Geroux completes big weekend aboard Meshell in Fort Springs

Meshell, making her stakes debut, capped a big weekend for Florent Geroux, rallying to win by a neck in the $100,000 Fort Springs Stakes for 3-year-old fillies as darkness fell at Keeneland on Saturday.

Geroux capped his banner year with two Breeders' Cup victories on the weekend at Keeneland, taking the Juvenile Fillies Turf aboard Catch a Glimpse and the Turf Sprint on Mongolian Saturday. The jockey also scored Grade 1 triumphs this year in the Arlington Million, Cotillion Stakes, and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

The Fort Springs unfolded as a wild scramble down the backstretch, with Coco's Wildcat, Desert Valley, Dr. Fager's Gal, and Fusaichi Red, in that order, separated by just heads through an opening quarter-mile in 23.07 seconds and half-mile in 46.15. Coco's Wildcat shook clear entering the stretch and led by two late. But Meshell, in tandem with Clothes Fall Off, rallied three wide on the outside to prevail. Clothes Fall Off edged Coco's Wildcat by a head for the place.

The final time for six furlongs was 1:10.30.

Meshell ($22.40), trained by Jeffery Lynn, won for the fourth time in 10 career starts. She was coming off a third-place finish in an Oct. 2 optional claiming event at Keeneland.