Puntsville, Devileye score brother-sister double

Six-year-old Puntsville has been winning Illinois-bred stakes races for a few years now. Her 4-year-old brother, Devileye, was cast from the same mold.

Just before 3:30 Saturday afternoon at Arlington Park, Devileye scored a sharp win in the $61,725 Addison Cammack Handicap. Just before 4:30, Puntsville dominated the $72,275 Isaac Murphy Handicap, making a comfortable lead on the way to a 2 1/4-length victory.

Little brother ran a considerably faster six furlongs, 1:09.23, while beating Goneghost by 1 1/4 lengths. He also paid better, returning $7.80 as the third choice behind odds-on Goneghost and fifth-place finisher Recount. Devileye was given a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

But where Devileye got a three-pound weight break from Goneghost, Puntsville carried 124 pounds, giving six pounds to second-place Go Lady Jay and eight pounds to third-place Delicate Lady. Puntsville was timed in 1:10.24 and paid $3.40 in winning the Isaac Murphy for the second time in three years. She got an 85 Beyer Speed Figure.

Puntsville won the 2016 Murphy in her first start of the season, but finished second last summer following a strong comeback victory.

Michele Boyce, who trains both horses, worried that Puntsville wasn’t fit enough to show her best racing for the first time since Nov. 25, but Puntsville appears to relish racing fresh. Setting comfortable splits of 23.05 and 46.18 under Carlos Marquez Jr., Puntsville had plenty of spark for the final furlong and gained a quarter-length from the stretch call to the finish.

The gracefully aging gray mare ran her career mark to an excellent 22-11-6-0 and is 10-6-2-0 over Arlington Polytrack.

Devileye wins at an even higher rate than prolific Puntsville; the Cammack was his seventh victory from nine starts and Devileye finished second in his two losses. His competition Saturday was stronger than Puntsville’s, and while Recount raced ineffectively in this start, Devileye – Marquez up again – got an assist from Spectacular Road, who pushed Goneghost through splits of 22.23 and 45.45. Devileye enjoys finishing along the fence, but here he got a nice, clean, outside-stalking trip, pushing resolutely past Goneghost about a furlong out and edging clear to the line.

The lucky owners and breeders of these two fine steeds are longtime Illinois racing supporters Steve and Diane Holland, who breed and race under S.D. Brilie Limited Partnership. Less lucky is the fact that the Hollands sold the broodmare, Deville, who produced Puntsville, by Cashel Castle, and Devileye, by Indygo Shiner. Boyce and the Hollands also campaign Deville’s 3-year-old filly, yet another talented horse named Speed Devil, and from all appearances there are plenty of wins left in this family.