Florent Geroux | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sconsin Outlasts Bell’s The One To Win Open Mind At Churchill Downs

Lloyd Madison Farms IV's homebred Sconsin got the first run on Bell's the One down the stretch in Saturday night's 12th running of the $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., as she turned back a late run from the 4-5 favorite to prevail by a half-length in a clash of two of the top filly and mare sprinters in America.

Trained by Greg Foley and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Sconsin ran six furlongs in a stakes record 1:08.75 as the 9-5 second betting choice.

Sconsin, 3 ¼-length winner of the $150,000 Grade 3 Winning Colors at Churchill Downs in May, was rated in fourth, as expected, behind pacesetter Mundaye Call who dictated the terms from the rail through early fractions of :21.64 and :44.77. Ain't No Elmers and Jungle Juice (IRE) tracked just behind the leader. Bell's the One, who improved her impressive record to nine wins from 19 starts and $1.1 million earnings after a victory in the $200,000 Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this summer, trailed the compact field of five fillies and mares.

Sconsin made the first move and had a two-length advantage on Bell's the One leaving the turn. Sconsin drew even with the leading trio with a furlong to run and out-finished Bell's the One to the wire.

“A lot of credit has to go to Greg and his team for getting this filly ready to go tonight,” Gaffalione said. “She was very sharp and we got into a good position early. There was some pace in front early. She dug in well late to hold off (Bell's the One). It was a really strong effort tonight.”

Sconsin, who banked the $185,000 first prize, improved her record to five wins, four seconds, and a third in 15 starts. Her career earnings total $783,362.

The career earnings for the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Include now total $783,362.

“Going into the race we saw there was a little bit of speed on paper,” Foley said. “She got the pace setup tonight unlike the Ballerina at Saratoga. Neil (Pessin)'s filly (Bell's the One) beat us in the spring and we got the better hand tonight. She deserves it. Tyler gave her a great ride. He knew Bell's the One was coming and Sconsin just had her measured tonight. It was our turn.”

Sconsin paid $5.60, $2.40 and $2.10. Bell's the One, ridden by Corey Lanerie, returned $2.40 and $2.10. Mundaye Call finished another four lengths back in third under Florent Geroux and paid $2.40 to show. It was another half-length back to Jungle Juice (IRE) and 6 ¾ lengths back to Ain't No Elmers.

“It was a great race tonight with two solid horses,” said Neil Pessin, trainer of Bell's the One. “Bell's ran a great race and we are proud of her effort.”

Saturday's race saluted the late Eugene Klein's Hall of Fame filly Open Mind, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained winner of the 1988 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs who returned to the Louisville track the following spring to win the Kentucky Oaks. The New Jersey-bred filly was an Eclipse Award champion at ages two and three. A winner of 12 races and $1,844,372 in 19 starts, the daughter of Deputy Minister was enshrined in Racing's Hall of Fame in 2011.

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Shedaresthedevil Holds Off Crystal Ball In Locust Grove

Qatar Racing, Flurry Racing Stables and Big Aut Farms' 2020 Longines Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) hero Shedaresthedevil broke fast from the gate, dictated the pace throughout and determinedly held off Crystal Ball by a neck to win Saturday night's 37^th running of the $400,000 Locust Grove (Grade III) for fillies and mares at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Shedaresthedevil, the odds-on favorite in the field of six fillies and mares, clicked off comfortable fractions of :24.32, :48.30 and 1:12.17 en route to a final time of 1:42.86 for the 1 1/16 miles.

“She's a very classy filly,” Geroux said. “Tonight we got the lead and she was moving comfortably. This was a good prep race for the Breeders' Cup. She has seven weeks until then and I think she'll get a lot out of this race.”

Shedaresthedevil, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Daredevil out of the Congrats mare Starship Warpspeed, returned $3.20, $2.40 and $2.10. Crystal Ball, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, returned $3.40 and $2.20 with Envoutante another 1 ½ lengths back in third under Brian Hernandez Jr. and paying $2.10 to show.

Matera, Our Super Freak and High Regard completed the order of finish.

The victory was worth $244,140 to Shedaresthedevil and increased her earnings to $2,291,458 with a record of 9-2-4 from 16 starts. Shedaresthedevil, the 15-1 upset winner of last year's Kentucky Oaks, is perfect in five starts beneath the Twin Spires.

In her previous start, she won last month's $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch (GI) at Del Mar. Now 4-for-5 this year, her 4-year-old campaign includes a one-length score in the $500,000 La Troienne (GI).

“Congratulations to all of the partners who are involved in this filly,” Cox said. “Florent gave her a really good trip. She's a very classy filly and knows how to fight to get things done. She's proven how well she's done here at Churchill and this was a good spot to get her ready for the Breeders' Cup.”

The Locust Grove is named after the 1790 Georgian mansion in Louisville that played home to ancestors of Churchill Downs founder Col. M. Lewis Clark.

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Princess Grace Overcomes Slow Start To Win Ladies Turf At Kentucky Downs

Over a firm course at Kentucky Downs, Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace broke last from the starting gate, patiently waited for an opening in the stretch, and held off challengers to win the Grade 3 Ladies Turf at the Franklin, Ky., racetrack.

The 4-year-old filly went into the gate as the post time favorite, but broke a step slow from the second post to run toward the back of the field of nine early. Florent Geroux kept the filly on the rail as Sara Sea set early fractions of :23.02 for the first quarter and :46.06 for the half-mile. As they approached the last bend, Princess Causeway pulled even with Sara Sea, Princess Grace behind them on the rail.

Into the stretch, Sara Sea held on to a short lead over Princess Causeway, the field spread five wide across the straight, as Geroux took advantage of an opening between horses, angling Princess Grace out from the rail. The favorite accelerated, taking over the lead, and putting space between her and challengers rushing up on her outside.

As they closed in on the wire, Geroux was able to keep Princess Grace clear of the field, with Dalika closing fast on her outside. At the wire, it was the favorite by a half-length, with Dalika second and Abscond third.

The final time for the one-mile Ladies Turf was 1:34.25.

Princess Grace paid $4.20, $2.60, and $2.20. Dalika paid $4.40 and $3.00. Abscond paid $3.40.

By Karakontie out of the Silent Name mare Masquerade, Princess Grace was bred in Kentucky by her owners. She is trained by Michael Stidham. Her win in the G3 Ladies Turf gives her a perfect 3 for 3 record in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in seven starts.

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Turnerloose, Tiz The Bomb Capture Juvenile Turf Stakes At Kentucky Downs

With the kind of results Joel Rosario was producing at Kentucky Downs on the second day of the short meet in Franklin, Ky., victory in The Aristocrat Gaming Juvenile Fillies came down to either his 2-year-old, Yin Yang, or her stablemate in the Brad Cox barn, Turnerloose, with Florent Geroux aboard.

Rosario finished the day by winning 5 of the 11 races, but he rode in just eight of them. Fortune did not smile on him in the $500,000 filly co-feature, as Turnerloose turned it on down the long stretch to cross the wire five lengths ahead of Yin Yang.

“Look at that, I beat Joel Rosario today,” said a joyful Geroux as he brought Turnerloose back to the winner's circle.

Closing out Monday's holiday program was another $500,000 stakes for 2-year-olds, The Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile, with 6-1 Tiz the Bomb also using the stretch to his advantage to score a three-quarters-length victory with Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard.

The filly race was more spread out. Behind the top two, sent off at very identical 2-1 odds in the field of nine, it was another 7 1/4 lengths until early pacesetter Verylittlecents and Joe Talamo finished.

“The break, she was very excited there, and didn't get out of there real quickly,” Rosario said. “But she did everything good, and she came running. She's nice, the other horse just got a jump on her. I'm very excited with the way she ran.”

Both of the Cox fillies had broken their maidens at Ellis Park in July. The victory pulled Cox into a tie with Joe Sharp atop the trainer standings, with three apiece.

“Both are very good fillies. I said last week that I liked both fillies, that I thought I'd go 1-2 in the race,” said Jorje Abrego, assistant trainer to Cox, about the pair who are part of the band he was supervising at Ellis this summer. “Turnerloose looked like 'turn her loose' today. She ran well. Yin Yang ran a very good second, so it was very good day for the team.”

Even more excited was Geroux after his first win at the meet, after missing Sunday's opener while riding at Saratoga.

“She was pulling on me pretty much all of the race, she wanted to go,” he said. “So, by the turn, she just kept on going. She was on a mission: she just wanted to take it to them, which was great.”

Turnerloose paid $6, $3 and $2.80, while Yin Yang returned $3.60 and $3. Verylittlecents paid $4 for show in a race timed in 1:36.19 for the mile on a turf course rated as firm.

It was a big win for Turnerloose, owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash, and now Team Cox has to look to her future – and to that of Yin Yang. Turnerloose was a $950,000 purchase at last year's Keeneland September sale, while Selective LLC's Yin Yang sold for $160,000 at the Fasig Tipton sale in October.

“This was big for her, now she's a stakes-winner,” Abrego said. “Now is the time to look for a graded stakes. We'll see how she is tomorrow, and if everything is good, maybe get her ready for Keeneland. Yin Yang just got beat by what, today, was a better horse.”

Not to be outdone, Phoenix Thoroughbred Ltd.'s Tiz the Bomb took a major step forward with his victory in 1:35.83 on the firm turf course.

Tiz the Bomb wins the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile

“He's got a license to be a good one,” said trainer Kenny McPeek about the colt, who sold for $330,000 at last year's Fasig Tipton yearling sale. “We're thrilled with the way he ran.”

While Play Action Pass and Edgard J. Zayas were setting the early fractions in the field of 10, Tiz the Bomb was in the middle of the pack.

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“He ran well today, the first time on the grass,” said Hernandez. “He put us in the spot and traveled the whole way around there looking like a winner, and got the job done.”

Kiss the Sky, the 2-1 favorite ridden by Jose Ortiz, was just behind Tiz the Bomb, and both colts took a wide path into the stretch for their rallying efforts. But Kiss the Sky, who won a maiden race at Saratoga for trainer Mike Maker in his second start, came up short.

“He ran well, second best,” said Maker, who was leading the Saratoga trainer standings for a good portion of the New York track's summer meeting.

Tiz the Bomb paid $14.20, $5.40 and $4, while Kiss the Sky paid $3.60 and $2.80. Play Action, the 12-1 early leader, was another half-length back in third and returned $6.40.

“They've been bragging on him over at the barn about how well he's been working,” Hernandez said of Tiz the Bomb. “And they were kinda tipping their hand about this performance. Robby Albarado has been working this horse in the mornings. He said that all of a sudden he turned the corner going the right way, and he showed it today.”

McPeek said Tiz the Bomb, who has won two of his three initial starts, might return to dirt in Keeneland's Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity.

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