Shedaresthedevil ran like the devil to pull a startling 1 ½-length upset over Swiss Skydiver in the 146thLongines Kentucky Oaks in a stakes-record time of 1:48.28 on Friday at Churchill Downs
Month: September 2020
Déjà Vu: Shedaresthedevil Springs 15-1 Upset For Cox, Geroux In Kentucky Oaks
Nothing is quite the same in 2020, and horse racing has been no exception. Churchill Downs' cavernous, nearly empty grandstands stood watch over Friday's Kentucky Oaks, delayed from the first Friday in May to September by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Fans may not have been present this year, but trainer Brad Cox must have felt a strong sense of déjà vu when he saddled Staton Flurry and Qatar Racing's Shedaresthedevil to post a 15-1 upset in the 3-year-old fillies' classic. Just one race prior, Cox had sent out his 2018 Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl to win the Grade 1 La Troienne.
“This is why you wake up every morning to get to win races like this,” Cox said. “This filly has been really impressive coming into the race and when she breezed with Monomoy Girl a couple weeks ago, we knew how well she was training. There were some tough fillies in the Oaks this year with Swiss Skydiver and Gamine. We are so thrilled to win a race like this, again, in our backyard. This has been a phenomenal day with Monomoy Girl winning the La Troienne then winning the Oaks with Shedaresthedevil. These are the days you dream of.”
Jockey Florent Geroux rode both champion Monomoy Girl and Shedaresthedevil to victory on Friday, and booted home a total of four winners on the Kentucky Oaks card.
“She had a great trip,” said Geroux. “She broke very sharp and I was able to stalk Gamine all the way. That was the plan, but sometimes plans don't always work out. Perfect plan today. The only question was whether or not I was going to be able to run her down. My filly ran an amazing race. It's been an amazing day.”
Shedaresthedevil came into the Oaks with wins in three of her five starts this year, but her long odds reflected the fact that she hadn't been successful against the division's top contenders. Her wins came in the G3 Indiana Oaks, an allowance race, and the G3 Honeybee, while she'd been beaten 13 1/4 lengths by Kentucky Oaks rival Swiss Skydiver in Oaklawn's G3 Fantasy Stakes back in May.
“We've taken the conservative route with this filly, kind of dodged the bullets,” Flurry explained. “We did that with the hope that we'd have a fresh horse for this.”
The strategy seems to have worked out, as Shedaresthedevil pulled away to win the Kentucky Oaks by 1 1/2 lengths. It was also the fastest Kentucky Oaks in history as Shedaresthedevil ran 1 1/8 miles over the fast main track in 1:48.28, besting Bird Town's 2003 time of 1:48.64.
A total of nine 3-year-old fillies lined up for the nine-furlong contest, including the supremely talented Gamine, who'd won her last two races by a combined total of over 35 lengths. Gamine went off at odds of 3-5, while G1 Alabama winner Swiss Skydiver, who'd also earned 40 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby by facing males in the G3 Blue Grass Stakes, was the second choice at 5-2.
As expected, the speedy Gamine went straight to the lead from post position five, and Swiss Skydiver pushed through from her position on the rail to try to be second. Shedaresthedevil broke to her left, and muscled her way over to keep pace pressure on Gamine through the early stages, keeping Swiss Skydiver boxed in on the inside.
Hall of Famer John Velazquez kept a tight hold on Gamine through a first quarter in 23.39 seconds, but Geroux also had Shedaresthedevil under a good hold just a length off the leader. Swiss Skydiver and Tyler Gaffalione were at the rail in third, while Donna Veloce tried to push her way into contention between rivals in fourth.
Just after the half-mile in :47.92, Velazquez left the rail open for a few strides and Gaffalione tried to send Swiss Skydiver on through. He didn't make the gap and Velazquez aimed Gamine back at the rail, causing Gaffalione to check and wait for the overland route along the outside.
That veteran move by Velazquez gave Geroux an opportunity with Shedaresthedevil, and he took full advantage, getting first run on Gamine around the far turn. Swiss Skydiver ended up swinging three-wide at the head of the lane, but Shedaresthedevil had already set her sights on the passing Gamine and hitting the wire first.
Shedaresthedevil dug in to put away Gamine by the three-sixteenths pole, then held of the late bid from Swiss Skydiver on her outside to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Gamine checked in third, while Speech got up to finish fourth. The remaining order of finish was: Tempers Rising, Hopeful Growth, Bayerness, Donna Veloce, and Dream Marie.
Trainer Ken McPeek wasn't displeased with the effort from runner-up Swiss Skydiver.
“She ran super,” McPeek said. “That other filly (Shedaresthedevil) has been training extremely well. I've been watching her. Tyler (Gaffalione) rode her good. That's horse racing. There's no guarantees. She's been training super. I actually wasn't as worried about Gamine as I was about another filly running a bang-up race. That's what happened.”
Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert had been hoping for a stronger return to two-turn racing for the super-talented Gamine.
“She hadn't gone long and we can always second guess ourselves,” Baffert lamented. “Maybe I should have run her longer or whatever. But the winner was tough, you have to give her credit.
“(Gamine) just didn't have it. Turning for home, she was in a good spot and she was late switching leads and she never does that. I don't know if she just got tired or whatever. But down the backside he couldn't have been any better, he was in the perfect spot. She just didn't have it there.”
Shedaresthedevil (center, maroon cap) out-finishes both Swiss Skydiver (left) and Gamine (right) to win the Kentucky Oaks
Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Shedaresthedevil is out of the winning Congrats mare Starship Warpspeed. Initially sold for $100,000 as a weanling at the Keeneland November sale, the filly returned and did not meet her reserve when bidding stopped at $20,000 at the following year's Keeneland September sale.
Entered in race training with Norm Casse, Shedaresthedevil won on debut and was the first winner for her freshman sire, Daredevil, in June of 2019 at Churchill Downs. Qatar Racing purchased an interest in the filly and she was sent to west coast trainer Simon Callaghan, for whom she ran third in the G2 Sorrento, fourth in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf, and second in the Anoakia Stakes.
Sent back through the Keeneland November sale at the end of her juvenile season, Shedaresthedevil brought a final bid of $280,000 from Staton Flurry, and Qatar Racing stayed in for the ride. The filly was sent to trainer Brad Cox, and kicked off her sophomore year with a second-place finish to stablemate Bonny South in an allowance at Oaklawn Park. She added the pair of graded stakes wins to her resume over the course of 2020, and the Kentucky Oaks win improves her overall record to 5-2-2 from 10 starts for earnings of over $1.2 million.
“As bad as 2020's been for everybody, this makes it a little bit better, for us,” Flurry said from the winner's circle.
Co-owner Staton Flurry celebrates with friends after Shedaresthedevil brings home the Kentucky Oaks trophy
The post Déjà Vu: Shedaresthedevil Springs 15-1 Upset For Cox, Geroux In Kentucky Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
A Devil of a Finish in the Oaks
Heavy favorite Gamine (Into Mischief)’s stiffest competition in Friday’s GI Kentucky Oaks figured to come from a daughter of Daredevil–just not 15-1 Shedaresthedevil, who led home a one-two for her exported stallion over second choice Swiss Skydiver. The Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited and Big Aut Farms representative covered the nine furlongs at Churchill Downs in an Oaks record of 1:48.28 (Bird Town, 2003, 1:48.64). The winning margin was 1 1/2 lengths, with the same margin back to 7-10 Gamine in third. Trainer Brad Cox and rider Florent Geroux were teaming up for their second Oaks in three years, having won in 2018 with Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), who one race earlier scored her 12th victory from 14 tries in the GI La Troienne S.
The eventual top three finishers all let the blocks quickly, with Shedaresthedevil breaking inward before latching on to Gamine’s right flank into the first turn. Swiss Skydiver, the GI Alabama S. romper, tucked in to draft in third along the fence. Shedaresadevil traveled strongly in the bridle chasing splits of :23.39 and :47.92, and was well out in the track as Gamine stayed off the fence, leaving room for Swiss Skydiver to squeeze through if she could or wanted to. Tyler Gaffalione on Swiss Skydiver just held his spot as John Velazquez and Gamine closed the hole, and Shedaresthedevil soon ranged up to take a run at the leader. Gamine seemed to respond to the challenge at first, and clung to a narrow advantage despite traveling on her incorrect lead, but the Daredevil duo continued to bear down on her and Shedaresthedevil overtook her with a furlong to race before stiff-arming Swiss Skydiver to the finish.
“She had a great trip,” said Geroux, who booted home five winners on the card, including three for Cox, and concluded a clean sweep of the late pick three aboard Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) in the GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. one race later. “She broke very sharp and I was able to stalk Gamine all the way. That was the plan, but sometimes plans don’t always work out. Perfect plan today. The only question was whether or not I was going to be able to run her down. My filly ran an amazing race. It’s been an amazing day.”
Friday, Churchill Downs
LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS-GI, $1,250,000, Churchill Downs, 9-4, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:48.28, ft.
1–SHEDARESTHEDEVIL, 121, f, 3, by Daredevil
1st Dam: Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats
2nd Dam: Andria’s Forest, by Forestry
3rd Dam: Andriana B., by Far North
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($100,000 Wlg ’17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA
Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $280,000 2yo ’19 KEENOV). O-Flurry Racing
Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited & Big Aut Farms; B-WinStar
Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $744,000.
Lifetime Record: 10-5-2-2, $1,245,768. *1/2 to Mojovation
(Quality Road), GSP, $190,088. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Swiss Skydiver, 121, f, 3, by Daredevil
1st Dam: Expo Gold, by Johannesburg
2nd Dam: Clouds of Gold, by Strike the Gold
3rd Dam: Cloudy Colors, by Personal Flag
($35,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Peter J. Callahan; B-WinStar Farm,
LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $240,000.
3–Gamine, 121, f, 3, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Peggy Jane, by Kafwain
2nd Dam: Seattle Splash, by Chief Seattle
3rd Dam: Grand Splash, by Bucksplasher
‘TDN Rising Star’ ($220,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $1,800,000 2yo ’19
EASMAY). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Grace Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $120,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1HF, 5 3/4. Odds: 15.10, 2.50, 0.70.
Also Ran: Speech, Tempers Rising, Hopeful Growth, Bayerness, Donna Veloce, Dream Marie. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Shedaresthedevil debuted a decisive winner last June under the Twin Spires for Norm Casse and the Greathouse family’s Glencrest Farm, and was subsequently bought into by Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s Qatar Racing and sent to Simon Callaghan in California. She was third in the GII Sorrento S. that August and fourth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf S. at Del Mar in early September before cutting back and returning to the main track to be a second in Santa Anita’s Anoakia S. Oct. 13. Offered as a supplemental entry during the horses of racing age portion of last year’s Keeneland November sale, she was the second topper of session 7 at $280,000, selling to Hot Springs, AR native Staton Flurry, whose family owns the parking lots across from Oaklawn Park.
With Flurry Racing Stables and Qatar Racing listed as owners, Shedaresthedevil returned as a member of the Brad Cox barn, and finished a close second to her new stablemate Bonny South (Munnings) in an Oaklawn optional claimer Feb. 15. Bonny South took the GII Fair Grounds Oaks next out, was second in the Alabama behind Swiss Skydiver and had been under consideration for the Oaks until recently.
Shedaresthedevil, meanwhile, annexed the Mar. 7 GIII Honeybee S. before a distant third behind Swiss Skydiver and talented Venetian Harbor (Munnings) in the GIII Fantasy S. May 1. She again hinted at her affinity for the Churchill strip with a six-length score in optional claiming company here June 5, and aired by five lengths in the GIII Indiana Oaks July 8 for a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure. That number did not match up particularly well on paper with the 110 Gamine had earned for her GI Acorn S. drubbing or the 102 Swiss Skydiver received for the Alabama.
“This is why you wake up every morning to get to win races like this,” said Cox, who himself had a three-win day at Churchill that also included the unveiling of new ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Travel Column (Frosted). “This filly has been really impressive coming into the race and when she breezed with Monomoy Girl a couple weeks ago (5f, 1:00.20, 5/46 Aug. 15), we knew how well she was training. These were some tough fillies in the Oaks this year with Swiss Skydiver and Gamine. We are so thrilled to win a race like the Oaks, again, in our backyard. This has been a phenomenal day with Monomoy Girl winning the La Troienne then winning the Oaks with Shedaresthedevil. These are the days you dream of.”
Flurry admitted in the post-race press conference that he was somewhat surprised by the result, but expected his filly to run well: “Everybody that asked, ‘Hey, how do you think you’re going to run? Are you going to win?’ I told everybody, if we run anything better than fourth, it’s a bonus. If we run worse than fourth, it’s a disappointment. So it’s a bonus.
“We’re tickled to death. Never dreamed six months ago we would be sitting here. We knew we had a nice filly after a couple of Oaklawn races. But to come in and beat Swiss Skydiver, who crushed us in the Fantasy at Oaklawn; and Gamine, who is phenomenal, maybe one of the best fillies we’ve seen in a long, long, long time–to come in and beat both of those, I don’t think I would have dreamed it.
“Like I said, anything better than fourth was a victory for us, just because we knew what we were running against. But at the same time, we knew we had a fresher horse coming in just because we have kind of dodged the tougher races.
“We went with the allowance race two races back and won it by double digits. And went into the Indiana Oaks and went in by six or seven. That was kind of the plan to come in with a fresher horse instead of knocking heads with the big ones early on.”
As for the beaten favorite, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said: “She just didn’t have it. Turning for home, she was in a good spot and she was late switching leads and she never does that. I don’t know if she just got tired or whatever. But down the backside he couldn’t have been any better, he was in the perfect spot. She just didn’t have it there.”
Conditioner Kenny McPeek said of Swiss Skydiver: “She ran super. That other filly has been training extremely well. I’ve been watching her. Tyler rode her good. That’s horse racing. There’s no guarantees. She’s been training super. I actually wasn’t as worried about Gamine as I was about another filly running a bang-up race. That’s what happened.”
Pedigree Notes:
Shedaresthedevil follows in Swiss Skydiver’s hoofsteps as the second highest-level winner for her sire. They are his only two graded winners. Daredevil, a brilliant 2-year-old who took the 2014 GI Champagne S. with a 107 Beyer in the slop before taking up stud duties at WinStar Farm, was sold to the Turkish Jockey Club ahead of the 2020 breeding season.
Shedaresthedevil is one of three graded/group winners out of mares by Congrats and becomes his first Grade I winner as a broodmare sire. The winner’s dam was one-for-eight on the track, breaking her maiden by almost 27 lengths in a rained-off Belmont $40,000 maiden claimer in 2011. Her 2-year-old filly by Outwork was a $150,000 FTKJUL yearling but has no published breezes since May 31. Starship Warpspeed produced a Speightster filly last year and an Exaggerator filly this March. She was bred back to Uncle Mo.
The post A Devil of a Finish in the Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Saturday’s Insights: Well-Bred Homebreds Debut
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency
4th-Churchill Downs, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 12:35 p.m.
Mike Rutherford’s homebred BIG LAKE (American Pharoah) debuts for trainer Steve Asmussen. The chestnut colt is the first foal out of Resistivity (Student Council), who was third in the 2014 GII Forward Gal S. Brad Cox saddles Godolphin firster Essential Quality (Tapit), a son of graded placed Delightful Quality (Elusive Quality). TJCS PPs
5th-Saratoga, $72k, Msw, 2yo, 7f, post time: 2:01 p.m.
Shadwell Farm’s homebred MUNQAD (War Front), a half-brother to GIII Gotham S. winner Shagaf (Bernardini), debuts for trainer Todd Pletcher. Olympiad (Speightstown), a $700,000 KEESEP yearling purchase for Grandview Equine and Cheyenne Stables, will look to improve on his third-place effort in his six-furlong debut at Saratoga Aug. 1. Trainer Shug McGaughey sends out Courtlandt Farms homebred firster Greatest Honour (Tapit). The bay colt is out of Tiffany’s Honour (Street Cry {Ire}), a daughter of blue hen mare Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister). TJCIS PPs
The post Saturday’s Insights: Well-Bred Homebreds Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
