Shedaresthedevil looks to get back on track in Fleur de Lis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Oaks Day has defined Shedaresthedevil, whether it’s been in September, April, or May. Now comes a July race at Churchill Downs that could go a long way in determining the closing chapters in the outstanding career of the 5-year-old mare.

“Her works into this have been fantastic,” said Brad Cox, who will saddle Shedaresthedevil for a pivotal start Saturday in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fleur de Lis at Churchill. “This is her third race since she got time off after the Breeders’ Cup last fall. Her first two runs have been good, but obviously we’d like to get her back in the winner’s circle and have this dictate where we’re headed for the rest of the year.”

Shedaresthedevil, with Florent Geroux riding, will break from the outside post in a field of just five fillies and mares in the 1 1/8-mile Fleur de Lis. From 19 prior starts, the daughter of Daredevil is a nine-time winner, including triumphs during the pandemicdelayed Oaks in September 2020 and the Grade 1 La Troienne on April 30, 2021. Owned in partnership by Qatar Racing, Flurry Racing, and Whisper Hill Farm, her career earnings stand at $2,513,458.

Her latest start came in the La Troienne on the May 6 Kentucky Oaks card, and it resulted in a second as the 4-5 favorite behind Pauline’s Pearl, marking her third straight defeat. Some eight weeks later, with five interim workouts at Churchill under her belt, Shedaresthedevil “really ought to be set up for a big one,” said Cox.

Pauline’s Pearl is in here, too, also trying to redeem herself as a beaten odds-on favorite, having finished fourth at 2-5 in the June 4 Shawnee. Joel Rosario, who rode the gray Stonestreet Stables homebred in her La Troienne victory, will be back aboard when they break alongside Shedaresthedevil from post 4.

“That might’ve been a natural regression in the Shawnee off such a big effort in the La Troienne,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “But she’s come back to train really well and we’re looking for her to bounce back.”

The early pace in the 47th Fleur de Lis figures to be contested by Shedaresthedevil and Super Quick (post 1, Joe Talamo), with Pauline’s Pearl and Ava’s Grace (post 3, David Cohen) not too far behind. She’s All Wolfe (post 2, Francisco Arrieta) surely will trail through the early stages before looking to replicate a from-theclouds rally used in her 20-1 upset of the Shawnee.

Although Shedaresthedevil has won from off the pace, including in the Indiana Oaks at 3 and the Clement Hirsch at 4, she has done some of her best work when making all the running. That might well be a tricky task here, given the way Super Quick tends to fly to the front. Super Quick, trained by Norm Casse, comes off a careerhigh 107 Beyer Speed Figure in a front-running romp in the Allaire duPont the day before the Preakness at Pimlico.

“Having the outside post should make it easier for Florent to read how the race is coming up,” said Cox. “If the other filly is too headstrong, we won’t get in some ridiculous duel with her. We’ve shown we can rate nicely enough and still get the job done.”

The Fleur de Lis is carded as the eighth of 12 races and will be shown live on the two-hour NBC broadcast (4-6 p.m. Eastern). Post time is 4:35. It’s the middle leg in an all-stakes pick five (races 6-10) and the opening leg in the late pick five (races 8-12).

Unlike in prior years, the Fleur de Lis is not a Win and You’re In event toward its Breeders’ Cup match, the Distaff. Its purse includes $50,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, with the Oklahoma-bred She’s All Wolfe being the only one ineligible for the bonuses.

EMILY SHIELDS Shedaresthedevil lost for the third straight time May 6 in the La Troienne at Churchill to Fleur de Lis rival Pauline’s Pearl. She has had five works in the eight weeks since that race.