Scylla was always in the thick of it against high-class competition in 2025, and though she won just one race, her timing was as impeccable as her pedigree. Sired by Tapit and produced by multiple Grade 1 winner Close Hatches, Scylla upset the biggest dirt race of the year for fillies and mares. The Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff was the final start of her career and makes her an Eclipse Award finalist as outstanding older dirt female. Bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, Scylla was trained throughout her career by Bill Mott. Expectations were always high, because Scylla’s bloodlines are exquisite. Juddmonte breeds quality stock, and it does not get much better than Tapit over a Grade 1 winner. In 2024, Scylla flirted with top company through a 4-year-old campaign that included a pair of runner-up finishes in Grade 1 races and a close fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint to end her season. She was still missing the ever-elusive Grade 1. In 2025 at age 5, Scylla returned to seek her first Grade 1. But she was not quick enough to win a high-level sprint, and high-level routes were slightly out of reach. Scylla was a horse without a distance. She made her 2025 debut at Churchill Downs in May, racing seven furlongs in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery. The track was sloppy, the field was loaded, and Scylla broke from the rail. It was a lot to ask following a six-month break. :: Full list of 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories Despite trouble, Scylla ran well to finish fourth, and Mott kept her in sprints her next three starts at Saratoga. Scylla finished in the money, but short of the mark. She ran second in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses, third in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss, and second in the Grade 1 Ballerina. With her career winding down, Mott and Juddmonte decided to give Scylla another shot around two turns. They shipped her to Keeneland for Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster, a 1 1/8-mile race that would determine if Scylla deserved a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Junior Alvarado rode Scylla for the first time in the Spinster, and she finished a creditable third. No excuse, just third best. It was a good enough effort to warrant a start in the Distaff. Mott previously won the Distaff five times; four of his winners entered off losses in their prep race. Scylla was following the same pattern. Her third in the Spinster set her up perfectly for the Distaff in early November. Scylla broke like a shot and made the lead over a speed-favoring Del Mar surface. The fractions were fast, but Scylla was running comfortably under Alvarado. At the top of the stretch, the race was over. Scylla opened up into the lane and ran away to win by 5 1/2 lengths. She finally had her Grade 1, a fitting end to an outstanding career. Scylla retires from racing having won six races and $2,287,795 from 16 starts. Scylla will become a Juddmonte broodmare this spring. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.