As a bloodstock agent, David Ingordo was responsible for selecting Zenyatta, among the most celebrated stakes winners in Oaklawn history.
Now, Ingordo's wife, trainer Cherie DeVaux, has a chance to record her first stakes victory at the Hot Springs, Ark., racetrack when Tulane Tryst makes his local debut in Saturday's $200,000 Whitmore (G3) for older horses at six furlongs.
DeVaux, a former assistant to four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown and now-retired trainer Chuck Simon, has started three horses at Oaklawn – all during the 2021 meeting – with Our Super Freak finishing second against older fillies and mares in the $150,000 Pippin Stakes and $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3). Ingordo, in partnership, campaigned Our Super Freak and owns Tulane Tryst outright.
Tulane Tryst is seeking his third consecutive victory after coming from off the pace to capture an entry-level allowance sprint by 2 ¾ lengths Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs and an allowance sprint by 7 ¼ lengths Feb. 10 at Fair Grounds in his last start. The Feb. 10 victory generated a career-topping 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
DeVaux said the timing of the Whitmore – formerly known as the Hot Springs Stakes – is ideal for Tulane Tryst's return to stakes company after finishing fifth in the $400,000 Woody Stephens (G1) for 3-year-old sprinters last June at Belmont Park. He didn't resurface until Oct. 14.
“We just wanted to get him started once before we figured out what to do with him next at Fair Grounds,” DeVaux said Tuesday afternoon. “He won quite impressively. It's our own horse, so we can be patient with him and view what we think is right and only run him when we think he's going to run a good race. He ran well and came out of it well, so it was just the next logical progression, as long as he was training well enough.”
A 4-year-old son of super sire Into Mischief, Tulane Tryst has a 3-2-0 record from seven lifetime starts and earnings of $199,000. He brought $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Although the Whitmore is the final major local prep for the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at six furlongs April 16, DeVaux said it's “race by race” with Tulane Tryst. He's 9-2 on the morning line for the Whitmore.
“Soundness-wise, he's fine,” DeVaux said. “He just can get a little light on us, so we just try to give him plenty of spacing between his starts.”
DeVaux started her first horse in 2018 and had a career year in 2021 with 32 victories and $2,407,893 in purse earnings, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. DeVaux, who has strings at Fair Grounds and in Kentucky, said she plans to saddle Tulane Tryst for the Whitmore.
“I was there many, many years ago for Chuck Simon,” DeVaux said. “I don't know what year it was, but it was many, many years ago.”
Ingordo selected Zenyatta for owners Jerry and Ann Moss, who purchased the filly for $60,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Zenyatta went on to win 19 of 20 career starts, including Oaklawn's $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares in 2008 and 2010, and earn $7,304,580.
Zenyatta was a three-time Eclipse Award winner (2008, 2009 and 2010) for champion older female, 2010 Horse of the Year and a 2016 inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Oaklawn has a barn named in Zenyatta's honor.
The post Devaux Hoping For First Oaklawn Stakes Success With Tulane Tryst appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
