Shedaresthedevil fends off Crystal Ball in Locust Grove Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It wasn’t as stylish as some of her prior wins at Churchill Downs, easily her favorite track, but Shedaresthedevil nonetheless remained unbeaten in five starts under the twin spires when stamping her Breeders’ Cup ticket by winning the Grade 3, $400,000 Locust Grove, the highlight of a stakes-laden Saturday night program at Churchill.

Ridden by Florent Geroux, Shedaresthedevil rebuffed a rail bid from Crystal Ball in winning the Locust Grove under the Churchill lights in wire-to-wire fashion as the 3-5 favorite in a field of six fillies and mares.

“She did her job, and we’re proud of her, as always,” said Brad Cox, who trains Shedaresthedevil for the partnership of Qatar Racing, Flurry Racing Stables, and Big Aut Farms.

Catching a flyer leaving the gate in the 37th Locust Grove, Shedaresthedevil dictated terms from the outset with Crystal Ball and Envoutante in closest pursuit. As the field began to bunch at the quarter pole, Geroux let out a notch for the drive, and Shedaresthedevil held sway to win by a neck over Crystal Ball, who had 1 1/2 lengths on Envoutante in third. Matera, a second Cox trainee, was fourth, followed by Our Super Freak and High Regard. Lady Kate was an early scratch.

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Shedaresthedevil, a 4-year-old daughter of Daredevil, returned $3.20 after finishing in 1:42.86 over a fast track. This was her last race before heading to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 6, a race Cox has won two of the last three years (2018 and 2020), both times with Monomoy Girl.

“She’s a very classy filly,” Geroux said. “Tonight we got the lead and she was moving comfortably. This was a good prep race for the Breeders’ Cup. She has seven weeks until then, and I think she’ll get a lot out of this race.”

Easily the most important of the four prior wins for Shedaresthedevil at Churchill was the Kentucky Oaks last September. Overall, she is now 9 for 16, with earnings of $2,291,458.

Sheikh Fahad, who heads Qatar Racing as a member of the ruling family of that western Asian country, was on hand for the race and was interviewed afterward for Churchill in-house television.

“She absolutely loves this place,” he said.

The Locust Grove was the last of five stakes held on one of the premier dates at a 12-day, dirt-only September meet. An ontrack crowd of 20,204 turned out, many of them because Churchill also hosted “Louisville Live,” the annual opening of preseason for the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams, in conjunction with an 11-race card.

The $2 exacta (7-1) paid $7.80, the $1 trifecta (7-1-5) returned $9.20, and the 10-cent superfecta (7-1-5-4) was worth $2.78.