Some horses just leave their mark on you and Tailamade Lombo did that more than most for me.

Her passing at the age of 30 last Friday rekindled so many memories of a remarkable career.

Champion is the only way to describe her racetrack deeds and then marvel sums up the way she was able to follow with such huge success in the breeding barn.

So many of her 49 wins were in major races and, most remarkably, many were against the boys.

And they weren’t just run-of-the-mill boys. Tailamade Lombo raced in a strong and golden era for the sport, against so many megastars.

It’s so rare to see a girl take on, let alone beat the boys in pacing majors these days.

Regular driver Chris Alford was preparing to drive at the feature meeting in Cambridge last Friday night when he heard the news.

“I was just saying to ‘Lil’ (trainer Brent Lilley), I was heading to Cambridge to drive Queen Elida when she passes the $1 million in prize money and, even after all the years and wonderful mares since, Tailamade Lombo is the only other mare I’ve driven to do that,” he said.

“She was a champion, in every way. In my career, there’s been Golden Reign and Lennytheshark at the very top and she’s there with them.

“She was a star from two to seven and how many mares win a Grand Circuit race?

“She beat Our Sir Vancelot and Courage Under Fire in major races and she ran second to Christian Cullen and third to Holmes DG in two Miracle Miles.”

Alford fondly remembers Tailamade Lombo’s final chapter on the racetrack.

“She went out in style,” he said. “It was the Sydney Inter Dominion in 2002. She was nearing the end, but was still placed in all three heats, made the final and ran seventh.

“She was retired on the spot. They took her shoes off on the track in a bit of a ceremony.  She deserved that.

“She’ll always hold a very special place with me.”

While so many great mares have struggled to translate that into their next chapter as “mums”, that certainly wasn’t the case with Tailamade Lombo.

She won the ultimate title for a mare in 2010 when crowned the Australian Broodmare of the Year.

In all, Tailamade Lombo had 13 foals to race for 10 in winners.

The best of her progeny were: Aussie Made Lombo (22 wins, $578,456), Colossal Stride (31 wins, $379,570), Yakuza (31 wins, $266,857), Alpine Stride (17 wins, $243,872) and Tsunami Lombo (16 wins, $168,617).

Even after she finished racing and was retired from the breeding barn, Tailamade Lombo kept giving.

“Once retiring from broodmare duties, she took over a nanny keeping weanlings in check and hopefully teaching them what it takes to be a champion,” Alabar Farms General Manager Brett Coffey said.

“It was an absolute privilege to look after Tailamade Lombo in the latter stages of her life.

“She was a lovely mare who would shun attention, but would always eventually let you give her a pat.

“Alabar has been home to some truly great horses and without a doubt Tailamade Lombo ranks right in the top echelon.”

She is the top echelon for me. I’ve never seen a better Aussie-bred pacing mare.

Rest easy old girl, and thanks for the memories.