Sister Troienne wires Valley View as Saez sweeps stakes

Sister Troienne lost the Winter Memories Stakes last month at Belmont Park because of a bad trip. Luis Saez decided to take luck out of the equation this time.

Saez put Sister Troienne on an early lead for the first time in her career and Sister Troienne went wire to wire in the Valley View Stakes at Keeneland.

Saez won both stakes on the card, having captured the $300,000 Myrtlewood one race earlier with Stress Relief. Saez rode Sister Troienne for the first time in the Grade 2, $400,000 Valley View only because her named rider, Irad Ortiz Jr., was injured Thursday and took off his Friday mounts.

Sister Troienne prevailed by two lengths as the even-money favorite over second choice Define, who chased Sister Troienne all the way home but made little headway despite Sister Troienne switching over to her “wrong” lead at about the eighth pole. Dakotah Blue finished third, as Sister Troienne ($4.14) ran one mile over a “good” course in 1:37.18. The Valley View is restricted to 3-year-old fillies.

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Trained by Brian Lynch for her breeder, Woodslane Racing, Sister Troienne is a turf-stakes winning machine. She ran her record to 10-6-2-1 with her Valley View tally while winning her fourth stakes race.

Sister Troienne at the first call of the Winter Memories, her first start after a six-month layoff, raced in eighth behind a moderate pace, and got caught in traffic off the far turn and into upper stretch before belatedly shaking loose. The filly has successfully deployed a range of running styles, and Saez elected to keep things simple Friday.

Sister Troienne is by Munnings out of Dyna Passer, by Lemon Drop Kid. Dyna Passer’s dam, Dynair, also raced for Woodslane and is a sister to their multiple graded-stakes winners Wolfie’s Dynaghost and Sadler’s Joy. Good family, and a good filly, this Sister Troienne.

* Stress Relief ($8.98) scored a hard-fought neck win over 21-1 shot Glory Run in the Myrtlewood, a sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Stress Relief, most recently a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Spinaway, rallied five wide from near the back of a six-runner field, running six furlongs over a fast track in 1:11.33 and paying $8.78 as the third choice. Kinnon LaRose trains Stress Relief for her breeder, Joel Politi. Stress Relief, who was entered in and withdrawn from a yearling sale, is by Not This Time out of Littlestitious, by Ghostzapper.

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