Shred the Gnar could catch another wave in La Troienne
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – One year ago, Drexel Hill and Bless the Broken finished second and third in the Kentucky Oaks, and on Friday, in the La Troienne Stakes, they meet for the first time since that race.
Yet it’s a horse who ran seven hours before the Oaks, in the card’s first race, that was installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Grade 1, $1 million La Troienne.
Shred the Gnar’s high-water mark came when she captured the Grade 3 Chilukki over a one-turn mile here last fall. In her most recent race, the Royal Delta Stakes on Feb. 14 at Gulfstream Park, she lost by 19 lengths as the 6-5 favorite. And still, the morning line is at least close to accurate. The filly holds a vast reservoir of ability. She just needs to tap into it.
“The talent is there, absolutely, and this is her chance to redeem herself,” said Brian Lynch, who trains Shred the Gnar for Flying Dutchmen. “And I think she’s in with the right group to be able to do it.”
No doubt. The 11 fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne have a dozen starts and a grand total of zero wins in Grade 1 competition.
Shred the Gnar, a $610,000 daughter of Into Mischief, looked like a Grade 1 horse after three races, the last of them her Oaks Day romp in a two-turn, first-level allowance. Lynch took the filly to Saratoga for the Grade 1 Acorn. Shred the Gnar came up lame, got scratched, and didn’t run again until the Chilukki.
Considering her long layoff, the fact she faced older rivals for the first time, and that a one-turn dirt mile is a demanding comeback race, the Chilukki performance appeared to validate Shred the Gnar’s quality. Then came the Royal Delta. Shred the Gnar broke flat-footed and for the first time since her sprint debut didn’t make the lead. Bumped several times into the clubhouse turn, she came under a ride on the far turn, took an awkward step at the quarter pole, and jogged in.
“She got banged around a little bit going into the first turn, but I hate to think that’s going to make her not show up at all,” Lynch said. “She didn’t make the lead. That took her out of her game a little bit. Hopefully she breaks a bit cleaner and gets herself into the race a little earlier.”
Shred the Gnar and Luis Saez break from post 3, their main pace rivals Snowyte and Joel Rosario are out in post 10. Snowyte, another 4-year-old, started her season with a front-running 11 1/4-length Gulfstream allowance win. She ran back March 29 in the Top Flight at Aqueduct – and ran too slow. The half-came up a crawling 50 seconds. Snowyte’s a horse who needs to use her speed.
“She’s a horse who’s gotta go. I was really mad after the race,” trainer Danny Gargan said.
Gargan wants no part of a Friday speed duel, but he does want a much faster half-mile split, something in the 47-second range.
Listed at 7-2 on the morning line, Fully Subscribed could vie for favoritism with Flavien Prat riding for trainer Chad Brown. Fully Subscribed comes into the La Troienne after consecutive easy wins in age-restricted 1 1/8-mile graded stakes. Those came in November and December, and on Beyer Speed Figures, Fully Subscribed’s no faster than several others, but she’s lightly raced with a solid chance to hit a new peak in her 4-year-old debut.
Drexel Hill started for the first time since the Oaks in the Mother Goose on Nov. 8, chugging along for a well-beaten second behind Fully Subscribed. Hard-ridden to the half-mile pole, she found enough stride to land the Wayward Lass at Tampa Bay Downs in January, but she too ran below form in the Royal Delta, a distant fourth under Javier Castellano.
“Javier’s only comment was she hated that Gulfstream track,” trainer Whit Beckman said. “All I know is she’s been training exceptionally over this Churchill track. I can’t ignore her works and disposition since she got back here.”
Brad Cox took over Bless the Broken’s training after the filly sold at auction in November for $950,000. Cox started her campaign shipping Bless the Broken from Florida to Fair Grounds for a useful second-level allowance score, then sent the filly to California to finish a well-beaten second in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile. A Santa Anita mile is too sharp for this horse, and champion female sprinter Splendora proved too fast for her. The La Troienne is a better fit.
“I don’t mind the rail draw, and I thought her run last time was really good,” Cox said. “She came out of it great and her last two moves over this track have been really good.”
Cox’s second entrant, Chasten, also has turned in an eye-catching Churchill work. She exits a one-turn mile Colonial Downs stakes score and makes her graded stakes debut in her seventh out.
“She’s a little light on seasoning, but she’s definitely improving, and she’s a filly who’s meant to get better with age,” Cox said.
Scalable, Nerazurri, Miss Justify, Take Charge Omaha, and Dry Powder complete the field.
Shred the Gnar will try and run a complete race.
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