Cherie DeVaux

Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner), last-out winner of the GIII Molly Pitcher S., will get the rest of the year off and be prepared for her 5-year-old campaign in 2024. "After talking to Shotgun Hottie's trainer, Cherie DeVaux, and my partner Omar Aldabbagh, we have decided the best move for Shotgun Hottie's career will be to give her some time off to get ready for what we expect to be a monumental racing campaign next year," said co-owner Jeff Ganje said. "Shotgun Hottie has proven she can compete with the best...

They talk about the glass ceiling, though back in 1992 Shelley Riley ran into something more like a glass wall. For a few strides, it looked as though she was going to make history as she watched Casual Lies--a Lear Fan colt she had found as a short yearling for $7,500--lead into the stretch with most of the Kentucky Derby field in trouble. But then that invisible barrier came down, and Lil E. Tee ran by to win by a length. Her reward? Later that year, somebody claiming to represent...

9th-Churchill Downs, $123,240, Msw, 5-21, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.89, fm, 1 3/4 lengths. TAKING CANDY (c, 3, Twirling Candy--Taking Aim, by Trappe Shot), not seen since his debut last August at Saratoga in a route over the turf where he finished a well-beaten sixth, returned here as the 8-1 choice. The bay colt settled mid-pack as the leaders tried to slow the pace down the backstretch. Into the far turn, Taking Candy looked for running room along the rail, cut to the three path at the top of the lane,...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training opened Tuesday with a session that produced figures nearly identical to the auction's 2022 opening session. "It was a good start to the sale," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "A lot of horses sold very well. And I'd like to think the strength will continue through the next three days. I feel pretty good about that. There are a lot of good horses left to sell." During Tuesday's...

A 3-year-old filly trained by Cherie DeVaux will be looking to do more than just break her maiden when she makes her career debut at Turfway Park on Thursday. The daughter of Unified named Spencer's Sparkle carries the legacy of Spencer Stephens. Spencer, whose mother Dawn was DeVaux's high school classmate, died in a car accident at the young age of 18 in November of 2020. An openly gay person, Spencer was loved by many and was an inspiration to those around him. He was active in his church and...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 2:37p.m. ET Richard Schermerhorn's $390,000 OBSAPR purchase LADY BETH (Hard Spun) will be unveiled on what looks like a very active Sunday of racing across the country. Drawn toward the middle in this Gulfstream maiden, she is the first registered foal for her dam, the Werthemier et Frere-bred and West Point-campaigned Boreale (Makfi {GB}); four times stakes-placed in her career in America as well as a multiple winner in France. This is the female family of MGSW Interactif (Broken...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Subsequently flattered by Liguria (War Front)'s impressive performance in last weekend's GIII Jimmy Durante S. at Del Mar, Erna (f, 2, Curlin--Jumby Bay, by City Zip) will look to go one better at second asking in the nightcap at Gulfstream Park Sunday. Off at 11-1 going 1 1/16 miles over the grass on debut at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting Oct. 22, Erna jumped well from post five...

Lael Stables' THE GREAT MAYBE (Upstart), let go at 8-1 in a live-looking field of juvenile fillies Sunday at Saratoga, made that price look like a gift when winning a far-turn pace duel and bursting clear in the stretch for a first-out romp and 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Bought by De Meric Sales for $55,000 at Fasig-Tipton October, the dark bay blossomed into a $425,000 OBS March 2-year-old after breezing a furlong in :10 flat--her sire's most expensive progeny to sell thus far in 2022--and showed an above-average but not...

LBD Stable, Manganaro Bloodstock and David Ingordo's Tarabi (First Samurai) rallied down the center of Saratoga main track and finished strongly to take out Thursday's Wilton S., the first race contested out of the reconstructed Wilson Chute at Saratoga. Off as the 6-5 chalk, the $240,000 Keeneland September graduate was content to lay second through the early exchanges as Angitude (Violence), a bit reticent to load, showed the way in her first attempt at a distance of ground. Tarabi began to zero in on the front-runner as the field approached...

Two years ago, 8-year-old Reagan Ingordo purchased a weanling daughter of Unified for $25,000 at the Keeneland November sale. The filly rewarded her young buyer when winning her career debut at Fair Grounds Sunday, but Reagan wasn't the only winner when Reagan's Decision (Unified) crossed the wire first in New Orleans. Before the race, trainer (and stepmom) Cherie DeVaux tweeted out that any purse earnings from the race would be donated to relief efforts following the devastating tornadoes in Western Kentucky. Visiting Reagan's Decision on the Fair Grounds backstretch Monday...

2nd-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-1, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:45.77, fm, head. BLISSFUL (f, 2, Empire Maker--Belleski {MGSW, $374,586}, by Polish Numbers)    flashed some ability in her morning trials over the Keeneland main track last month, including a sharp half-mile gate move in :47 4/5 (3/62) in her penultimate move July 14. Off at an overlaid 32-5 off a 7-2 morning line, the attractive bay filly hopped slightly at the break and was clearly last to make the first turn before setting into a good rhythm at the tail for the...

The inaugural New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Saratoga Wednesday, July 21, will feature appearances by a pair of New York-bred fan favorites, millionaire GSW Zivo (True Direction) and 2014 GI Kentucky Derby participant Uncle Sigh (Indian Charlie). Presented by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB), New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day will highlight the work of a variety of organizations committed to initiatives to benefit retired racehorses. Zivo will lead the post parade for the day's featured event...