She had already established herself as a dragon slayer with her top-level results a year ago. Now, after yet another conquest of a reigning champion, Alpha Delta Stables' Raging Sea may be able to lay claim as the outright queen of the division she has repeatedly disrupted.
After defeating champion older dirt female Idiomatic last summer to earn her first career grade 1 triumph, Raging Sea added another Eclipse Award winner to her list of the vanquished when she surged to a three-quarter-length victory in the $992,000 La Troienne Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs May 2, a race that saw defending Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna put forth a shocking last-place finish.
The image of Thorpedo Anna coming up empty in the stretch and fading to the back of the seven-horse field was a stunner, to put it mildly, given the way the 2024 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner had run through her divisional rivals for the better part of her career. The Kenny McPeek trainee opened her 4-year-old campaign in typical form, winning the Azeri Stakes (G2) and Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) handily, and she hadn't been defeated by a member of her own sex since running second in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) beneath the twin spires in November 2023.
Raging Sea, however, is a different challenge than most distaffers when she's on her game. The 5-year-old daughter of Curlin won four of six starts last year to become a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion older dirt female—ultimately losing to Idiomatic, whom she defeated in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1). Though she finished second to Thorpedo Anna in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) last November, trainer Chad Brown felt circumstances beat her that day as much as anything and wasn't the least bit shocked to see the chestnut mare pull off another big-race moment in her seasonal bow Friday.
"I was really confident one of my two horses would win, nothing against the other fillies," said Brown, who also saddled grade 1 winner Randomized in the La Troienne. "I felt in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Raging Sea was really compromised. Thorpedo Anna had had a really long season, and I was hopeful in the Distaff that she wouldn't run her absolute best race of the year. But there were so many scratches in the race, and there was no pace. So, I was looking forward to a little bit of a rematch here."
Among the many reasons Brown has five Eclipse Awards for leading trainer on his mantel is he is a savant when it comes to bringing horses back off a layoff. Indeed, he had Raging Sea absolutely ready to strike when it became clear the dominant version of Thorpedo Anna wasn't showing up.
Sent off at 4-1 odds, Raging Sea, with jockey Flavien Prat at the helm, settled back into fifth during the early going as stablemate Randomized took up her position on the lead between horses with Thorpedo Anna giving chase by the stands for the first time. As the field approached the first turn, longshot Dorth Vader along the rail appeared to ping-pong into Thorpedo Anna, forcing the champion out and back into third.
"It looks like they beat her up going into the first turn. I don't know what that was about," McPeek said of the jostling. "I'm shocked like the rest of us."
Though Thorpedo Anna recovered to get clear position and sit just off Randomized through fractions of :23.50 and :47.22, the daughter of Fast Anna began giving way as they came off the far turn. Her retreat coincided with Raging Sea finding her best run between her barnmate and a game Taxed, who was making her own upset bid, before edging clear for her eighth career victory.
"They went a couple ticks slower than I thought so I was really geared toward watching Randomized," Brown said. "I was watching them both, but I thought she had the better chance turning for home, :47 and change is not fast for her. Flavien (Prat) did a nice job keeping (Raging Sea) in striking distance and she responded really well down the stretch."
Taxed well outran her 31-1 odds to hold for second with Randomized third. Final time for the 1 1/16-mile distance was 1:42.91 over a track rated fast.
Jockey John Velazquez aboard Dorth Vader lodged a claim of foul against Randomized for interference near the three-sixteenths pole but it was disallowed after review by the stewards.
McPeek posted on social media after the race that Thorpedo Anna was cooling out in the test barn with "nothing obvious at this time." Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who has been aboard the filly for all of her career starts, stated the end result may have simply been a case of too much too soon for the 1-4 favorite following the April 12 Apple Blossom.
"She got bounced around a little around the first turn, but then after that, it all cleared up," Hernandez said. "We hopped outside of Randomized and we were having a nice smooth trip from that point, and then at the second turn, when I asked her to go after Randomized she picked it up a little. Then down the lane, she was just a little tired. Maybe the last race over there at Oaklawn coming back quick today, it took a little steam out of her.
"She got the kind of trip we envisioned, but it was just one of those situations where today wasn't her day."
Bred by Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables out of the Storm Cat mare Stormy Welcome, Raging Sea earned her sixth graded stakes victory while improving her overall mark to eight wins from 14 starts with $2,145,318 in earnings.
"She's really etched her own solid career, she's not just a one off," Brown said. "She's shown consistency over many years now, all the way back to her 2-year-old season. She's really turned into a solid, solid horse that everyone needs to respect."
Raging Sea is the second grade 1 winner for her sire Curlin, along with Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) morning-line favorite Journalism. Curlin stands at Hill 'n' Dale Farms near Paris, Ky., for an advertised fee of $225,000.
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