Scylla took another big step toward the top of the older fillies and mares division with a hard-fought victory in the $499,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs June 29.
Although the win was far from her most dominating display, Scylla's neck score as the 4-5 favorite was her most impressive win yet. Trailing the six-horse field after a slight bobble out of the starting gate, the filly relaxed comfortably at the back of the pack under Javier Castellano and responded with a dazzling five-wide move around the final bend.
Louisiana-bred Free Like a Girl, the early race leader through fractions of :24.07 and :48.83, gave way to her encroaching rivals midway through the turn. Taxed, who applied mild pressure to the pacesetter throughout, pounced first, grabbing command before being thwarted by Occult, Xigera, and an oncoming Scylla past the quarter pole.
The race turned into a game of bumper cars at the final furlong marker. Xigera, who was trying to advance between horses, bumped with Occult to her inside, lost her path and fell back. Scylla, who came in slightly from her outside path, was least affected. Castellano corrected his mount and maintained a straight path to the wire, where the Tapit filly prevailed by a neck over a fast-closing Shotgun Hottie.
Shotgun Hottie, who avoided the eighth-pole traffic flurry, cut to the inside and stormed up the paint to get second by a length over Taxed.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Scylla ($3.82) clocked 1:49.45 in her first trip over the 1 1/8-mile distance on a fast main track.
"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 Castellano, who has ridden Scylla in all seven of her lifetime starts. "She's been one who's kept improving in each of her starts to get to the next level."
A 10-minute inquiry into the bumping incident followed after the race, but the stewards declared no change to the order of the finish.
The Fleur de Lis marked the second stakes win for Juddmonte homebred Scylla, and improved her bankroll to $721,045. She remains perfect, now 4-for-4, over the Churchill oval.
"We had to sweat things out today with the inquiry but we are very proud to have won this race," said Garrett O'Rourke, general manager for Juddmonte Farms USA. "She's a beautiful filly and getting better every time she runs. 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."
Juddmonte campaigned Scylla's dam, 2014 Eclipse Award champion older mare Close Hatches as well as her multiple graded stakes-winning older full brother Tacitus . Scylla's name hasn't been the only one in the family currently making headlines, as her younger 3-year-old brother Batten Down, also trained by Mott, recently romped in the Ohio Derby (G3) under the Juddmonte colors.
The Fleur de Lis is part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series, awarding $30,000 to the winner, $15,000 to the runner-up, and $7,500 to the third-place finisher to apply toward entry fees for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
