Skinner posts first work since moving to DeVaux stable

Skinner breezed a half-mile in 47.80 seconds on Dec. 31 at Fair Grounds, fastest among 67 works at the distance and his first drill since joining the stable of trainer Cherie DeVaux.

“He looked great. He shipped in to us in great order and worked really well,” DeVaux said.

Five-year-old Skinner finished third in the 2023 Santa Anita Derby and came to Louisville later that month a stealth contender for the Kentucky Derby, but got sick after shipping and was scratched from the Derby the day before the race.

Through a series of tough trips and confusing in-race tactical choices, Skinner went seven starts and about 21 months between his maiden victory and his second win, which came Nov. 23 in the Native Diver at Del Mar.

DeVaux said Skinner received an invitation to the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. The Louisiana Stakes on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds alternatively could provide a somewhat more comfortable spot for the horse’s DeVaux debut.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

“We’ll come up with a plan,” said DeVaux, who trains Skinner for Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stable.

Another CRK horse, the 5-year-old mare Justique, made her first start for DeVaux and first since July in Thursday’s fifth race at Fair Grounds and aced her comeback. Cut back from turf routes to a six-furlong dirt sprint, Justique and Jose Ortiz pounced on the leaders around the turn and drew away to a 3 1/4-length victory over second-level allowance foes, clocking a quick 1:09.61.

Justique had only started in one-turn dirt races twice before Thursday’s contest and now is 3 for 3 at the configuration.

“I think she’s probably best suited to seven furlongs or a mile around one turn,” DeVaux said. “We ran her here just to get the race into her and thinking she needed to go farther. I won’t say we were blindsided, but we were pleasantly surprised.”

DeVaux has the Grade 1 Madison Stakes, a seven-furlong race in April at Keeneland, as a longer-term goal for Justique, whom she said would have at least one start before then.

April at Keeneland could provide an attractive destination for a brighter DeVaux-trained star, She Feels Pretty, electric winner of the Grade 1 American Oaks on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita following her six-length romp in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup in October at Keeneland. She Feels Pretty ships out of California this weekend, and while she has an invite to the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, DeVaux said owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson prefer to give the filly a one-month freshening in Florida before bringing her back for a 2025 campaign designed to lead to the Breeders’ Cup.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.