Florent Geroux

GI Kentucky Oaks victress Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) made her seasonal bow a successful win with a gritty victory in Oaklawn's GII Azeri S. Saturday. Dispatched as the 9-5 second-choice behind MGSW Letruska in this five-horse affair, the bay caught a flyer from the outside stall and was unchallenged on the front end through a :23.93 first quarter. Still on cruise control under Florent Geroux through a :47.79 half-mile, she was confronted by Letruska and Envoutante (Uncle Mo) to her outside with five-sixteenths left to run. Edging clear of her pursuers exiting...

Hit the Road (More Than Ready) struck a blow for the locals, parlaying a perfect trip into a stirring short-neck victory in Saturday's GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. at Santa Anita. Drawn in gate two with the visiting Florent Geroux in the irons, Hit the Road found the perfect spot in the box seat, as Flying Scotsman (English Channel) sped across from his outside barrier to supplant favored Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute). The pace was sensible through the middle stages, with positions largely unchanged, and Hit the Road...

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), who was last seen on the racetrack capping her second championship campaign with a win in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, returned to the races with an easy two-length victory in the GIII Bayakoa S. at Oaklawn Park Sunday. The 6-year-old mare, who has now won 14 races from 16 starts--10 in graded company--sold for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale just a day after her second Distaff triumph last November and was making her first start for new owners Spendthrift Farm, My Racehorse.com Stable...

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) completed a sensational championship season in 2018 with a victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs. After a series of medical issues forced her to miss her entire 4-year-old season in 2019, the Eclipse winner proved to be better than ever in her return to action this year, capping a perfect 2020 campaign with another victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Saturday. Monomoy Girl was hammered down to even-money favoritism in an event billed as a match race between the top...

A trio of candidates for the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3 turned in their final serious moves Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), who was forced to miss the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby owing to a minor foot injury, tuned up for the final leg of this year's reconstituted Triple Crown by drilling a half-mile in :48 flat with big-race rider Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the saddle. The GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and Runhappy Ellis Park Derby hero was caught in fractions...

Max Player (Honor Code), third in both the GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. behind expected GI Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law (Constitution), worked in company Monday morning at Churchill Downs as he continued his preparations for the Sept. 5 Derby. Under jockey Florent Geroux, Max Player completed a five-eighths work in :59.60 during the 15-minute window set aside exclusively for Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks contenders. Off at approximately 7:30 a.m., Max Player began the move two lengths behind his stablemate, Allege (Uncle Mo), and finished...

Jockey Florent Geroux has joined a growing list of prominent jockeys who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Geroux was scheduled to ride Wednesday at Canterbury Park and had to take a test before he would be allowed to ride there. He took the test Monday and came up positive. "I don't really have any symptoms," Georux said. "I was a little bit tired Monday, but I had a long week last week. I didn't have any shortness of breath or anything like that." In less than a week, jockeys...

Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) was bet like she could not lose at 1-9 in Belmont's GII Ruffian S. and duly delivered with a facile success in this five-horse affair. Glued to pacesetting Mother Mother's (Pioneerof the Nile) outside hip through a :22.84 opening quarter, the chestnut stuck to her like glue through a :45.55 half-mile. Drawing even on the backstretch, Monomoy Girl stuck her head in front on the far turn and rolled clear in the lane. Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) was the only one trying to run with the Eclipse...

Making his graded stakes debut and looking to give trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux a sweep of the evening's two graded races, Godolphin's Shared Sense (Street Sense) got a cozy inside trip, tipped out four wide into the stretch and outfinished an unlucky Major Fed (Ghostzapper) to win the GIII Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand. Last but one early, with only Major Fed behind, Shared Sense took the inside route down the backstretch and made two-path progress into the second turn. Major Fed, consigned to a wide run...

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) breezed a half-mile in company in an easy :49.30 over the Belmont main track Saturday morning as she completed her preparations for the July 11 GII Ruffian S. at Big Sandy. Partnered with Javier Castellano, the 5-year-old worked in the company of her multiple stakes-winning stablemate A Bit of Both (Paynter) and was timed in splits of :12.30 and :24.40 before galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:02.10. "Today it was a very...