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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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Eldon’s Prince Best In Armed Forces Stakes At Gulfstream Park

After graduating in the Proud Man at a mile on turf last time out, Gentry Farm's Eldon's Prince handled the cutback to seven furlongs and the surface switch to dirt to capture Saturday's $75,000 Armed Forces at Gulfstream Park.

The Armed Forces, a stakes for 2-year-olds originally scheduled to be run at a mile on turf, co-headlined Saturday's 12-race program with the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy, a one-mile turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies that was also run at seven furlongs on turf.

Eldon's Prince, a long-striding son of Cairo Prince who was sent to post as the 7-5 favorite in a field reduced by scratches to eight starters, got away seventh and made steady progress along the backstretch as Golden Juan and Night Jumper vied for the lead while setting fractions of :22.55 and :45.48 for the first half-mile. Eldon's Prince, who launched a three-wide drive leaving the backstretch under Edgard Zayas, built up momentum on the far turn to enter contention while going for wide on the turn into the homestretch. No Nay Franklin who stalked the early pacesetters, got the jump on the favorite to take the lead in the stretch, where he put up a good fight but was unable to hold off the winner.

“We didn't want to change surfaces so quick. We always wanted to try him on dirt later down the lane at a longer distance. We talked it over with A.P. Gentry, the owner of Gentry Farm, and he said, 'Roll the dice and see what happens,'” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He always trained well on dirt. He's going to want to run longer, a mile, a mile-and-an-eighth, the longer the better. He just has the ability to overcome something that is not his niche.”

Eldon's Prince, who ran seven furlongs in 1:25.02, debuted on turf and finished a late-running second in a 5-furlong dash Aug. 1. Three weeks later, the Ontario-bred colt romped to a six-length victory in the Proud Man.

Patrick Biancone-trained No Nay Franklin, who was making only his second start after losing by a rapidly diminishing neck in a third-place finish at five-furlongs on turf, was six lengths clear of a tiring Golden Juan.

Eldon's Prince was Zayas' only mount on the day after the Spring/Summer Meet's leading rider was unseated from his mount and fell hard to the track.

“Edgard gave him a great ride. He fell heavily [Friday],” Joseph said. “He showed guts to ride this horse today. It shows how tough these jockeys are.”

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Diamond Wow Wins Our Dear Peggy At Gulfstream Park

Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy E Dunne, and trainer Patrick Biancone's Diamond Wow made her family proud at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Saturday, capturing the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy to remain undefeated in two starts.

“She's special,” said Biancone after the daughter of Lookin At Lucky's 1 ¾-length victory.

The Our Dear Peggy, a stakes for 2-year-old fillies originally scheduled for a mile on turf, was contested at seven furlongs on a fast main track.

Diamond Wow, who had previously debuted with a three-length victory in a five-furlong maiden special weight race on turf at Gulfstream, is scheduled to run next at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in either the Oct. 8 Grade 1 Alcibiades at 1 1/16 miles on dirt or the Oct. 13 Grade 2 Jessamine at 1 1/16-miles on turf.

“If she comes out good and is training good, we're planning to bring her to Keeneland,” Biancone said.

Diamond Wow ($4.80) is out of Patriotic Diamond, who is a half-sister to Biancone-trained Diamond Oops, a son of Lookin At Lucky who is a multiple graded-stakes winner on both dirt and turf.

“Turf, dirt it made no difference,” said Biancone, who reported that Patriotic Diamond is back in foal to Lookin At Lucky. “I like to start my 2-year-olds at five furlongs on turf because I don't want them to have a hard race. Sometimes they win, sometimes they finish second. She won because she's very talented. Today, she waited and took a lot of kick-back.”

Diamond Wow, who stalked the early pace before moving to the lead on the turn into the homestretch, shook off a strong challenge by Harper Be Good in mid-stretch on her way to a 1 ¾-length victory. The Kentucky-bred filly ran seven furlongs in 1:24.67 under Romero Maragh.

The Our Dear Peggy was followed by the $60,000 City of West Park, a seven-furlong overnight handicap for 3-year-olds. Magic Stables LLC's Papetu, the even-money favorite ridden by Miguel Vasquez, made a four-wide sweep to the lead at the top of the stretch and drew clear. The Antonio Sano-trained son of Dialed In, who won the Carry Back earlier in the Spring/Summer Meet, ran seven furlongs in 1:22.65.

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Enbarr Rallies Past Montebello To Win Capote Stakes At Los Alamitos

Heavily-favored Enbarr made his first victory a stakes success, rallying past stablemate Montebello in the final eighth of a mile to capture the $75,000 Capote Saturday at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for Baoma Corporation, the 2-year-old Brody's Cause colt sat third behind the early pace set by Montebello, the 3-2 second choice, and 12-1 shot Olympic Legend, steered outside entering the stretch and went on to win by a comfortable one length in 1:16.33 for the 6 ½ furlongs.

Second behind stablemate – and eventual Del Mar Futurity winner – Pinehurst in his debut Aug. 1, Enbarr, who was ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, paid $2.80 and $2.10 as the 2-5 choice. There was no show wagering after Rhetoric, who is also trained by Baffert, and Fascinated were scratched earlier in the day.

Montebello, who finished eight lengths clear of Olympic Legend, returned $2.10. It was the Curlin colt's second consecutive runner-up finish in a stakes. The New York bred completed the exacta behind Senbei in the Funny Cide Aug. 27 at Saratoga.

Although a 1-2 finish for the stable was the desired result, the race didn't play out exactly as assistant trainer Mike Marlow thought it would.

“We thought Enbarr would be showing the way early and Montebello would be a couple of lengths off him,'' he said. “They broke and that's how it ended up with Montebello in front and Enbarr tracking.

“They're both good horses. I think Montebello is going to be better around two turns. He's got that high cruising speed while Enbarr is just a fast horse.''

Van Dyke, who was aboard Enbarr for the first time, was impressed with the colt purchased for $200,000 as a yearling.

“I just played the break and when (Montebello) showed more speed I let my horse relax,'' he said. “He gave me a good run around the turn and then really kicked into gear at the top of the stretch when he switched leads. He was just idling at the end once he got past.''

Out of the Warrior's Reward mare Star of Gallantry, Enbarr increased his earnings to $57,500.

Racing resumes Sunday at Los Alamitos. Post time is 1 p.m.

The program is highlighted by a pair of stakes – the $100,000 Los Alamitos Special for older horses at 1 1/16 miles and the $75,000 Dark Mirage for older fillies and mares at one mile.

The Special is the fifth of nine races while the Dark Mirage is the eighth.

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