Brion expecting a strong effort from Anoint in Randolph Stakes
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When the late Jonathan Sheppard bred the 8-year-old mare Anoint, it’s unlikely that he intended for it to take more than five years of racing for her to try hurdles. In the past year, she has predictably taken to the discipline for trainer Keri Brion and should be competitive in the Grade 2 Theodora A. Randolph Stakes on Monday at Colonial Downs.
Since formally taking over Sheppard’s barn after his retirement in early 2021, Brion has stuck to what has worked for Anoint. The Temple City mare didn’t even try turf until late 2023 and stayed in flat races until August 2025, when she switched to jump racing and won a $67,000 maiden special weight at Colonial.
“She’s bred to do it,” Brion said. “She was good on the flat, so I kept her on the flat for probably longer than Jonathan would have wanted me to. She’s a Sheppard homebred and she’s been very, very solid.”
Brion said she would have liked a little more time in the maiden ranks over hurdles, but when Anoint won on first asking, she had little choice but to step her up to stakes company. In October, she ran a huge race to finish second in the $100,000 Peapack Hurdle at Far Hills.
“It took me figuring her out a little bit too,” Brion said. “She’s a filly that needs spacing between her races. She doesn’t like to run too close together. We ran her back at Colonial [in the $100,000 Life’s Illusion] very quick back, and she ran okay, but she was probably pretty flat. We gave her a lot of time, took her to the stake at Far Hills. She ran huge, best American performance on the day.”
In her 8-year-old debut at Camden in March, the Pennsylvania-bred finished second in a handicap before tackling the Grade 2 Margaret Currey Henley at Percy Warner, where she finished a close third. She will return to action at Colonial on seven weeks’ rest, giving Brion reason to suspect a strong effort.
Timetoshine and Gold Charm, who finished second and fourth in that field, will be rematched with Anoint in the 2 1/4-mile Randolph. All three contenders have prior victories at Colonial.
Gold Charm, the 2-1 morning-line favorite trained by Cyril Murphy, suffered her first stakes defeat in nearly two years when she came up short in the Henley last time out. The 7-year-old mare won the 2025 edition of the Henley and also won the 2024 editions of the Peapack Hurdle and Life’s Illusion.
Timetoshine, a 6-year-old mare trained by Mark Beecher, won her North American debut by eight lengths in the 2025 edition of the Life’s Illusion at Colonial, where she finished well clear of Anoint. Her runner-up finish in the Henley last month puts her squarely in the mix in her return to Virginia.
Brion also entered last-out maiden winner Fiery Dart but said the 4-year-old filly will scratch, shortening the field to eight older fillies and mares.
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