Brilliant Berti powers home with blinkers to win Green River Island Stakes
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The Cherie DeVaux barn is on fire with “blinkers on” this year. Making his second start after adding blinkers, Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby. Supercharger making his second start in blinkers started a three-race winning streak that culminated Saturday with a victory in the Secretariat Stakes. And on Sunday at Ellis, 5-year-old Brilliant Berti, making his blinkered debut, won the $300,000 Green River Island Stakes.
Brilliant Berti’s class showed through with a dominant 1 3/4-length victory – finally. Brilliant Berti had gone 0-0-0 in four relatively lackluster starts this year, leading to the equipment change, and whether through coincidence or owing to added focus engendered by a restricted field of vision, the horse looked like his best 2025 self again in the Green River Island.
Brian Hernandez Jr., riding his second stakes winner on a five-turf-stakes Sunday card, settled Brilliant Berti sixth in the early stages, two paths off the fence and about five lengths behind a moderate pace, a position Hernandez held until Brilliant Berti had negotiated most of the second turn. Hernandez tipped four wide at the quarter pole, and, shown daylight, Brilliant Berti let fly a strong run cornering for home. He hit the front before the furlong grounds and never wavered to the finish.
Native Runner, a 78-1 shot, surged late for second, nipping 25-1 chance Giocoso, who ran a big race in defeat, having missed the break and gone very wide while closing ground on the far turn. Brilliant Berti ran 1 1/16 miles over a good course in 1:40.31 and paid $7.28 as the favorite.
Homebred Brilliant Berti, by Noble Mission out of Believe in Bertie, by Langfuhr, races for the Klein Family and, with blinkers on, broke a six-race losing streak.
Tri State Turf Sprint
Joe Shiesty broke like a bullet and could not be caught in the $250,000 Tri State Turf Sprint.
Unplaced in two previous tries over the Ellis turf course, Joe Shiesty had a couple lengths on eight rivals and never looked back under Fernando de la Cruz. He set splits of 22.36 seconds and 44.76 while racing solo on the lead, kicked clear after turning into the stretch, and took a two-length lead to the stretch call that proved more than sufficient to get him home.
Okiro, a 16-1 chance, ran on late to snatch second from 13-10 favorite Troubleshooting, who suffered through a wide trip perhaps in part because he appeared to struggle over a good course. Joe Shiesty clocked 1:02.31 for 5 1/2 furlongs and paid $6.48 as the second choice.
Eric Foster trains Joe Shiesty for the Foster Family Stable and Lonnie Reynolds, and first-place money vaulted the 5-year-old gelding, who came into Sunday with roughly a $991,000 bankroll, well over the $1 million mark in career earnings.
By Air Force Blue out of Ready to Unleash, by More Than Ready, Joe Shiesty has been a crack synthetic and turf sprinter for more than two years now and won for the eighth time in 22 starts. He does all his best work on the front end, and Sunday at Ellis Park, nobody could catch him.
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