DeVaux to have increased presence at Spa

Saratoga native Cherie DeVaux has won four races each of the past two Saratoga meets and she figures to be more active this summer with her continuously growing stable.

DeVaux, who is primarily based in Kentucky, has 19 stalls this summer at Saratoga. She won two races from just four starters at Belmont Park, including last Friday’s Grade 3 Manila with More Than Looks and a July 1 maiden race with Northern Invader. Both 3-year-olds earned 94 Beyer Speed Figures and could meet in the Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes on Aug. 5.

Northern Invader’s eight-length win on turf came after two runner-up finishes on dirt.

“He’s a really good-looking individual. He’s trained really well. It was not surprising that translated into the race we saw at Belmont,” DeVaux said. “We have the Hall of Fame penciled in. The King’s Plate [Aug. 20 at Woodbine] is in the back of our mind, but that’s just another surface and another distance. How many different things do you want to throw at him at once?”

More Than Looks has now won two straight and beat a solid field in the Manila. DeVaux has described More Than Looks as “tricky” but believes he’s improved, especially mentally, with racing.

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Vahva, who finished third in Saturday’s Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont, could be a candidate for the Grade 1 Test on Aug. 5.

DeVaux will have a presence in the 2-year-old races, including with two European fillies purchased out of the Tattersalls sale, Reagan’s Version and Pisciotta. The latter is a Wootton Bassett filly named in honor of DeVaux’s grandparents.

DeVaux said she may debut some of her 2-year-olds at Ellis Park to get them experience and then bring them to Saratoga if she deems them worthy.

“If they’re good enough and we feel they deserve a shot, we’ll definitely bring them there to run,” she said.

DeVaux, who starts Prime Factor in a $50,000 claiming race on Friday, said her Saratoga action could be light early on but she expects things to pick up as the meet progresses.

“Everything is falling into place to have a very exciting meet,” DeVaux said.

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