Just a week after her younger brother Batten Down took the GIII Ohio Derby, 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla (Tapit) kept the family's good fortune going with a strong win in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 4-5 favorite stutter-stepped slightly coming out of the gate and was at the tail of the field behind fractions of :24.07 and :48.83. Still last into the far turn, the bay filly made rapid progress while five wide approaching the stretch. She drifted in slightly in upper stretch, bumping with Xigera (Nyquist) and Occult (Into Mischief) to her inside, before straightening out and holding Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner) off to the wire. After an inquiry and objection into the jostling in upper stretch, no change was made to the order of finish.
“This was the first start she went a mile-and-an-eighth and I thought she handled it very well to get the longer distance,” said winning jockey Javier Castellano. “She's been one who's kept improving in each of her starts to get to the next level.”
Xigera's jockey Julien Leparoux made a claim of foul against Scylla and Castellano and Occult's rider Irad Ortiz Jr., but after an inquiry, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards made no change to the order of finish.
“At the top of the stretch she came in a little bit, but I corrected her left handed and she finished strongly to the wire,” Castellano said.
Winning trainer Bill Mott's chief Kentucky assistant Kenny McCarthy added, “Coming into this race, we knew she'd have to run the best race of her career. There were some very nice horses in this field, as to be expected in a Grade II. She handled the longer distance test very well. She's been great to have in our barn and keeps showing she can improve and step up to the next level of competition. I'm sure even bigger races are on the horizon.”
Scylla, who opened her career with back-to-back wins last year, was third while making her stakes debut in the GIII Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland in April. She romped home a seven-length winner of a Churchill optional claimer on the Derby undercard and was coming off a 3 1/4-length victory in the June 1 GIII Shawnee Stakes.
“She's a beautifully bred filly and getting better every time she runs,” said Garrett O'Rourke, General Manager for Juddmonte Farms USA. “It's extra special with her dam being a champion in her own right and producing talented runners here for us. I'm not sure where we'll head next, but we're extremely pleased seeing her win again.”
Pedigree Notes:
Champion Close Hatches, whose first foal is multiple graded winner Tacitus (Tapit), has a 2-year-old filly by Constitution and a yearling filly by Uncle Mo. She produced a filly by Gun Runner this year. The mare is a full-sister to the dam of champion Idiomatic (Curlin).
Saturday, Churchill Downs
FASIG-TIPTON FLEUR DE LIS S.-GII, $499,000, Churchill Downs, 6-29, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:49.45, ft.
1–SCYLLA, 121, f, 4, by Tapit
1st Dam: Close Hatches (Ch. Older Mare, MGISW,
$2,707,300), by First Defence
2nd Dam: Rising Tornado, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Silver Star (GB), by Zafonic
'TDN Rising Star' O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY);
T-William I. Mott; J-Javier Castellano. $306,210. Lifetime
Record: 7-5-1-1, $721,045. *Full to Tacitus, MGSW & MGISP,
$3,767,350; Batten Down, GSW, $394,850.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Shotgun Hottie, 119, m, 5, Gun Runner–Re Entry, by Malibu
Moon. ($45,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Aldabbagh, Omar &
Ganje, Jeff; B-Vincent Colbert (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux. $99,100.
3–Taxed, 119, f, 4, Collected–Yankee Union, by Yankee
Gentleman. ($27,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $105,000 2yo '22
OBSMAR). O-Richard Bahde; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Randy
Morse. $49,550.
Margins: NK, 1, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.91, 3.12, 13.09.
Also Ran: Occult, Xigera, Free Like a Girl.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Scylla wins The Fasig-Tipton Fleur De Lis Stakes! 🏆
Jockey: @jjcjockey
Trainer: Bill Mott
Owner: @JuddmonteFarms@FasigTiptonCo pic.twitter.com/RZuyRx0sPV— Churchill Downs (@ChurchillDowns) June 29, 2024
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