Tag: fleur de lis stakes

Letruska Adds Intrigue To Loaded Fleur de Lis Field

Closing day for the spring meet at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. was already a blockbuster one loaded with seven stakes races on the 11-race card, including two Win-And-You're-In events for this year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Sunday's news from the Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee that trainer Fausto Gutierrez had declared Letruska, the current leader of the filly and mare division, for the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes bumped the anticipation for that 1 1/8-mile event even higher.

The Fleur de Lis already had Spice Is Nice, Point of Honor, and Shawnee Stakes winner Envoutante, set to start along with Singita Dreams and Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes winner Vault, but the addition of Grade 1-winning Letruska makes this stake a must-watch on Saturday. To the victor goes the winner's share of the $300,000 purse and a free and guaranteed spot in the 1 1/8-mile Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. on Nov. 6.

Of her four races this season, Letruska has won three, all stakes, including the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Spring, Ark. in April and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny. on the Belmont Stakes undercard on June 5. In the G1 Apple Blossom, Letruska took an early lead over 2020's champion mare Monomoy Girl, dueling with the multiple-Grade 1 winner down the Oaklawn stretch to win by a nose. In the G1 Ogden Phipps, Letruska faced 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and stakes winner Bonny South, again taking the lead from the break and winning easily by 2 3/4 lengths.

After her Ogden Phipps victory, Gutierrez declared the Breeders' Cup Distaff his mare's year-end target, and a win in the Fleur de Lis along with that guaranteed spot in the Distaff starting gate would put Letruska well on her way to that goal.

Letruska was bred in Kentucky by breeder/owner St. George Stable. She is by 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver out of the Successful Appeal mare Magic Appeal. Letruska started her career in Mexico, winning her first six starts there before coming to the United States in late 2019. She has won 14 of her 19 lifetime starts with career winnings of $1,121,400.

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Next Stop Saratoga For Tom’s D’Etat, Midnight Bisou After Dominating Performances At Churchill Downs

G M B Racing's brilliant $500,000 Stephen Foster (Grade II) winner Tom's d'Etat along with Bloom Racing, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's ultra-classy $200,000 Fleur de Lis (GII) hero Midnight Bisou both exited Saturday's races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in good shape and will head to Saratoga in the coming days for their eight-week meet, according to their respective connections.

“It was just an unbelievable day on Saturday,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said. “To draw off like that, and almost break the track record, was unreal. He ran a sub 36-second final three-eighths. You don't see many route horses in the country that are able to do that, especially as geared down as he was in the final stages.”

Tom's d'Etat cruised to a 4 ¼-length win in Saturday's Stephen Foster, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Classic Division” race for the $7-million Breeders' Cup Classic (GI), which is scheduled for Nov. 7 at Keeneland. His connections will have all Breeders' Cup pre-entry and entry fees covered for the season-ending championship race.

Just one race prior to Tom's d'Etat, 2019 Eclipse Award-winner Midnight Bisou stylishly returned to the winner's circle with an emphatic 8 ¼-length victory in the Fleur de Lis.

“I can't say enough how thankful we are to Jeff Bloom, Sol Kumin and the Allens for keeping this brilliant mare in training for this year,” said Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who had a busy Sunday morning working 13 horses beneath the Twin Spires.

By winning the Fleur de Lis, Midnight Bisou secured a “Win and You're In” berth to the $2-million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. The question remains if she will point toward the Distaff or the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Asmussen and Stall's string of horses are expected to ship from Churchill Downs to Saratoga in the coming days. With the disrupted racing schedule around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many trainers and jockeys are opting to remain in Kentucky for the summer and ship to Saratoga as necessary. Jockeys Tyler Gaffalione and Ricardo Santana Jr. are among the local riders expected to ride at Saratoga following Keeneland's Summer Meet which spans July 8-12.

Most of the other jockeys in the Churchill Downs riding colony such as Rafael Bejarano, James Graham, Florent Geroux, Brian Hernandez Jr., Chris Landeros, Corey Lanerie and Julien Leparoux plan to ride the summer at Ellis and ship out of town if necessary.

Many local trainers will keep their string of horses in training at Churchill Downs including typical Saratoga-goers D. Wayne Lukas and Dallas Stewart.

Several of the West-Coast trainers currently stabled at Churchill Downs, including Peter Miller and John Sadler, are planning to return to California for the Del Mar meet.

Chad Brown, who was a new addition to the Churchill Downs backstretch this spring, is planning on remaining stabled in Barn 26 throughout the summer and fall, according to his local assistant Whit Beckman. Brown will still be a very strong presence at Saratoga with the majority of his string based in New York.

The Kentucky racing circuit with shift to Ellis Park on Thursday, July 2-Sunday, July 5. Then, Keeneland will run their abbreviated Summer Meet from Wednesday, July 8-Sunday, July 12 before racing continues throughout the month of July and August at Ellis Park.

Racing at Churchill Downs will return on Tuesday, Sept. 1 for the start of Kentucky Derby Week.

 

The post Next Stop Saratoga For Tom’s D’Etat, Midnight Bisou After Dominating Performances At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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