The Louisville Double- Ali LaDuke has the Touch

Original article written by Melissa Mae posted 15 years 0 weeks ago

As Ali LaDuke was prepping her two fillies on Friday for the “Louisville Double”, the Louisville Derby and Louisville Oaks she had no idea what was going to happen later that day. Temple, a filly she had bred and still owns, and High Flyer, a filly bred by Emily Shields that LaDuke bought at the TBS Yearling Sale for $1,500,000 were going to the Oaks and Derby respectively. But what is so special about these fillies that they could give LaDuke two amazing wins on the same night?

Temple is a 16 hand black by Throne and out of Architect (x Fighting With Wit). She started her racing career on week seven of last year in a 7 furlong race and I have to be frank, the filly didn’t look like she was going to be that much of a horse as she finished 11th out of 12. However, LaDuke and Temple proved me wrong 4 weeks later as she ran at one mile in a maiden race and won by a length in a time of 1:38.47. On Week 14 in her last start of the year she ran in the Grade 1 Lexington Debutante at a mile and was only beaten by a head with the rest of the field 4 ¼ lengths behind her and Big Girls Don’t Cry, proving that she indeed was going to be graded stakes material and a good one at that. On week two of this year Temple again appeared in a stakes race running in the Silver Bullets Stakes and won by 2 ¼ lengths and putting her on the Louisville Oaks trail. Two weeks later she was in the Grade One Lexington Oaks, her last prep for the Oaks and she demolished the field, winning by 7 lengths. Last Friday she was found in Louisville and she could tell it was race day by the way she was being prepped and how her handlers were acting, however when she came into the paddock and out onto the track for the post parade she was calm and focused. After a closing kick she put away the field by 3 lengths taking her record to 6 starts, 4 wins, and 1 second for $438,000 and 155 points. Her next start has not been announced and she is currently resting at Riverstone Farm in Kentucky.

Just a few stalls down from Temple on Friday, LaDuke’s Derby hopeful, High Flyer was resting. With one leg cocked and her eyes closed it was almost as if she didn’t know it was raceday. However, her groom explained that the 15 hand bay Loki Dynasty x Was It Worth It (x Fighting With Wit) daughter is like this before every start race and is calm on race day, to conserve her energy he thinks. But what has this filly done in racing? Just a week after her stablemate started her first start, High Flyer started in a one mile maiden race and threw the field away by 3 ½ lengths in a time of 1:38.20. Three weeks later she started in the Grade 3 Henderson Debutante, also at a mile and in a time of 1:37.84 she ran away after a stumbled start and won by 7 lengths. After that win she hit the Triple Crown trail with a mapped out campaign. On Week 13 she ran in the Grade 1 Long Island Matron Stakes and in a blazing race of 1:37 flat she won by 2 ¼ lengths. The obvious choice for High Flyer’s next race was the Stewards Cup Juvenile Fillies and she didn’t disappoint, winning the Cup by 2 ½ lengths over fellow Derby starter Shining On. High Flyer’s spotless record earned her the North American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Simmy, an award she had earned by 15.25 lengths (her overall margin of victory of the year). On Week 3 of this year she made her first start of the year and ran against the boys in the Grade 1 Sunshine Park Derby, in a head to head fight she lost to Gabriel with the rest of the field 6 ½ lengths back in the only defeat of her career and her last start before the Derby. On Friday she proved her groom right being calm and cool all the way to the gate. With all of her energy still with her in the slop, the filly won the Derby by 1 ½ lengths over Start of the End taking her record to 6 starts, 5 wins, 1 second for $1,954,000 and 315 points. Her next start is obviously the Baltimore Crown on Friday and she has been shipped to A Whelly Merry Farm to get some time to relax before going to the track.

It seems that Ali LaDuke loves those Fighting With Wit granddaughters and they love her, as both fillies are out of daughters of Fighting With Wit. Both fillies both have Symbol in their fourth generation on the paternal side, with Temple’s paternal granddam (Crown) being a daughter of Symbol and High Flyer’s sire being a grandson of Symbol. But possibly the biggest similarity between both fillies is their heart and love for LaDuke. Just being in the barn for fifteen minutes with LaDuke and both fillies it was obvious that they both had a bond with her. There are many special things about these fillies but having that connection with their trainer is what makes them real winners, even if they never win again.

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