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Petite Etoile was a filly of the highest quality, but her success would hardly have been anticipated by those who saw her in her first race as a two-year-old when she was beaten by eight lengths in a two-horse race. After that, though, she never looked back and Petite Etoile claimed the honours in the Free Handicap on her first appearance at three, before taking the 1,000 Guineas. Not everyone was sure she would stay the one and a half miles of the Epsom Oaks but she did so without problem and went on to triumph in the Sussex Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks and Champion Stakes. In 1960, she easily beat the 1959 Epsom Derby winner, Parthia, before losing the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes to Agressor in what has long been regarded as a race in which other jockeys combined to make things difficult for Lester Piggott. As a five-year-old Petite Etoile claimed a second Coronation Cup and was also victorious in three other races. She retired as a winner of 14 races worth £72,626. However, in subsequent years, her career as a broodmare was nothing short of disastrous.
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