Letruska's Ogden Phipps win puts her at head of class
Letruska’s authoritative 2 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Saturday puts her at the head of the class in the older filly and mare division.
The front-running score under Jose Ortiz, for which she earned a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure, validated her upset of Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April.
Letruska is now 3 for 4 this year - she also won the Houston Ladies Classic - with a narrow defeat to Shedaresthedevil in the Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn.
Letruska earned a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff this November at Del Mar and while that race is the year-end goal, trainer Fausto Gutierrez has not set out a path to get there.
Letruska was to ship back to Keeneland on Monday and will be based there while Gutierrez makes a plan. Letruska could be a candidate for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 28, with a possible start in the Shuvee, a race she won last year, on July 25. Gutierrez also mentioned the Grade 2, $400,000 Delaware Handicap on July 10 as a possibility, though that race is run at 1 1/4 miles.
“She’s a real racehorse, she can run in the next 30 days or do a layoff of four months,” Gutierrez said. “When she feels in good in form, she’s a horse with top class. Now, she runs in the Group 1, you try to run the same ones, especially now that she’s the leader in the division. The main race is the Breeders’ Cup, the first thing you need to do is arrive in good condition.”