Study Guide: 2024 Fleur de Lis Stakes
Jun 25, 2024
Scylla winning the Shawnee (G3) at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
A small but talented field of fillies and mares will race 1 1/8 miles over the Churchill Downs dirt in Saturday's $500,000 Fleur de Lis (G2).
The Fleur de Lis routinely attracts top-notch horses. Recent winners include champions and/or Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) heroines Forever Unbridled (2017), Blue Prize (2018), Midnight Bisou (2020), and Letruska (2021).
Let's meet the contenders for the 2024 Fleur de Lis:
Free Like a Girl
Free Like a Girl wins at Oaklawn Park (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 39
Wins: 17
Place: 11
Show: 6
Owner: Gerald Bruno Jr., Carl J. Deville, Chasey Deville Pomier, and Jerry Caroom
Breeder: Kim Renee Stover and Lisa Osborne
Trainer: Chasey Deville Pomier
Jockey: Corey Lanerie
Top Speed Rating: (101)
Total Earnings: $1,618,478
Sire: El Deal
Dam: Flashy Prize
Color: Bay
Free Like a Girl has won 15 stakes and more than $1.6 million while competing primarily against fellow Louisiana-breds. But in her last two starts she's run well against Grade 1 company, finishing third in the Apple Blossom H. (G1) behind the red-hot Adare Manor and second in the La Troienne (G1) against champion Idiomatic. Free Like a Girl ought to find the competition easier in the Fleur de Lis, setting the stage for her first graded stakes win.
Shotgun Hottie
Shotgun Hottie (Photo by Maryland Jockey Club / Credit to Jim McCue)
Start(s): 19
Wins: 6
Place: 4
Show: 2
Owner: Omar Aldabbagh and Jeff Ganje
Breeder: Vincent Colbert
Trainer: Cherie DeVaux
Jockey: Paco Lopez
Top Speed Rating: (103)
Total Earnings: $926,557
Sire: Gun Runner
Dam: Re Entry
Color: Bay
Shotgun Hottie is a fierce competitor on her best day. She posted a 100 Brisnet Speed rating when triumphing in the 2023 Molly Pitcher (G3) and improved to a 103 when dominating the Allaire DuPont Distaff last month by 5 3/4 lengths. But Shotgun Hottie isn't the most consistent campaigner and finished fourth (two lengths behind Free Like a Girl) in the Apple Blossom two starts back. It's difficult to predict how Shotgun Hottie will perform this Saturday, but a top-three finish is certainly within her capabilities.
Taxed
Taxed wins at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 14
Wins: 4
Place: 3
Show: 1
Owner: Richard Bahde
Breeder: Brereton C. Jones
Trainer: Randy Morse
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Top Speed Rating: (96)
Total Earnings: $650,204
Sire: Collected
Dam: Yankee Union
Color: Gray/roan
Winner of the 2023 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) as a three-year-old, Taxed enters the Fleur de Lis off a decisive 2 3/4-length victory in a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs. But that win yielded a modest 89 Brisnet Speed rating, and Taxed previously finished fifth (behind Free Like a Girl and Shotgun Hottie) in the Apple Blossom, so she may need a step forward to turn the tables on Saturday.
Scylla
Scylla winning the Shawnee (G3) at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 6
Wins: 4
Place: 1
Show: 1
Owner: Juddmonte
Breeder: Juddmonte Farms
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Top Speed Rating: (99)
Total Earnings: $414,835
Sire: Tapit
Dam: Close Hatches
Color: Bay
Scylla has been riding a hot streak for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The full-sister to 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) third-place finisher Tacitus dominated an $80,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs by seven lengths, then took Churchill's Shawnee (G3) by 3 1/4 lengths over Xigera (see below). With improving Brisnet Speed ratings of 98 and 99 under her belt, Scylla is progressing in the right direction and has every chance to record a third straight Churchill win in the Fleur de Lis.
Occult
Start(s): 9
Wins: 3
Place: 0
Show: 4
Owner: Alpha Delta Stables
Breeder: Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Top Speed Rating: (99)
Total Earnings: $461,450
Sire: Into Mischief
Dam: Magical Feeling
Color: Dark bay/brown
Occult ranked among the better three-year-old fillies of 2023, winning the Monmouth Oaks (G3) and placing in the Acorn (G1), Cotillion (G1), and Mother Goose (G2). But her 2024 debut yielded a runner-up finish (disqualified to third place) in the Serena's Song S., for which she earned an 86 Brisnet Speed rating. Occult will need a step forward in her second run of the season if she's going to challenge for a top-three finish this Saturday.
Xigera
Xigera wins the Falls City (G3) at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 12
Wins: 6
Place: 2
Show: 1
Owner: Rigney Racing
Breeder: Cedar Hill
Trainer: Philip Bauer
Jockey: Julien Leparoux
Top Speed Rating: (103)
Total Earnings: $900,056
Sire: Nyquist
Dam: Argent Affair
Color: Dark bay/brown
Xigera dominated three straight stakes to wrap up 2023, most notably beating Occult by daylight in the Mother Goose before adding the 1 1/8-mile Falls City (G3) at Churchill Downs to her record. But Xigera's form has slipped in 2024; she finished a distant last (behind Free Like a Girl) in the La Troienne before running second to Scylla in the Shawnee. Fast workouts since the Shawnee suggest Xigera can move forward in her third run of the season, but turning the tables on her recent conquerors could be tricky.
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