by lengths. Her time of 1:22 for seven furlongs was three-fifths of a second faster than the same day's running of the Grade I Matron Stakes, won by Tappiano. Personal Ensign then made her stakes debut in the Grade I Frizette Stakes on October 13. She was the 3-10 favorite in a field that was reduced down to just three horses after the scratches of Sea Basque and Tappiano. Although Personal Ensign was known for her late-running style, in this race she was pushed early to prevent the front-runner Collins from getting an easy lead. She and Collins raced head to head for the final half mile, with Personal Ensign prevailing by a head. "Last time, she won in a gallop," said McGaughey. "This time, she had to belly down and fight." Personal Ensign was being pointed towards the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, a race in which she would have been the favorite, but became lame after an apparently routine workout on October 26. Tests revealed that she had broken the pastern bone on her right hind leg, an injury that would have been career-ending and perhaps life-threatening just a few years earlier. However, thanks to advances in veterinary surgical techniques, she was operated on by Dr. Larry Bramlage, who inserted five screws into the bone. Bramlage later cited her as one of his personal favorites over his long career. "She was important not only to me, but also to the profession," said Bramlage. "She was really the first prominent horse that showed that not only could you save those horses for breeding if you did a good job with internal fixation but some of them then could come back and perform well." 1987: three-year-old campaign After recovering from surgery, Personal Ensign finally returned to the racetrack on September 6, 1987 in an allowance race at Belmont Park. Going off as the 7-10 favorite, she won by lengths. On September 24, she won another allowance race, this time by lengths. She then stepped up in class to win the Rare Perfume Stakes on October 10 by lengths. Personal Ensign made her next start on October 18 in the Beldame Stakes run at Belmont Park over miles, where she faced older horses for the first time, plus several of the leading three-year-old fillies in the country. She was the second betting choice behind the entry of Coup de Fusil, who had