Idiomatic, Pretty Mischievous to Meet in La Troienne

Being a champion means there are few easy days at the office. It is the problem that comes with the privilege of setting the bar all others are trying to reach while fending off a constant wave of challengers trying to make a play for the throne. When entries were taken for the $1 million La Troienne Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, a pair of distaffers who each bear the happy burden that comes with divisional superiority found themselves, for the first time, in one another's sights. With all due respect to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and its sister race, the Kentucky Oaks (G1), the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne is set to feature the weekend's arguably best matchup in Juddmonte's Idiomatic, reigning queen of the older female ranks, and Godolphin's Pretty Mischievous, last year's sophomore princess. The champions will meet in race 5 at about 12:43 p.m. May 3, for what racing fans hope is the first of multiple races this season. Idiomatic and Pretty Mischievous were scheduled to lock horns in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) last November but the latter was scratched when her connections deemed her less than 100% after shipping to California. Idiomatic would go on to prevail in the Distaff to cement year-end honors as champion older dirt female while Pretty Mischievous' résumé—which included a win in the 2023 Kentucky Oaks—was enough for voters to deem her champion 3-year-old filly. Each earned a freshening off their accomplished campaigns and, fittingly enough, they ended up having the same starting point for 2024 placed on their respective schedules. Both Idiomatic and Pretty Mischievous signaled their readiness for their clash with the former going five furlongs in :59. 3/5 at Churchill April 26 and her chief rival drilling four furlongs in :48 a day later. "I think we've got her about as fit as we can get her without running her," said Brendan Walsh, trainer of Pretty Mischievous. "She looks fantastic. (Idiomatic) is in the same boat we are. I know she has a year's experience on us and yeah, it's tough. But this race has been our plan for a long time, and it just suits (Pretty Mischievous). "It's a mile and a sixteenth here on her own track that she loves. She runs well off the bench too. She seems like she's as good if not better than last year at least so that should put her right there." Churchill has indeed been a cozy setting for Pretty Mischievous as she has earned three of her seven career wins beneath the twin spires, including her neck victory in last year's Oaks. In the rare instances the bay daughter of Into Mischief has had an off day, she has still been a major threat, not finishing worse than third in 10 career starts. "Last year when she came here, the week leading up to the Oaks she just absolutely blossomed," Walsh said. "I had her at Keeneland up until last week and I purposely wanted to bring her over late just to give her something extra and she seems like she's blossoming again." For Idiomatic, her time at Churchill last June saw her put the rest of the division on notice. The massive daughter of Curlin earned her first graded win when she took the Shawnee Stakes (G3) at the Louisville, Ky., track, a triumph that kicked off a string of five straight victories that included the Personal Ensign (G1) and Spinster (G1) stakes. "She breezed (April 26) like she can win Horse of the Year," trainer Brad Cox said of his latest barn superstar. "She was on it, she's doing very, very well. I'm very happy with the way she's come back as a 5-year-old. She's every bit as good as she was last year and maybe she's even moved forward and gotten better. I'm hoping she gets started off in the La Troienne in a good way and hopefully be on her way to another championship season." Given that Idiomatic does her best running on the lead and Pretty Mischievous comes from off the pace, a dramatic stretch showdown could be on tap if both distaffers fire. Should either of the two favorites come up short, Rigney Racing's Xigera could be a prime candidate to upset the apple cart. Trained by Phil Bauer, Xigera is 3-for-3 at Churchill Downs with two of those wins on the main track. Prior to her win in the Falls City Stakes (G3) on the Louisville oval last November, the daughter of Nyquist used her stalk-and-pounce style to earn her first graded win when she annexed the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) by 3 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct Racetrack in October.