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Swiss Skydiver Returns To Churchill, Will Be ‘Uncomplicated’ To Get Ready For Kentucky Oaks

Peter Callahan's newly minted Grade I winner Swiss Skydiver returned to Churchill Downs Tuesday evening and made her reappearance beneath the Twin Spires Wednesday for the first time since her 3 ½-length triumph in the $600,000 Alabama (GI).

Swiss Skydiver had a routine gallop Wednesday during the exclusive training window from 7:30-7:45 a.m. (all times Eastern) for horses preparing for the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) and the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI). Tyler Gaffalione will have the call on Swiss Skydiver for the Oaks.

“Tyler got her ready as a 2-year-old and rode her twice to start her career,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “Through different circumstances – either he was zigging or we were zagging – he didn't get to ride her back. Brian Hernandez is my regular rider and he has a commitment in the Derby aboard Art Collector and our thought was if she ran well in the Oaks that we would try the Preakness (GI).

“She'll work either Friday or Saturday and be ready for the race. It'll be just a maintenance breeze here at Churchill. Other than that it's uncomplicated to get her ready for the Oaks.”

Joining Swiss Skydiver on the track at 7:30 a.m. was Victoria's Ranch's King Guillermo, who broke from the starting gate and galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Edgar Medina. King Guillermo will be making his first start since his runner-up effort behind Nadal in the May 2, $500,000 Arkansas Derby (GI).

“Having not raced in four months, we wanted him to get reacquainted with the gate,” trainer Juan Avila said. “Everything went well this morning there.”

A trio of Longines Kentucky Oaks contenders also joined Swiss Skydiver on the track Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. including the first local appearance from Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Madaket Stables and Heider Family Stables' $400,000 Ashland Stakes (GI) winner Speech, who arrived at Churchill Downs just past noon Tuesday. The three-time winner had an easy 1 ½-mile gallop. Her stablemate, Jim and Donna Daniell's $600,000 Blue Grass Stakes (GII) third-place finisher Rushie, who trained just past 8 a.m. Rushie is also nominated for the $500,000 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU (GII) on the undercard of the Kentucky Derby.

Raymond Daniels and Wayne Scherr's graded stakes placed Necker Island was the only other Derby contender, besides King Guillermo, on the track at 7:30 a.m. where he galloped 1 ½ miles with Hillary Hartman in the saddle. Trainer Chris Hartman reported Necker Island is scheduled to work in company Friday morning.

Four Kentucky Derby contenders were on the track prior to the exclusive training session: Lloyd Madison Farm's $300,000 Indiana Derby (GIII) runner-up Major Fed galloped 1 ½ miles at 5:15 a.m. under exercise rider Margarito Fierro; West Point Thoroughbreds and Pearl Racing's Arkansas Derby third-place finisher Winning Impression galloped 1 ½ miles under rider Emerson Chavez; John Oxley's Blue Grass Stakes fourth-place finisher Enforceable jogged about 1 3/8 miles; and George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' $1 million Travers Stakes (GI) third Max Player galloped about 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Juan Vargas.

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's $200,000 Ellis Park Derby runner-up Attachment Rate galloped 1 ½ miles at 9:45 a.m. with exercise rider Faustino Herrarte in the saddle. Trainer Dale Romans reported Attachment Rate is nominated to the Pat Day Mile and the race decision remains en flux.

Bruce Lunsford's Blue Grass (GII) and Ellis Park Derby winner Art Collected arrived at Churchill Downs from the Skylight Training Center on Wednesday morning and will train over the track on Thursday.

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Shedaresthedevil Runs Away With Indiana Oaks

Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing Limited, and Big Aut Farms' Shedaresthedevil pulled off a convincing win in Wednesday evening's Grade 3 Indiana Oaks, dominating her rivals by five lengths as the 3-5 post time favorite. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Shedaresthedevil ran 1 1/16 miles over Indiana Grand's fast main track in 1:43.50.

The 3-year-old daughter of Daredevil earned 20 more points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, bringing her total points to 90, good for third on the leaderboard.

“She's a real sound filly,” said Cox. “We've had her since last November. She's just been spot on ever sense. She gives you a solid work every week, whatever you're looking for. She's a race horse. Very, very proud of her. i think she's only going to get better with more distance and maybe even when she gets older. She ran early as a 2-year-old. She's just a good filly. She really is.”

Miss T Too set the early fractions while Florent Geroux kept Shedaresthedevil in a clear second, about a length behind the leader. Shedaresthedevil drew even around the far turn and had a two-length advantage at the head of the lane. Geroux had to give the filly a couple of reminders down the lane when she appeared to be waiting on rivals, but Shedaresthedevil pulled away to win by five lengths on the wire.

“We expected her to run well,” Cox said. “She'd been training the part out of her last race at Churchill, where she ran a big race. It was a good trip, she responded well. I thought she looked great at the quarter pole. Florent had to kind of reach around and keep her alert the last sixteenth of a mile. He said she kind of got a little lost late. But when he asked her the last sixteenth, she really kicked on. Overall it was a big effort, exactly what we were looking for. I was real pleased with her.”

The pace-stalking Impeccable Style checked in second, while Bayerness was third. Fire Coral finished fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Shedaresthedevil is out of the Congrats mare Starship Warpspeed. Graded stakes-placed as a juvenile, the filly brought $280,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale. For her new connections, Shedaresthedevil has now won two Grade 3 races, improving her overall record to 4-2-2 from nine starts for earnings of over $500,000.

“She's got enough points to get in (to the Kentucky Oaks),” Cox said when asked about the filly's next start. “I won't say we'll make it easy on her, but as easy on her as we can to try to get her into the Oaks the best way and get her there with some confidence.”

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Swiss Skydiver Entered In Blue Grass; McPeek Trainee Only Second Filly To Contest Keeneland’s Biggest Derby Prep

Multiple graded stakes winner Swiss Skydiver is scheduled to become the second filly to run in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes since it debuted at Keeneland during the track's inaugural Spring Meet in April 1937.

The 3-year-old daughter of Daredevil drew post seven of 13 entrants in Saturday's contest, which offers the winner 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver already tops the points standings for the Kentucky Oaks, with wins in the Gulfstream Oaks, Fantasy Stakes, and Santa Anita Oaks on her resume.

The Blue Grass will be the filly's first start against males, and she'll again be partnered by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.

The first filly to run in the Blue Grass was Hyman Friedberg's homebred Harriet Sue, who in 1944 won the Ashland and next was fifth to Skytracer in the Blue Grass. That year, Keeneland's Spring Meet was held at Churchill Downs. In 1948, future Hall of Famer Bewitch was scratched from the Blue Grass.

This year's Blue Grass field is as follows:

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey
1	Shivaree	Ralph Nicks	John Velazquez
2	Finnick the Fierce	Rey Hernandez	Jose Ortiz
3	Art Collector	Tom Drury Jr.	Brian Hernandez Jr.
4	Mr. Big News	Bret Calhoun	Mitchell Murrill
5	Man in the Can	Ron Moquett	Tyler Gaffalione
6	Hard Lighting	Alexis Delgado	Rafael Bejarano
7	Swiss Skydiver	Kenny McPeek	Mike Smith
8	Basin	Steve Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.
9	Attachment Rate	Dale Romans	Luis Saez
10	Rushie	Michael McCarthy	Javier Castellano
11	Hunt the Front	Nick Zito	Corey Lanerie
12	Enforceable	Mark Casse	Joel Rosario
13	Tiesto	Bill Mott	Flavien Prat

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Swiss Skydiver to Take on Boys in the Blue Grass

The filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) will be out to make history Saturday when she takes on males in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland. No filly has ever won the prestigious race.

Trainer Kenny McPeek had nominated Swiss Skydiver for both the Blue Grass and the GI Ashland S. for fillies. He waited until Wednesday morning, shortly before the draw, to make his decision. He said a major factor was that he has another filly for the Ashland in Envoutante (Uncle Mo).

“In any other year, this would have been an easier decision, but I have Envoutante running in the Ashland and I think she has a big chance there,” he said. “I hate running entries where you know you are going to beat yourself with one or the other. [Owner] Peter Callahan is as game as Dick Tracy and I am too. I do think it will be fun. If she can jump through this hoop great. If she can’t we will backtrack and go to the [GI] Alabama or just wait for the [GI] Kentucky Oaks.”

Envoutante, who is owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC and Three Chimneys Farm, won an allowance race at Churchill in her last start.

Another factor McPeek considered was the weights.

“I like the fact she is getting a pretty good weight break,” he said. “She’ll carry 118 and gets six pounds off her last race. Some of the colts will pick up weight off their last races. How much difference does that make, it’s hard to say? She’s a big filly. She weighs 1,100 pounds. The weights are an edge and that’s why it is there.”

McPeek also found a year in which the Blue Grass did not come up with a stellar field. Repositioned to the summer because Keeneland had to cancel its spring meet due to the coronavirus, the Blue Grass is sandwiched among a number of stakes for 3-year-olds, all of them vying for the top talent

“A lot of the colts in this race are big question marks,” McPeek said. “It’s questionable if they want to go that far or whether they want to race at that level. The fillies that are running in the Ashland are good filles. Envoutante is not a stakes winner, but she’s a good filly in her own right. None of the colts in the Blue Grass have won a graded race this year. [Swiss Skydiver] has proven herself in her last three starts. It would be pretty cool to win the Blue Grass with a filly.”

The Blue Grass purse is $600,000. The Ashland purse is $400,000.

A Blue Grass victory would give Swiss Skydiver enough points to make it into the field for the GI Kentucky Derby. She is nominated to the Triple Crown. When asked if a Blue Grass win would mean a Derby start for Swiss Skydiver, McPeek replied: “It might. I know if she can’t win this then she’s not a Derby horse. A loss would answer that question.”

Only one other filly has started in the Blue Grass. Coming off a win in the Ashland, Harriet Sue ran fifth in the 1944 Blue Grass.

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