Trainer Brad Cox notched his second win on the Kentucky Oaks undercard on May 5 when trainee Heavenly Sunday won the Grade 2 Edgewood Stakes wire to wire under jockey Florent Geroux. The 3-year-old filly went to the lead and sat comfortably in front of Flashy Gem and Liguria, then held off closing efforts from Flashy Gem and Papilio, as well as a strong kick from Revalita.
The win was the first graded stakes victory for Heavenly Sunday, and followed a third-place effort against Edgewood foes Papilio and Cairo Consort in the G2 Appalachian and another third in the G3 Sweetest Chant.
Earlier on the card, Cox won the Unbridled Sydney with Caravel, with a solid effort in preparation for a Royal Ascot entry this summer.
Revalita was second by 3/4 of a length, followed by Mission of Joy and Papilio. Favored Preliminary (GB) was the last of 11. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles on the turf was 1:42.40.
Cox trains Heavenly Sunday for William Harrigan's Miacomet Farm. The daughter of Candy Ride was bred in Kentucky by the Randal Family Trust. She is out of Giant's Causeway mare Alien Giant.
Heavenly Sunday paid $21.36, $9.72, and $6.78. Find the full chart here.
Dreams do come true, but sometimes you have to wait.
Trainer Phil Bauer, a former assistant to Kenny McPeek, took out his trainer's license in 2013, but until Rigney Racing's Into Mischief mare Played Hard crossed the finish line a neck in front of favored Secret Oath in the $750,000 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day on Friday, he had yet to win a Grade 1 race.
Before he could celebrate, however, Bauer had to wait out a rider's objection filed by Tyler Gaffalione aboard Secret Oath against Played Hard and John Velazquez, who allowed his mount to drift out in the stretch as Secret Oath closed in on them in the final sixteenth of a mile.
Stewards allowed the original result to stand.
“Speechless,” Bauer said. “Horse racing can be like climbing Mount Everest. Today, I feel like we've made it to the top. As a Louisville guy, this means everything to me. It's a dream come true; I literally dream about stuff like this.”
A three-time winner at Churchill Downs from eight starts, including a pair of G3 stakes last year, Played Hard was making her first start since last Nov. 24. She broke from the rail, then shifted to the outside while chasing front-running Society for most of the La Troienne's 1 1/16 miles. The 5-year-old bay moved to the front entering the stretch, then braced for the anticipated challenge from Secret Oath, whose two Churchill Downs wins included last year's G1 Kentucky Oaks.
Played Hard dug in and fought gamely to the wire, covering 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.48, two-fifths of a second slower than the stakes record of 1:42.09 set by Authenticity in 2013. The track record for the distance is 1:41.04, recorded by Successful Dan in 2012.
Secret Oath held second with her wide rally down the stretch, a second narrow defeat in G1 races for the D. Wayne Lukas-trained filly by Arrogate following a runner-up finish behind Clairiere in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn just three weeks earlier. Search Results – making her first start since a disappointing run in last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland – came up the inside to be third, a half-length behind Secret Oath. A Mo Reay was fourth, followed by Desert Dawn, Pauline's Pearl, Soul of an Angel, Sixtythreecaliber, Society, and Classy Edition.
Played Hard and Secret Oath finished on the far outside in the La Troienne, with Search Results coming up the rail for third
Played Hard, winning for the sixth time in 15 career starts, paid $19.86 as the 8-1 fifth choice in the field of 10 older fillies and mares.
“She's very brave,” Velazquez. “All the credit goes to Mr. Phil Bauer and his team. She's been working really good, and I didn't know if she had enough to beat Secret Oath today. But she put in a couple of good works here. I knew she was going to run well. The whole team did such a great job, to get her ready after a long layoff, and to run with this horse. I've got to give it to Phil, great job.”
Jockey John Velazquez speaks to the stewards after an objection in the G1 La Troienne
Lukas was proud of Secret Oath's effort.
“She ran her heart out,” Lukas said. “I think that little brush broke her momentum just enough that her stride changed a little bit. I can see why they left it up but I can see why they'd take it down. It was a tough call by the stewards.”
“Honestly, it felt a lot worse than it looked,” Gaffalione said of the two fillies brushing in deep stretch. “My filly must have been getting tired at that point, and we came together. I had pretty good position going into the first turn, then we ran into traffic, and a lot of shuffling, so I didn't want to get myself in a bad spot, so I got her out of there. She's got such a tremendous kick, that I wanted to rely on that.”
Bauer was especially happy for Louisville natives Richard and Tammy Rigney, whose Rigney Racing topped the owner standings at the 2022 spring meet at Churchill Downs and had a strong meet last summer at Saratoga.
Trainer Phil Bauer
“A lot of it is opportunity in this game, and Richard and Tammy have given me tremendous opportunity,” he said. “Richard and Tammy deserve this, times 10.”
Rigney Racing was formed at the same time Bauer went out on his own. A native of Pasadena, Calif., who enjoyed going to Southern California tracks, Richard Rigney – owner of Clarendon Flavors, a Louisville company that makes flavors for distilled spirits and beverages – moved to Kentucky in 1987. His wife knew how much he enjoyed racing and got him involved with Livin The Dream Racing partnerships, buying him some shares for his birthday. McPeek trained the partnership's horses and it was through that connection that he met Bauer.
The Rigneys purchased Played Hard for $280,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from consignor Four Star Sales. Bred by Susan Casner, Played Hard was produced from the Tiznow mare, Well Lived, a full sister to Bill and Susan Casner's G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed.
Played Hard, winner of the 2023 La Troienne
The La Troienne is named for the famed broodmare, a daughter of Teddy who was born in France in 1926, went winless in seven starts, then was imported to Kentucky by Col. E.R. Bradley, where she became an important producer for his Idle Hour Stock Farm. La Troienne's 14 foals included future Hall of Fame runners Black Helen and Bimelich, and some of the best families in the stud book trace back to her. After Bradley's death in 1946, she was purchased by a partnership of Greentree Stables, King Ranch and Ogden Phipps. La Troienne died at age 28 in 1954 and is buried on the Greentree parcel that is now part of Gainesway in Lexington.
Churchill Downs inaugurated the La Troienne Stakes in 1967, then renamed the race after the ill-fated filly Eight Belles in 2009. In 2010, the original Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap was renamed the La Troienne. It became a Grade 1 race in 2014.
Team Hanley, Jeff Drown and Michael J. Ryan's Higher Truth, trained by Chad Brown and piloted by Manny Franco, made the grade with a gate-to-wire performance in Friday's Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay to kick off stakes action at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet.
The about 11-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares featured a pair of horses each for trainers Brown and Christophe Clement with the 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Galileo dictating terms. Sent to post as the 6-5 mutuel favorite, Higher Truth stopped the clock in a final time of 2:23.57 over the good going.
The victory marked a record-extending sixth Sheepshead Bay score for Brown, who enjoyed past success with Rosalind [2015], Sea Casili [2016-17], Santa Monica [2019] and last year's winner Virginia Joy, who settled for runner-up honors in her title defense.
Higher Truth, with the rails set at 35 feet, marked off splits of 27.07 seconds, 54.78 and 1:23.50 with Atomic Blonde, Virginia Joy and Amazing Grace following in single file. The Clement-trained Amazing Grace, a Group 2 winner in her native Germany and the 8-5 second choice off an impressive North American debut in the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park, advanced with ease up the rail down the backstretch for jockey Kendrick Carmouche.
The field bunched up approaching the turn with the Dylan Davis-piloted Virginia Joy looming large on the outside, but Higher Truth continued to find more and kicked away by four lengths at the stretch call and crossed the wire a 1 3/4-length winner. Virginia Joy completed the exacta by 1 1/2-lengths over Atomic Blonde with Amazing Grace rounding out the order of finish. Mylady was scratched.
“I knew my filly was faster than the other ones and I said, 'I'm going to go easy and hopefully she can go all the way around.' That's what she did,” said Franco, who was the leading rider at this year's winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. “I knew I was going to have horse at the end. I was pretty comfortable going to the wire, but at the same time I knew the other one [Virginia Joy] was coming. She just exploded in the stretch and got it done.”
Franco will look to continue his stakes success into Saturday when he pilots the Brad Cox-trained Hit Show, the Grade 3 Withers-winner and Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino runner-up, in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
“I'm excited for the chance. I'm hoping for the best and we'll try to get lucky over there,” Franco said. “He's still learning and he's a horse I think can go the distance. Brad knows what he's doing and I'm just happy and have a lot of faith in the horse.”
Peter Brant's Virginia Joy, winner of the Grade 2 Flower Bowl in September at Saratoga Race Course, entered from a closing fourth in her seasonal debut in The Very One in March at Gulfstream.
“She broke OK and Manny decided to go to the lead ,” said Davis, who was aboard the 6-year-old Soldier Hollow mare for the first time in the afternoon. “I just took my time into the first turn and my filly was very relaxed. I tipped her out at the three-eighths [pole] and she gave me a great run and finish. I thought for a second I was going to get there, but that other horse found some more. There were some really nice mares in here and I did my best.”
Purchased by Mike Ryan out of the Tattersalls October-Book 1 Sale in 2019, Higher Truth graduated at second asking in April 2021 traveling 10 furlongs over the Belmont turf and followed with an allowance score over the same course and distance. She participated in all three legs of the filly division of that year's NYRA Turf Triple, finishing third in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational and second in both the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational and Jockey Club Oaks Invitational at Belmont.
Never off the board in five career graded events, she continued her consistent form with a close third in the Grade 2 Sands Point here to close out her sophomore season. She entered Friday's test from a narrow runner-up effort in the Grade 3 The Very One while competing off an eight-month layoff.
Bred in Ireland by Churchtown House Stud, Higher Truth banked $110,000 in victory, while improving her record to 10-4-3-2. She returned $4.50 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Saturday at Belmont with an 11-race card highlighted by the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy in Race 9, the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian in Race 10, and the $150,000 Elusive Quality in Race 8. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern. Gates for the Kentucky Derby Day card will open at 10 a.m.
Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables' Caravel extended her win streak to four by cruising to a 1 1/2-length victory in the 13th running of the $300,000 Unbridled Sidney (Listed) presented by Turfway Park Racing & Gaming for fillies and mares.
Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Caravel covered the 5 ½ furlongs over a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in a stakes-record 1:02.47.
Miner's Queen was first out of the gate but was quickly headed by Caravel, who led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :21.67.
On the far turn, Caravel was challenged by Oeuvre and Little Jewel, a challenge she quickly dismissed as she spurted clear and dashed to victory without being challenged.
Winner over males in her past two starts in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (GI) and the Shakertown (GII) at Keeneland, Caravel is a 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Mizzen Mast out of the Congrats mare Zeezee Zoomzoom.
Friday's victory was worth $176,700 and increased her earnings to $1,677,577 with a record of 22-14-0-3.
Caravel returned $3.48, $2.82 and $2.66. Bay Storm rallied for second under John Velazquez to pay $3.90 and $3.36 with Sarah Harper finishing a head back in third under Joel Rosario and returning $11.04 to show.
New Boss finished another 1 ¼ lengths back in fourth and was followed in by Oeuvre, Little Jewel, Salvaje, Miner's Queen, Majestic d'Oro and Margie's Kitchen.
UNBRIDLED SIDNEY QUOTES
Tyler Gaffalione, jockey, Caravel, winner: “She's been breaking better the last four or five starts and she's putting herself in good spots. She gets comfortable and it's all easy for her. She's just a very fast filly. The second you ask her, she turns on the jets. She finishes the job well.”
Brad Cox, trainer, Caravel, winner: “Big run from this filly. She's become very consistent. You can tell when she's ready to run and she's been on 'go' for a while since the month of March training up at Turfway and continuing on through April.”
(on if she will run on Royal Ascot next) “That's the plan. We will how she comes out of this race first and foremost but that was one reason we brought he back at the age of six. We took her out of the November sale and that's been the goal.”
