Flying Dutchmen’s Kentucky-bred Shred the Gnar held off a bid from favored Fully Subscribed by a length to win the 41st running of the $1 million La Troienne Stakes (G1).
Trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by Luis Saez, Shred the Gnar completed the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:42.24.
Miss Justify led the field of 10 through fractions of :24.01 and :48.54. Shred the Gnar tracked just off her flank in second and Fully Subscribed raced in third. The top three runners were unchanged at the top of the stretch but Shred the Gnar hit the front at the three-sixteenths. The subsequent winner was confronted at the eighth pole by Fully Subscribed who never could push past.
“She broke pretty well today and got herself in a good position,” said jockey Luis Saez of Shred the Gnar. “She has been training to be behind horses. And she was able to respond very well today in that situation. I’m so proud of the way she ran today.”
Now three-for-three at Churchill Downs and a two-time graded stakes winner, Shred the Gnar is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Into Mischief. She is out of the Bernardini mare Aspen Light and was bred by Camas Park Stud and Lynch Bages LTD.
“It’s a really good way to celebrate a birthday with a Grade 1,” added trainer Brian Lynch. “She didn’t handle things well at Gulfstream Park. But once we got her back to Churchill, she returned to the filly we knew she always was. She really touted herself coming into this race that she’d run a big race.”