even in the hardest of times.
Cy Fair's Background & Pedigree:
Bred in Kentucky by Marc Keller, Cy Fair is by the sensationally hot sire Not This Time. Not This Time, himself a son of a remarkable stallion, “The Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway, had a short but successful racing career that saw him win the Iroquois (G3) and come just a neck short of glory in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) (defeated by Classic Empire). He is out of the graded stakes-winning mare Miss Macy Sue (Trippi), a speedy mare that excelled at sprint distances — winning six stakes at the distance of six furlongs, highlighted by the Winning Colors Stakes (G3). Miss Macy Sue is also the dam of Liam’s Map, winner of the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Woodward Stakes (G1), and stakes winners Matera and Taylor S.
Cy Fair’s dam, Remarqued, is a winning daughter of Arch, out of the multiple stakes-winning mare Citizen Advocate (Proud Citizen). Citizen Advocate is a half-sister to Crimson Advocate, a two-time Group 2 winning and one-time Group 1-placed mare.
Her speed-promising pedigree and early performance at the OBS April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale attracted the eye of Swinbank Stables, who purchased Cy Fair from consignor Niall Brennan Stables for $185,000. Reagan Swinbank, a Texas native, named the filly after his mother’s high school: Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, near Houston.
In partnership with Medallian Racing, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton, Swinbank sent Cy Fair to trainer George Weaver. Weaver, molded by his time working as an assistant to legendary trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Todd Pletcher, has trained multiple Grade 1 winners, most notably Vekoma (now a hot sire himself).
Debut at Saratoga:
When the time came for Cy Fair to make her debut, she was more than ready. On July 10, 2025, at Saratoga, with Hall of Famer John Velazquez on board, Cy Fair soared down the turf stretch to win a 5½-furlong Maiden Special Weight by 3¼ lengths. The visually impressive performance was backed by an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I knew she was handy, but she’s a small filly, she’s a little sassy and nervous,” Weaver told the Daily Racing Form. “I never set her down in the morning and asked her for everything she’s got ’cause I had a good feeling that I knew what was under the hood, but I wasn’t for sure until you see it. She might have even shown me she had more in the hood than I even knew.”
The win was special for owners Swinbank Stables, as it occurred just one week after the deadly flooding that devastated Hill Country in Texas. Swinbank’s daughter, Ashley, was at Camp Mystic, where 27 young girls and counselors lost their lives. While Ashley thankfully made it out physically unharmed, the same could not be said for many of their friends, family, and community members. Cy Fair’s maiden win was able to transform some of the Swinbanks’ sad tears into happy ones.
Bolton Landing Stakes:
Cy Fair’s debut win proved that she was ready for a tougher challenge. This time, however, she would taste defeat for the first time. On August 17, again at Saratoga with John Velazquez aboard, Cy Fair tussled with the race’s second choice, My Sweetheart, at the top of the stretch, and when finally able to edge clear, was caught by 6-1 shot Snow Face Princess in the shadow of the wire. She was beaten by just a neck.
Algonquin Stakes:
A trip up north to Woodbine Racetrack in Canada for the October 5 Algonquin Stakes provided Cy Fair with a few new experiences. The only filly in a field of colts and geldings broke well under jockey Sahin Civaci, but rather than stay in her typical position near the lead, quickly dropped to last in the six-horse field. Nevertheless, when let loose by Civaci at the top of the stretch, the young filly exploded.
She swept past the boys with breathtaking ease, crossing the wire 3¼ lengths ahead of her competitors.
“She has a strong heart – you could see her pin her ears at horses,” Civaci told reporters after the race. “She likes the competition, I could tell.”
The race gave her an education that Weaver was looking for. Weaver, who felt that she had likely lost her previous race due to becoming tense when sandwiched between horses, said, “For her to realize, 'Hey, I can just chill, go when I want to go,' I think that helped her.”
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint:
Cy Fair’s rocket-like speed, ability to beat the boys, and nearly perfect 2-for-3 record earned her the opportunity to race against the fastest juvenile turf males at the World Championships, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) at Del Mar. On October 31, this time with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, Cy Fair again raced near the lead — sitting just behind pacesetter Schwarzenegger, flanked on either side by Obliteration and Lennilu.
When straightened at the top of the stretch, the fleet-footed filly overcame the tiring leader and held off a charge by the European colt Brussels. Cy Fair’s ¾-length victory was a milestone moment for both her sire and trainer — their first win at the Breeders’ Cup.
“In that two minute race,” Swinbank started, recalling the filly’s maiden win just days after the Texas floods, “Cy Fair provided a great needed high-five and smile. For her to continue to do that for our family is just incredible.”
“To win a Breeders’ Cup race, a Grade 1…named after my mom…c’mon man,” he continued. “Horse racing is the best.”
Eclipse Award finalist:
Cy Fair’s great year that saw her win three of four races, topped by a Breeders’ Cup victory, has made her a finalist for the Eclipse Award for Two-Year-Old Filly, alongside Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Super Corredora and runner-up Explora.
The winner will be announced on January 22.
Whether she wins or loses this award, the boy-beating Cy Fair has earned many fans that will excitedly follow her into her three-year-old campaign.
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