Curalina dominates rivals in La Troienne
First off the bench since a 3rd place finish in the Breeders' Cup Distaff back on October 30, Curalina sat just off the pace in second through the early running of Churchill Downs's 1 1/16 mile Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes. At the top of the stretch, the chestnut filly exploded away from her competition en route to an easy as pie 7 1/2-length victory.
At the break, Javier Castellano took the race out of the other riders' hands and sent Angela Renee straight to the lead. From her rail position, Curalina and jockey John Velazquez moved up the inside to establish themselves in second with Penwith and Sheer Drama a close third and fourth. Behind them, Brooklynsway and Engaginglee took up fifth and sixth respectively.
While the front-running four were closely bunched, the pace was not fast. Angela Renee was able to get away with setting splits of :24.24, :48.38, and 1:12.36.
Turning for home, Curalina got first jump on Angela Renee and wasted no time in striking the front and pulling away. Behind her, Joe Bravo tipped Sheer Drama out to the center of the track but the multiple grade 1 winner was unable to make up any ground through the stretch.
While Sheer Drama struggled to make up ground on the eventual winner, Engaginglee was closing well from last. Both fillies passed pace-setter Angela Renee in the stretch, and Engaginglee was able to get up to steal second from Sheer Drama by a head. Angela Renee saved fourth by 1/2-length. Brooklynsway raced evenly throughout to finish 5th, and highweight Penwith faded from 3rd to finish 6th and last.
Winning time for the $300,000 grade 1 affair was 1:42.45. Only two fillies have posted a faster final time in the La Troienne. Shadow Cast in 2005 finished up in 1:42.43 and Authenticity holds the stakes record of 1:42.09 (2013). Curalina's 7 1/2-length romp was the second largest margin of victory.
Winning jockey John Velazquez stated after the race, "She came back really good. Once I got my position, I made sure to stay there. I wanted to keep Sheer Drama in the tight spot. When we came into the lane, my horse just took off. There was no competition coming after her. She won easy."
As the 5-2 second betting choice, Curalina paid $6.60/$4.40/$2.40 for the win. Engaginglee, the 18-1 outsider, returned $13.20/$3.80 for the place, and 4/5 favorite Sheer Drama returned $2.10 for the show. The $2 exacta paid a cool $115.20, the $2 trifecta returned $228.20, and the $1 superfecta was worth $507.80.
Todd Pletcher, who sent out Curalina to victory, indicated that the race complexion was unexpected. "We didn't think (Angela Renee) would be on the lead when we (he and John Velazquez) spoke beforehand, but Johnny did a good job of getting in perfect position with her," he said. "He rode a very good race."
By Curlin and out of the Graeme Hall mare Whatdreamsrmadeof, Curalina was bred by CASA Farms I, LLC and is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, who picked up the now 4-year old filly for $125,000 as a yearling. Today's win was her 5th in 9 career starts; she also has a pair of seconds and thirds. Prior victories include the G1 Acorn and the G1 Coaching Club American Oaks, a win she was awarded via the disqualification of I'm A Chatterbox.
When asked if he had any concerns about bringing Curalina back in a Grade 1 off such a long layoff, Pletcher replied, "No. We felt like we had her ready."
Ready indeed! Though no plans for her next race were immediately available, race fans can be assured that Curalina will be a major player in the distaff division after this.