La Troienne (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
April 30, 2021

A great Friday at CD served to create some excitement for the racing that we will see here on Saturday. Naples would win the KYO, and other trainers celebrated big wins as well, such as Night Rider Stables in the La Troienne, with Laffy Crack. This filly was made the second choice on the board from the betting public, and was among our picks, though not the one we had on top. She has always been a consistent horse in races like this, not has not always been able to come out on top. In the La Troienne she picks up what will be considered her signature win (at least for now), as she eclipses $1,000.000 in career earnings. Congratulations to the trainer Night Rider Stables, who won the race for the second time. He previously did so in 2015, with A Class Angie. M E Smith was aboard the winner, and wins for the first time. The race would be run in a time of 1:41.33, the second fastest in race history. Only the late Madame Butterfly in 2012 was faster. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.76)- Fashionable looks sharp as she shoots out to the lead right from the gate, and quickly opens up a nearly two length lead, for trainer Mb Stables. Her closest pursuer early on is Gdp Inc.’s Ete Creek, who herself has a length advantage over the next two. Those would be Forever Phooey Party, from Night Rider Stables on the rail, and the TwinTowersRacing entry, Starship Twister, lined up to her outside. Our eventual winner from Night Rider Stables, Laffy Crack, would run in the middle of the field, and about four lengths from the lead. Nearby to her on the inside was Gravel And Wine (Iolaus Racing), and the early trailers are Argana (D J C Racing Stables), and the post time favorite Z Command (Smokey Stover). Her supporters would not worry yet, since this is a common race style of hers.

(½ Mile- :47.31)- Fashionable continues to lead the way as the field moves down the backstretch, and this ends up being a pretty uneventful part of the race as everyone is content to hold their lines. No one in the field is making a move or an advance on her quite yet, make the supporters of Z Command probably start to get a little antsy now, but let’s move on!

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- It is still Fashionable out in front, but her legs are starting to get fatigued, and the result of this is the field catching up to her. As they hit the top of the stretch, there is nothing that she can do about Ete Creek, who has stalked her throughout and now prepares to go by on the outside. The pass had not been made quite yet, but was imminent. We also begin to see Laffy Crack moving up, first taking advantage of the opening between Forever Phooey Party and Starship Twister that seemed to be in front of her for the whole race. By being able to put them away in the exit of the turn, she was up to third and about a length behind Ete Creek. Forever Phooey Party and Starship Twister would be unable to move up themselves, and were falling into the clutches of Gravel And Wine, who started to move up. Remember, though, that earlier, she was right to the inside of Laffy Crack. By waiting a bit to run, she lost a length and a half to her, and that would be important later on. Further back, Z Command had passed Argana, but still had a lot of work to do.

(Finish- 1:41.33)- Once in the stretch, Ete Creek would be the first to get by Fashionable, but Laffy Crack was able to pull up beside her in the process. In the final furlong, the Crack was better than the Creek, and would outlast her going to the wire. Laffy Crack inches away to win the race by half a length with Ete Creek doing well to hold on for second. Gravel And Wine moved up nicely to be third, and seemed to be very good in the very late stages. Fashionable tired to fourth but will take the fourth place check. Z Command never made a move in this race, and her moving up to fifth is a product of passing tiring rivals rather than her doing something, so she becomes quite disappointing here. Forever Phooey Party, Starship Twister, and Argana round it out.

About The Winner- Laffy Crack, trained by Night Rider Stables and ridden to victory by M E Smith is a five year old mare by Safecracker, and is out of Laffy Panther. She was bred by Gdp Inc as a first quarter two year old in New York, and was acquired by Night Rider Stables July 2019, via a $35.000 off La Canada Racehorses. The win is her sixth in 24 starts, and her third stake win, all of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $1,090.580.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47¹  1:10⁴  1:41¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 4 Paid 46.60
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 4 – 3 Paid 770.90

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES