Giving the Devil His Due
Devil His Due didn’t run in every big race in the early 90s. At the time, it just seemed like it. The black or near-black son of Devil’s Bag, who was euthanized on May 22 at the age of 28, competed in the Kentucky Derby, two Breeders’ Cup Classics, three Jockey Club Gold Cups, three Woodwards, three Pimlico Specials, and two runnings each of the Suburban Handicap, Whitney Handicap, Donn Handicap and what was then called the NYRA Mile.
In all, Devil His Due started in 37 graded stakes, winning nine and placing in 14 others. His Grade 1 victories included the Wood Memorial, Gulfstream Park Handicap, Pimlico Special, and back-to-back editions of the Suburban Handicap. His
12 runner-up finishes included several signature New York races of the era: Thunder Rumble’s 1992 Travers, Holy Bull’s 1994 Woodward, and Cigar’s 1994 NYRA Mile, the race that introduced the future Hall of Famer to the racing world.
Other familiar rivals included champions Pleasant Tap, Bertrando, A.P. Indy and The Wicked North, as well as fellow Grade 1 winners Colonial Affair, Concern, Pistols and Roses, Brunswick, Valley Crossing and West by West. When Devil His Due was retired in the spring of 1995, his $3.9 million in earnings placed him among the top 10 career money winners.
Devil His Due became a New York fan favorite for reasons that went beyond the numbers.
He ran frequently (41 times in 40 months) and didn’t duck anybody, and he was as tough and durable as any horse in training. It didn’t hurt that he was conditioned by the legendary H. Allen Jerkens. It also didn’t hurt that he never raced on Lasix, a fact that wasn’t emphasized until after his retirement.
As is the case with any top horse with a long resume, it’s hard to single out individual performances. One of Devil His Due’s most memorable races came early in his career in a dead heat with Lure in the 1992 Gotham. After a torrid opening half in :43 and 4/5ths, the two 3-year-olds became locked in a head-to-head duel that carried them all the way to the wire, with neither horse giving an inch.
Devil His Due put together his best string of races in the spring and early summer of 1993, when he won four of five starts, including three Grade 1s. He earned his highest speed figure (116) in his tour-de-force in the 1994 Brooklyn Handicap, a race he won by 8¼ lengths. Beaten horses included Wallenda, Sea Hero and West by West.
“He’s just a remarkable horse,” an emotional Allen Jerkens told the New York Times after the Brooklyn. “He seems to know what it’s all about. I don’t know how long he can keep going, but he just walked out there like it was another day at the office.”
Devil His Due’s final start came 11 months later in the 1995 Pimlico Special, where once again he faced the mighty Cigar. There was no beating the two-time horse of the year on that day — or on any other day during his 16race winning streak. But, as always, the 6-year-old Devil His Due gave it his best shot, running gamely through the stretch to get within two lengths of Cigar at the finish. The 110 Beyer was the 26th tripledigit figure of his career.
Despite having virtually no access to top broodmares, Devil His Due carved out a respectable record at stud, siring 40 stakes winners and earning a reputation as a sire of sound, willing horses. His best runner was Roses in May, whose graded victories included the 2004 Whitney and 2005 Dubai World Cup. Unfortunately, Roses in May was sold to Japanese breeders upon his retirement.
Devil His Due was buried at Margaux Farm in Midway, Kentucky, where he had stood for most of his stud career and during his four years as a pensioner.