Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing's Key of Life (Mo Town) is the even-money favorite on the morning line for Sunday's GII Beaumont S. at Keeneland, the lone graded offering of the day in the U.S. The bay filly, who faces six rivals in the seven-furlong event for 3-year-old fillies, comes off a front-running tally in the Mar. 25 Purple Mountain S.
While she will be trying seven furlongs for the first time in her career, the Brad Cox trainee already owns a pair of victories over the Keeneland surface. She romped by 6 1/4 lengths in a optional claimer last October before adding a 6 3/4-length victory in the Oct. 28 Myrtlewood S. Both of those efforts were at six furlongs.
Cox, who won the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. with First Mission (Street Sense) on Saturday's card at Keeneland, will be looking for his second straight win in the Beaumont, following Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile)'s victory a year ago.
Heading into Friday's GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan, much of the attention centered around GIII Las Virgenes S. winner Adare Manor (Uncle Mo). However, when the dust had settled, it was Flurry Racing Stables' Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) who had scampered away to victory, heading a 1-2 finish for Coolmore stallions.
Sent off at 6-1, Interstatedaydream shadowed 11-1 chance Beguine (Gun Runner) through :23.34 and :46.65 splits as favored Adare Manor, the sole graded winner in the bunch, tracked in third. Inching closer to her front-running rival before drawing even turning for home, the Brad Cox trainee took over, and, despite drifting slightly outward in the lane, kept up the tempo late to post a 1 1/4-length score over Adare Manor. Radio Days (Gun Runner) closed to be third.
“There was no game plan,” admitted jockey Florent Geroux. “I thought there would be a couple of fillies, especially on the inside, who would have gone. I was really expecting Adare Manor to be a little bit forwardly placed. But when Johnny [Velazquez] was content to sit right off me, I just took advantage of it. I was not going to pull too hard on my filly just to let him pass. I thought my filly was great where she was.”
The victory was the second graded stakes win on the afternoon for jockey Florent Geroux, who also took the GIII Allaire Dupont Distaff S. with the Norm Casse-trained Super Quick (Super Saver) earlier on the card.
A first out winner at Belmont last June, the Ontario-bred only made one more start in 2021, and that was a runner-up finish behind Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) in the GII Adirondack S. at Saratoga in August. Blowing the doors off with a sparkling 8 1/4-length victory in an Oaklawn optional claimer Mar. 13, she finished a distant third last time behind subsequent Kentucky Oaks runner-up Nest (Curlin) in the Apr. 8 GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland.
“She just wasn't ready for it,” said Cox when asked about the decision to bypass the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago. “It would have been back a little too quick, throwing too much at her too quick. I thought it made the most sense [to wait for the Black-Eyed Susan].”
Pedigree Notes:
A member of the first crop of juvenile champion Classic Empire, the Black-Eyed Susan winner becomes the sixth black-type and second graded stakes winner for the Coolmore stallion. Bred by William Graham in Ontario, Canada, Interstatedaydream is out of the unraced Uncle Mo mare Babcock, also responsible for MSP Emmeline (Violence). The filly's pedigree represents a very productive Canadian family, including grand dam Captivating (Arch), who produced Canadian Horse of the Year and champion 2-year-old Uncaptured (Lion Heart), in addition to MSW Dancing Raven (Tomahawk). The extended family also includes the Classic-winning MGISW Curalina (Curlin).
Friday, Pimlico GEORGE E. MITCHELL BLACK-EYED SUSAN S.-GII, $250,000, Pimlico, 5-20, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:48.73, ft.
1–INTERSTATEDAYDREAM, 118, f, 3, by Classic Empire 1st Dam: Babcock, by Uncle Mo 2nd Dam: Captivating, by Arch 3rd Dam: Andrea Ruckus, by Bold Ruckus 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($105,000
Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $130,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $175,000 2yo '21
OBSAPR). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC; B-William D. Graham
(ON); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $150,000. Lifetime
Record: 5-3-1-1, $351,225. *1/2 to Emmeline (Violence), MSP,
$243,529. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
2–Adare Manor, 122, f, 3, Uncle Mo–Brooklynsway, by Giant
Gizmo. ($180,000 Ylg '20 FTKFEB; $190,000 RNA Ylg '20
FTKSEL; $375,000 2yo '21 OBSOPN). O-Michael Lund Petersen;
B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC & Gary Broad (KY); T-Sean
McCarthy. $50,000.
3–Radio Days, 118, f, 3, Gun Runner–Remembered, by Sky
Mesa. ($750,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Joseph Allen LLC; B-Hinkle
Farms (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $25,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1, 2 3/4. Odds: 6.10, 2.10, 15.80.
Also Ran: Divine Huntress, Favor, Morning Matcha, Miss Yearwood, Distinctlypossible, Midnight Stroll, Candy Light, Luna Belle, Beguine, Missy Greer. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
The last time Shedaresthedevil entered the starting gate at Churchill Downs, she was a longshot who was forwardly placed and fought doggedly to win the Kentucky Oaks. Seven months later in the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes, Shedaresthedevil was now the giant to slay, but everything else remained the same.
The 4-year-old daughter of Daredevil was put on the lead coming out of the gate by jockey Florent Geroux on Friday afternoon, followed closely on the rail by Envoutante, and on the outside by Bajan Girl. Shedaresthedevil held a one-length advantage over her closest rivals through the first turn, and went through the opening quarter-mile in :23.99 seconds.
Bajan Girl, an 18-1 longshot, remained on the outside hip of the favorite across the backstretch, while jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., settled Envoutante a bit on the rail through the straightaway, another length behind the first two. Under a restrained trip by Geroux, Shedaresthedevil entered the final turn after a half-mile in :47.94 seconds.
Geroux started to give his mount a little more rein through the turn, as others moved up to challenge, including Envoutante on the inside and Dunbar Road and Bajan Girl in the middle of the track. After going six furlongs in 1:11.71, it appeared as though the momentum belonged to any number of challengers to the leader, particularly Envoutante moving through the rail path.
Envoutante drew about even with Shedaresthedevil with about a furlong to go, but the pacesetter never let the challenger pass her as they separated from the rest of the field. Under aggressive riding and a left-handed crop from Geroux, Shedaresthedevil dug in to snuff the bid attempt from Envoutante, and draw off to win by a length.
Finite looped around the also-rans to finish a distant third, about a half-length ahead of Bajan Girl.
Shedaresthedevil completed the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.69, and she paid $5.40 to win as the 8-5 favorite.
This is the second consecutive year that Geroux has teamed up with trainer Brad Cox to win the La Troienne, after booting home champion Monomoy Girl for the Eclipse Award-winning trainer in 2020. Geroux also won the La Troienne in 2017 aboard Tom Amoss trainee Big World.
Shedaresthedevil is owned by the partnership of Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing Ltd. and Big Aut Farms. She was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, out of the Congrats mare Sharship Warpspeed.
Friday's victory improves Shedaresthedevil's record to seven wins in 13 starts for earnings of $1,807,318. The La Troienne was her fifth career graded stakes victory, and her second against Grade 1 competition.
The filly is now a perfect three-for-three at Churchill Downs. In addition to her triumph in last year's rescheduled Kentucky Oaks, she won her debut start at the Louisville track as a juvenile in June 2019.
Shedaresthedevil triumphs in the G1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Florent Geroux (Jockey, Shedaresthedevil, winner) – “She loves to race at Churchill; she showed it again today. They made me work hard for this. When we turned for home, she kept her head up and I could tell she was digging in. Those other fillies came to her but she showed a lot of heart and a lot of grit and I knew she wasn't going to let them by.”
Brad Cox (Trainer, Shedaresthedevil, winner) – “This is huge. She has been training really well coming up to this. We freshened her up after the Spinster last year. We didn't want to try and chase the Breeders' Cup Distaff. It was obviously the right move. She's moved forward at four. She's shown that in her two starts. She has a lot of fight and determination down the lane. She showed that again today down the lane. She's now a Grade 1 winner at 4. We'll target the Breeders' Cup Distaff and work our way back from that. There are some obvious races in New York and one at Del Mar we are thinking about.”
Brian Hernandez Jr. (Jockey, Envoutante, runner-up) – “She ran hard. Turning for home when it opened up, I thought 'Oh good, I'm going to get through and win.' She spurted for me but the other filly just had more. On paper it looked like there would be a little more speed than they showed. I thought for sure somebody was going to press her, but the one filly that tried just wasn't good enough. She went for a half but that was it. The winner is a fighter and she got a breather out there and that made it tough.”
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.”
