La Troienne (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
May 6, 2016
Many of the best horses in the game will be running at CD either Friday or Saturday. While the KYO and KYD get pretty much all of the media hype, there are plenty of other fantastic races scheduled. One of which will be the 13th running of the La Troienne, which will showcase some of the best older female horses in racing. The reigning BC Distaff winner, Lullaby Maker Tf, has found her way to the race, and she will be hoping that a return to Kentucky will see a return to the great form that she finished off 2015 with. Other greats in this division are here, such as Google Maps, and they certainly don’t need to be given directions to the winner’s circle, either. Most of the winners of this race in the past have exceeded $1,000.000 in career earnings, but you have to go back a little bit for some of the most prolific winners and a pair of names that we should never forget. The late Darling Harbour, winner of 24 of 47 career races, including two BC wins to account for over $6,000.00 earned, won the race in 2007. A year later, the runner up to Darling Harbour, Halfbaked, came through to win in 2018, part of her $5,800.000 in career earnings. Both Lullaby Maker Tf and Google Maps have already earned the rights to follow in those footsteps, but there are three others in here who can aspire to do the same. The field is small, but not lacking quality. Let’s meet our runners.
#1- Christine (Wolfs Den, ridden by E S Prado)- If it weren’t for the likes of the two favorites in this field, Christine’s credentials would certainly have her as one of the top choices. She has done a lot of great things such as hitting the board in 20 of her 24 career starts. While she is not greatly experienced in graded competition, Christine is no stranger to it either, winning a Grade 3 in December of 2014, the Sugar Swirl at GP. That is the highlight of her career to this point, though she is coming off a runner up finish in the muddy Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at KEE two weeks ago. She seems good on off tracks, but rain is not forecast to be a factor on Friday. This will be a good chance for Wolfs Den to see where his Joba Expressions mare stacks up, but she does seem like she is racing for third here.
#2- Lullaby Maker Tf (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by D Moran)- After two disappointing finishes, things are getting back together for this Megalomaniac filly. Lullaby Maker Tf returns to Kentucky for the first time since winning the BC Distaff last October, and once again she will have D Moran in the saddle. That jockey has not been aboard her since the BC either. Her two starts since that win have not been what we have come to expect out of her. In January at the $400.000 HOU Ladies Classic, she was never a factor, finishing fifth of six, behind winning A Class Angie, who won the 2015 La Troienne. Then, in mid-March, she met up with Google Maps in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita, and could only finish sixth of eight, being soundly beaten by Google Maps, who won the race. It is a little concerning that she was never a contender for the win in either of those races, but if she is ever going to get it back together, this is the race that she is going to do it in. Look for her to run big.
#3- Google Maps (Aml Racing, ridden by J Talamo)- You can probably argue and be correct by saying that this Five Spirits filly has done everything but win a BC race over the course of her career. She has exceeded $1,000.000 in earnings even without that big payday, and has won seven out of 15 career races. Of those wins, four of them are graded victories, including two Grade 1’s. Google Maps did run in the BC Distaff last year, but hit a roadblock in her path to victory, and could only finish fifth. While the race’s winner, Lullaby Maker Tf, has had two disappointments since that race, all Google Maps has known to do afterwards is win. She is currently riding a three race winning streak, which began in the Grade 3 Comely around Thanksgiving. After an allowance win to stay sharp, Google Maps would win the Grade 1 Santa Margarita. This is the horse to beat in the race, and she should run well. The only thing that can stop her is a big bounce back race from Lullaby Maker Tf.
#4- Earthly Gran (Drabfantasy, ridden by R Bejarano)- After making her debut in June 2014, and winning, this filly was kept on the shelf for nearly two years before hitting the track again. When she returned, there were no refreshers given either, and she won an $85.000 NM-bred stake against three others. Though nice, let’s not get carried away about the quality of the field. A lot more telling was her most recent and only other race, the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap at AQU. That’s a seven furlong race, and she was a solid 3rd there. She stretches out here over a mile for the first time, and she has proven not to need races to freshen herself up, first. That will have her in the hunt for third here.
#5- Brawl Dead End (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Here is the hot up and comer that might have the ability to make this more then a two horse race. Brawl Dead End has won five of eight career starts, but has been at her best since being purchased by Mb Stables in private sales for $135.000 in November. She had already made her graded stakes debut at that point, but prior trainer Marcus White didn’t seem to like what he saw there. With Mb Stables, Brawl Dead End has won three of four races. That run started modestly in an allowance here at CD, and she would then win the $100.000 Ladies Handicap at AQU against three others. After that, she went to SA and won the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes, again in a four horse field. Most recently, she was in the Grade 2 Azeri and was second to another Team 7 Illusions star in Hydro that day. She is definitely capable of winning this race, and I don’t rule out her beating Lullaby Maker Tf at all, but Google Maps may prove a little tough.
Prediction: 3-2-5-1
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
