La Wally is an improving sort who will head into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Oct. 31 at Del Mar off a runner-up finish to the race’s early favorite, Explora.
The pair met in the Oak Leaf last Saturday at Santa Anita.
“We thought she ran well,” said Mark Glatt, who trains La Wally for Muir Hut Stables. “We didn’t think she had the best trip in the world and so we were a little bit disappointed with it, but she came back well and at the moment we are going to point towards the Breeders’ Cup.”
ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save big.
Explora is the 3-1 favorite for the Juvenile Fillies on Daily Racing Form’s early line set by David Aragona. La Wally is listed at 10-1 after finishing 4 1/4 lengths back in the Oak Leaf.
The filly, named for an Italian opera that shares a title with its heroine, La Wally, made the first two starts of her career at Del Mar. She won her debut in July, then was third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante in September. La Wally moved to two turns for the Oak Leaf and got clear late on the final turn before taking after a long-gone Explora.
“We really thought that she would relish the two turns, and I think she did the other day,” Glatt said. “However, I just think she got a little bit of a muddied-up trip and maybe wasn’t able to get going quite as quick as we’d hoped when it came to finishing up the race. But she stayed to the task and was a clear second.
“Knock on wood, she has stayed very sound through the course of getting to the races and now through a three-race campaign, and with these 2-year-olds, that sometimes is the biggest challenge. You’ve got a lot of the baby blues that either give them setbacks or keep them from getting to the races too terribly early. But she’s stayed real sound and she’s just very consistent. She always works well. She trains well on a consistent basis. And she’s gradually improving.”
La Wally’s experience at Del Mar should further her cause at the Breeders’ Cup.
“Obviously, having some familiarity with the racetrack and the surroundings, especially for a young filly, is probably always an advantage of some kind over horses that have never seen the place, or really had a race over the racetrack,” Glatt said. “So I think that’s always a bit of an advantage, and hopefully it is and she has a good day on that particular day.”
La Wally was a $300,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September in 2024. She is a daughter of Constitution and the winning mare Moonstone, who is a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil. Glatt was part of the selection team on La Wally.
“We really liked her, all of us, and are glad to have gotten her,” he said. “She’s a beautiful filly when you have a chance to see her in person. She’s kind of a streamlined filly. She’s very well balanced. She’s not too big, not too small. I think she’s just about right.”
And soon, she could be the heroine.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.