Shedaresthedevil departed Del Mar in September of 2019 after competing in two stakes races for 2-year-old fillies.
The daughter of Daredevil had finished third in the $200,000 Grade 2 Sorrento before being switched from dirt to grass for a fourth-place result after setting the pace in the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf on the closing day of the meeting.
Shedaresthedevil stepped off a van in the stable area of the track Wednesday evening following a journey from Kentucky. And trust Eric Gary, the assistant to trainer Brad Cox who arrived a while earlier, the two years had made a big difference.
“She is one big, mature filly,” said Gary.
Gary, a Louisiana-born, second-generation trainer has only been working for nationally prominent Cox for a couple of months. But with Cox and his son Blake occupied at Saratoga with Essential Quality in Saturday's $600,000 Grade 2 Jim Dandy, among others, Gary got the call to travel with and saddle Shedaresthedevil for Sunday's $300,000 Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.
Shedaresthedevil, whose five graded stakes victories in 2020-21 include the 2020 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks and 2021 Grade 1 La Troienne, both at Churchill Downs, is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the Hirsh, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Gary estimated that Shedaresthedevil might “be pushing toward 18” hands in height – nearly 6-feet measured at the withers, or top of the shoulder. He invited a visitor into the stall to stand next to her for verification and it produced no argument.
“She's very easy going around the barn, but very aggressive when it's time for training or racing,” Gary said.
Shedaresthedevil won four times and was never out of the money in seven starts in 2020 for earnings of $1,193,070. This year, she's 2-for-3 with wins in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in March, the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in April, and a third to Letruska, the current No. 1 rated older filly or mare on dirt, in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on June 5 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
All three races were at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the Hirsch. Because of the huge layout of Belmont Park, the Phipps was contested around one turn. Connections for Shedaresthedevil are hoping that a return to two turns creates a return to the winner's circle.
Del Mar will be her fourth track in as many starts this year.
“She travels really well,” Gary said. “We've had her out a couple times and she has handled the track really well. I think this race has probably been a part of the plan for her all along. The ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup here, so that would figure.”
Shedaresthedevil did her serious training at Ellis Park in Kentucky and got high praise from Cox's assistant there according to Gary. Race instructions and strategy will be up to Cox and jockey Florent Geroux.
“They're very close, I know they're very happy with the way she has trained and they have a plan they've already talked about,” Gary said.
The Clement L. Hirsch field from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parenthesis: Warren's Showtime (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Clockstrikestwelve (Kyle Frey, 30-1); As Time Goes By (Mike Smith, 8-5); Paige Anne (Flavien Prat, 15-1); Cover Version (Abel Cedillo, 30-1); Venetian Harbor (Mario Gutierrez, 2-1) and Shedaresthedevil (Florent Geroux, 7-5).
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