​A member of the great Secretariat’s second crop, Terlingua was one of the best juvenile fillies of a good American crop, beating colts and fillies with equal aplomb. Born in 1976 in Kentucky, Terlingua was bred by Tomy Gentry. She was purchased for $275,000 from the 1977 Keeneland Summer yearling sale by trainer D. Wayne Lukas on behalf of L. R. French, who sold an interest in Terlingua to his friend Barry Beal before she began racing. D. Wayne Lukas later admitted that he would have gone as high as $500,000 for Terlingua at the sale if necessary. Part of his interest was generated by the fact that the filly had conformation similar to that of the Quarter Horses with which he had started his training career; the other was that his father-in-law, Rod Kaufman, had trained Terlingua’s dam Crimson Saint, giving Lukas a good idea of what he might expect from the Secretariat filly. She was trained by D. Wayne Luckas and jockeyed by D.G. McHargue. An extremely fast filly, Terlingua was strongly made and muscular with good overall conformation. Her hindquarters were especially strong, resembling those of her sire, and were so heavily muscled that they gave her an odd, swinging gait at the walk. Terlingua was described as “the female version of her sire.” A temperamental youngster, she required hours of being ponied to work off enough ginger to be amenable to training but according to D. Wayne Lukas was "incredibly intelligent." But, she did not race well on turf and struggled to run further than a mile. She made 17 starts with 7 wins, 4 seconds, and 1 third. She earned $423,896. In 1978 she won Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G2), Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes (G2), Hollywood Lassie Stakes (G2), and Nursery Stakes. In 1979 Terlingua won Santa Ynez Stakes (G3), and Las Flores Handicap. In 1980 she won the La Brea Stakes. She was retired from racing after suffering a slab fracture to a knee.

As a prospective broodmare, she was sold to the partnership of William T. Young and Ashford Stud but was bought out by Young for his Overbrook Farm before the birth of her second foal, Storm Cat. Terlingua remained fiery and dominant as a broodmare with a strong will to have things her own way, but was not mean. She would test humans the first time they tried to handle her; if they called her bluff, she wouldn't give them anymore more trouble. Like her dam, Terlingua was an excellent broodmare who passed on high-class speed. Her great legacy was her son Storm Cat. Designated as a Reine-de-Course (Queen of the Turf) by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Terlingua produced 11 named foals, of which 9 started and 6 won. Her highest earner was a 1984 filly by Northern Dancer named Chapel Of Dreams, she earned $643,912. Terlingua’s combined offspring earnings are $1,383,510. Terlingua was euthanized April 29, 2008 due to the infirmities of old age and was buried at Overbrook.

Videos:

News Story on Terlingua

1978 Del Mar