Peacock Kitten gives 20-year-old trainer Rylee Grudzien first stakes victory

The 20-year-old trainer Rylee Grudzien won a stakes for the first time in her career on Saturday with Peacock Kitten, who won the John Henry Stakes at Evangeline Downs under comebacking jockey Devin Magnon.

“It was wonderful,” Grudzien said. “My dad owns a piece of the horse and that was great. Devin rode him. Devin’s my boyfriend, so that was cool. It was kind of a family deal – not a better group of people to do it with.”

The John Henry was the second stakes race in which Grudzien has started a horse. She won a race for the first time in November 2018. Peacock Kitten also won a stakes for the first time Saturday. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88 in the turf route.

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Grudzien said Peacock Kitten came out of the race in good shape and that she is looking for another stakes for him. Peacock Kitten could end up on the East Coast, she said, as there are no suitable stakes options for him right now in this region. Options include a starter stakes at Parx Racing, the $150,000 Buckland Stakes on July 26 at Colonial Downs, and the $75,000 Cape Henlopen on Aug. 11 at Delaware Park.

“We’ll see how nominations look,” said Grudzien. “If something comes up here, we’re trying to stay as local as we can.”

Grudizen said there are options for Peacock Kitten at Remington Park in the fall.

Grudzien has more than 30 horses in training, with most based at Evangeline Downs. She has some on a farm near Delta Downs. Grudzien is a native of Worcester, Mass. Her family moved to Louisiana when she was 7.

“My dad trained for quite a long time and my mom is a vet, so it was basically train or be a vet,” said Grudzien. “My parents own a vet clinic in Lake Charles.”

Grudzien has a number of horses for her father and his partners, and she also has outside clients. She has gone 11 for 48 at the Evangline meet and is the ninth-leading trainer.

As for Magnon, he returned to riding June 30 after recovering from back and rib fractures sustained in a January spill at Delta Downs. The John Henry was his third win since his return. His first win came with his second mount back on July 1 at Evangeline.

Grudzien will base at Delta Downs following the close of Evangeline and expects to run some horses at Sam Houston and Fair Grounds.