Pimlico Special: Pyrenees takes DeVaux to new heights
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BALTIMORE - Heading into the Black-Eyed Susan program at Pimlico, trainer Cherie DeVaux had never won three races on a single card.
Not only did DeVaux achieve that feat on Friday, all her victories came in stakes.
After Shotgun Hottie and She Feels Pretty won convincingly as odds-on favorites in the Allaire duPont Distaff and Hilltop, respectively, Devaux’s Pyrenees scaled a huge mountain with a rallying score in the Grade 3, $250,000 Pimlico Special for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 3/16 miles.
“This is my first time really running here on my own,” DeVaux said in the winner’s circle. “I think I’ll have to make this a yearly visit.”
Heavily favored Kingsbarns broke best in the Pimlico Special, but jockey Luis Saez opted to rate outside of Harlocap, who was hustled from his inside post position and set glacial fractions of 24.80, 50.26, and 1:15.57.
Meanwhile, Pyrenees tucked in behind the leaders under Brian Hernandez Jr. and waited for a seam. That opening presented itself turning into the stretch and Hernandez angled Pyrenees three wide for optimal clearance.
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Kingsbarns finally dispatched a stubborn Harlocap, but Pyrenees was in full stride. The 4-year-old son of Into Mischief collared the favorite inside the sixteenth pole to prevail by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.73 over fast going.
Harlocap finished another 2 1/4 lengths back in third, then came Red Route One, Be Better, Royal Ship, and Double Crown. Time for Trouble was scratched.
Pyrenees returned $12.20 as the third choice in the wagering.
“He faced a lot of adversity in that race,” DeVaux said. “He didn’t have a clear trip. Had to sit back and they were going so slow. For him to close into that was really special.”
Kingsbarns, last year’s Louisiana Derby winner, had won both of his races this year, and didn’t seem to have a visible excuse on Friday. He sat off very reasonable fractions, got the jump on the winner, but couldn’t seal the deal.
“We were going good,” said Saez. “He was in a perfect spot. The pace was slow. Didn’t matter. He ran down the lane. He just got caught by a good horse at the end.”
Millionaire Red Route One, winner of the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic on March 23, was very rambunctious in the preliminaries, kicking a massive dent into a paddock wall. A late-running type who prefers a fast pace, he was likely compromised by the slow fractions.
Pyrenees has come a long way since his career debut, an eighth-place finish in an Ellis Park maiden special weight on Aug. 28, 2022.
“The first time he ran, he double-barreled the jockey and sent him flying,” DeVaux said. “We were trying to fit him in blinkers, and then he had a pretty significant injury that caused the layoff. We just regrouped with him. He forced us to give him time.”
Pyrenees returned from almost a year on the sidelines to win three consecutive races prior to the Pimlico Special, his stakes debut. DeVaux mentioned the Grade 1, $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 29 as a potential next start. The Stephen Foster is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“He’s run four really good races, so we just have to make sure he’s doing as well as he can before planning a path for him,” DeVaux said.
A homebred owned by Blue Heaven Farm, Pyrenees is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Grace Adler and Grade 2-placed Virginia Key. Pyrenees is out of Grade 3 winner Our Khrysty, herself a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Bullsbay.
As for Hernandez, the Pimlico Special could be a precursor to another huge weekend after he swept the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby two weeks ago at Churchill. He’ll pilot Derby winner Mystik Dan in Saturday’s Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
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