Devil's Cave is developing into a nice filly
{{monthName}} {{day}}, {{year}} {{hour12}}:{{minuteTwoDigit}}{{dayPeriod}}
It may have taken 4-year old Devil’s Cave a while to put all her training together and figure
out what being a racehorse is all about, but now that she’s done so, she really
is developing into a nice filly. As a two-year old maiden, the dark bay daughter
of Put It Back did not show much in her debut, sitting off a pace dispute, before putting in a bid that did little to nothing to gain ground on the
leaders. Trainer Chad Brown then shipped her to South Florida and sent her out
in a 5 furlong turf event for maidens. Despite being bumped at the start, Devil’s
Cave was able to run down the pace late to graduate by ¾-length.
Showing an affinity for the Gulfstream turf, Devil’s Cave
came back the next month to run 2nd in a NW1X event going five
furlongs on the lawn. Her next effort, coming at Saratoga during the summer of
2013, was easily her worst. Bottled up on the inside, the filly had nowhere to
go, and rather than burn his mount out over nothing, jockey Javier Castellano
hand rode her out to finish second last.
After her dismal effort at Saratoga, Devil’s Cave was
switched from the barn of Chad Brown to Marty Wolfson’s barn. In the process,
she was once again shipped from New York back to Florida, and the filly turned in a trio of nice efforts in allowance company, getting a win and two places while
racing at Calder and Gulfstream during the late summer and into the fall of
2013. Once late December hit, Wolfson figured it was time to try the filly in
stakes company, and his faith in her was rewarded. In the $100,000 Ocala Stakes
at Gulfstream, Devil’s Cave showed she had grit and heart, battling back to win
by two after being headed by Sweet N Discreet exiting the far turn.
Devil’s Cave followed up her smart Ocala score with a solid
effort in the Sunshine Millions Distaff. In her first try beyond a mile, the
filly set a pedestrian pace through the early stages of the race but could not
hold off the stretch drive of rival Sweet N Discreet. She finished just a
length and a half behind the winner but was clearly best of the rest, finishing
6 lengths in front of the day’s third place finisher.
From there, it was onward and upward, and Devil’s Cave’s graded stakes debut was easily her most
impressive race to date. Sent off as the 4-1 fourth choice in this past weekend’s
G3 Sabin Stakes at Gulfstream Park,
Devil’s Cave shot straight to the lead and never looked back. Clicking off
consistent splits, the filly cruised to an easy 3 ½ length victory over
runner-up Sweet N Discreet in a track record time of 1.41:00 for the mile and a
sixteenth affair. The 1.41 flat time eclipsed the 1.41:17 mark that Golden Lad had just set on February 5.
“I think the jockey made a huge mistake last time. He told
me he did. She has high speed and to make a horse like her go 1.14-and-2 (for 6
furlongs) really discourages her,” said trainer Wolfson about the turnaround in
Devil’s Cave’s performance. “She still came back again, that’s why I knew she
was better than Sweet N Discreet.”
Despite Devil’s Cave’s lack of success in New York, she has
a 5th and a 10th place finish at NYRA tracks, Wolfson
will ship the filly back north. “She’s run three times at the meet, so she’ll
get a break,” Wolfson stated. “She’ll go a mile-and-an-eighth. She should have
won the last one at a mile-and-an-eighth. They ran 1:50. She’ll run 1:49. I’ll
keep her around two turns or maybe a one-turn mile in New York.”
Over the past few races, it has seemed that Devil’s Cave and
Sweet N Discreet have been attached
at the flank, and truthfully, that is one of the things that I like best about
Devil’s Cave. I have a ton of respect for Sweet N Discreet, who has herself
turned into a nice filly, especially at Gulfstream. Seeing the two fillies duke
it out on the track in an old-fashioned type rivalry has been nothing short of
thrilling. In all, the two have faced each other 4 times. The first time the
two fillies faced the starter together, in a NW1X at Saratoga, neither one
walked off the track as the winner, but Sweet N Discreet did finish 3rd
to Devil’s Cave’s 10th that day. Since then, the duo has gone
head-to-head three times at Gulfstream this meet, with Devil’s Cave winning two
and Sweet N Discreet prevailing in one.
I don’t know if it is the South Florida tracks, the ample
amounts of Vitamin D produced by the Florida sunshine, or just Marty Wolfson’s
special touch, but Devil’s Cave has developed from a two-year old with
potential into a serious racehorse fulfilling her potential. Given her previous
track record at the NYRA circuit, the idea of her shipping back north makes me
wonder if she will be as efficient there as she is in Florida. Even if she isn’t,
however, a return to Gulfstream this coming winter will likely be all she
needs.
Read More
Santa Anita's opening day was supposed to be the day-after-Christmas treat, but Mother Nature had other plans. Rain...
The past seven days delivered a solid set of maiden winners, with 29 horses posting Horse Racing Nation...
Unbeaten Grade 2 winner Ewing and stakes-winning Strategic Risk were scheduled to arrive Monday at Oaklawn to continue...
Two colts won points preps for Kentucky Derby 2026 on Saturday, joining the leaderboard with 10 points each....
Magnitude worked Monday for the first time since his Nov. 28 win in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes...