Scylla Looks to Give Juddmonte Another Shawnee Victory

Juddmonte looks to secure back-to-back wins in the $275,000 Shawnee Stakes (G3) when it sends Scylla  to the starting gate June 1 at Churchill Downs. 

With only five starts under her belt, the Tapit   filly is the least experienced in the field of nine fillies and mares set to go 1 1/16 miles. Juddmonte homebred Idiomatic  won last year’s edition.

She broke her maiden at Keeneland last spring, but after debuting with a pair of triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures, she returned to the track in March finishing second in an allowance optional claiming race in which she stalked the lead, took over late but relinquished for a neck loss. 

Two starts ago, the Bill Mott trainee challenged in her first shot in graded company—the Doubledogdare Stakes (G3)—but was unable to do better than third. But she showed fine form less than a month ago under the twin spires with a seventh-length route in an allowance optional claimer and posted a career-best 105 ESF.

The morning-line favorite Xigera  won’t be deterred by being in graded company. Although she finished fifth in the La Troienne Stakes (G1), her only start of the year, the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) competitor should revert to form.

In six starts last year, the daughter of Nyquist   won five times including a pair of graded wins in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) and the Falls City Stakes (G3).

Perhaps the most accomplished runner in the field is millionaire Wet Paint , who has run in grade 1 contests in five of her previous six starts. Also in the field is Hoosier Philly  who after an auspicious start to 2023, couldn’t get results to match her immense talent. 

REGRET STAKES

Philip Bauer, who trains Shawnee favorite Xigera, also conditions the favorite for the $275,000 Regret Stakes (G3T) one race later on the Churchill card. 

“We’re really looking forward to a big weekend here at Churchill. I think we have a lot of live runners and the three we have in the stakes should run very well. We’ve targeted these races and think they will be good stepping stones for bigger races of their campaigns,” said Bauer, noting another of his trainees, Angkor , who runs in the Aristides Stakes. 

Buchu , a Rigney Racing homebred, has been flashing her potential even if she hasn’t been getting the results. There’s no better example than the April 6 Appalachian Stakes (G2T). 

That was two starts ago. Most recently in the Edgewood Stakes (G2T), she ran along the rail and made a move down the stretch but couldn’t maintain her rally in the final strides approaching the wire to finish sixth. The Regret’s 1 1/8-mile course will be the furthest distance for the Justify   filly, who also has the statistical anomaly of finishing either first or sixth in each of her six starts on grass.

Joining her in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies is Way to Be Marie , who nearly pulled off the win in her graded debut, a half-length defeat in the Edgewood. She stalked the lead and moved to the front briefly near the eighth pole before being caught.

A familiar foe for both Buchu and Way to Be Marie is Florida-bred Dancing N Dixie . 

The Neolithic   filly has finished third in her last three starts—all graded stakes—the Florida Oaks (G3T), the Appalachian, and the Edgewood. She’s been getting stronger as her campaign has progressed and may need to get out front early to set the pace if she’s to get her first graded win.