Champion Finest City Entered in La Troienne
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Photo: Michael Baker
Finest City will make her first venture outside of California for a race at Churchill Downs
Champion Finest City will make her first venture outside of California as scheduled this week. Exactly where the daughter of City Zip will land, however, is still to be determined.
While trainer Ian Kruljac plans to enter the reigning Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner in the May 6 Humana Distaff (G1) at Churchill Downs, he also slipped his stable star into the nine-horse field for the May 5 La Troienne Stakes Presented by Spirited Funds (G1) over 1 1/16 miles.
With rain in the Louisville forecast for both Friday and Saturday, Kruljac said he will watch the weather and track conditions before ultimately deciding which slot Finest City ends up in. Given the 5-year-old mare's class, her connections should go in with a fair amount of confidence in either place—assuming she can keep her high-strung nature in check.
Though Finest City has yet to win beyond seven furlongs, she most recently finished second to Vale Dori in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Margarita Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park March 18—an outing where she was beaten 1 1/2 lengths, but was 9 1/2 lengths clear of the third-place finisher. In last year's Vanity Mile Stakes (G1), the chestnut mare was third behind champions Beholder and Stellar Wind, beaten just 2 1/4 lengths.
Finest City has been notoriously tough to handle in the past, which is why Kruljac has only shipped her as far as Del Mar in the past. The 28-year-old trainer feels the mare has matured enough to where he didn't need to get her to Churchill Downs early. She is not slated to arrive until May 3.
Among the staunchest challengers for Finest City should she end up in the La Troienne would be graded stakes winner Paid Up Subscriber. The daughter of Candy Ride will be making her second start this year and second outing for trainer Chad Brown since being purchased by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm for $1.1 million at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November sale.
Paid Up Subscriber captured the Fleur de Lis Handicap (G2) at Churchill Downs last June and is unbeaten in three starts beneath the Twin Spires. The 5-year-old mare finished third to stablemate Paulassilverlining during her seasonal bow in the seven-furlong Madison Stakes (G1) April 8—a distance that Brown said at the time "was probably as short as Paid Up Subscriber wants to run."
Brian Williamson trained Streamline heads into the La Troienne off a third-place finish to Stellar Wind in the April 14 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). The daughter of Straight Line earned her first graded score in March when she prevailed in the 1 1/16-mile Azeri Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, besting fellow La Troienne entrant and graded stakes winner Eskenformoney by a length.
La Troienne S. Presented by Spirited Funds (G1)
Churchill Downs, Friday, May 05, 2017, Race 5
- 1 1/16m
- Dirt
- $300,000
- 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
- 12:35 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Eskenformoney (KY) |
Javier Castellano | 118 | Todd A. Pletcher | 8/1 |
| 2 | 2Impasse (KY) | Geovanni Franco | 118 | D. Wayne Lukas | 20/1 |
| 3 | 3Big World (LA) | Florent Geroux | 118 | Thomas M. Amoss | 20/1 |
| 4 | 4Paid Up Subscriber (KY) |
Joel Rosario | 118 | Chad C. Brown | 2/1 |
| 5 | 5Romantic Vision (KY) | Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. | 118 | George R. Arnold, II | 20/1 |
| 6 | 6Streamline (IL) | Chris Landeros | 120 | Brian Williamson | 8/1 |
| 7 | 7Factory of Faith (KY) |
Jose L. Ortiz | 118 | Joe Sharp | 30/1 |
| 8 | 8Finest City (PA) |
Mike E. Smith | 118 | Ian Kruljac | 6/5 |
| 9 | 9Go Maggie Go (KY) | Luis Saez | 118 | Dale L. Romans | 8/1 |