The four-year-old filly Scylla was bred to be a champion, and on Saturday at Churchill Downs showed further signs of living up to her lofty pedigree by dominating the $275,000 Shawnee (G3) for fillies and mares.
A Juddmonte homebred daughter of Tapit and the 2014 champion older mare Close Hatches, Scylla rated a close second behind second choice Xigera, took over from that rival shortly before turning for home, and opened up through the lane to score by 3 1/4 lengths under Javier Castellano.
Sporting blinkers for the first time in her sixth lifetime start, Scylla registered her fourth win and first in a stakes in the 1 1/16-mile Shawnee. Trained by Bill Mott, Scylla finished off the fast-track test in 1:42.38 and paid $4.54 as the favorite at just over 6-5.
Xigera held second by 1 1/4 lengths over Wet Paint, who edged Hoosier Philly for third by a neck. Hidden Connection, Magical Lute, Bellamore, Take a Stand, and Malloy completed the order of finish.
Scylla debuted in April 2023 and promptly won her first two starts by a combined margin of 10 3/4 lengths, but was sidelined from June until March 17, when she lost by a neck against allowance foes at Gulfstream. A non-threatening third in her stakes debut in the April 19 Doubledogdare (G3) at Keeneland, the bay rebounded to captured a one-mile allowance at Churchill by seven lengths on the Kentucky Derby Day undercard.
Scylla is a full sister to the multiple Grade 2 winner and classic-placed Tacitus and is also closely rated to Juddmonte’s reigning champion older mare Idiomatic, a daughter of Close Hatches’ full sister Lockdown.
Idiomatic remains the queen of the older dirt female division, but Scylla is now a lady-in-waiting worth keeping an eye on.
