She Feels Pretty adds blinkers ... and a Grade 1 win in QEII

Lexington, Ky.

There is nothing like chasing a bad nightmare with a sweet dream. That is precisely what happened to trainer Cherie DeVaux on Saturday.

Make that Friday and Saturday.

After missing a flight home from London and then arriving a half-day late without her luggage in hand, DeVaux witnessed a much better trip from She Feels Pretty. Her prized 3-year-old filly took advantage of her new blinkers and an old-fashioned, expert ride from Hall of Famer John Velázquez for a record, six-length triumph in the Grade 1, $719,375 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

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“Out of body? Kind of,” DeVaux said. “I’m honestly just probably exhausted to the point where it’s kind of like I’m just here.”

She said that with a laugh brought on by a plan that came together perfectly during a sunny, 79-degree afternoon on 1 1/8 miles of firm turf.

First there were the blinkers, which DeVaux added after She Feels Pretty finished a close third in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) at Aqueduct and a closer second nearly two months ago in the Lake Placid (G2) at Saratoga.

“I think the blinkers kept her to the task,” DeVaux said. “And when she’s in cover and she comes out, she explodes, you know?”

She did that like she had not done since she won by 5 3/4 lengths on Preakness day in the Hilltop Stakes. The 3-year-old Karakontie filly owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson not only kept her focus, she benefited from a pocket trip up the backstretch that was engineered by Velázquez.

“She’s definitely much better when you have her covered up,” Velázquez said after his 225th Grade 1 victory. “The blinkers kind of helped her come out of there very quickly and keep going through.”

The post-time favorite in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies, She Feels Pretty (3-2) broke alertly from post 3 and stayed within 1 1/2 lengths of early pacesetter Caitlinhergrtness (14-1). She stayed tucked along the rail in third behind the King’s Plate winner. Oversubscribed (6-1), one of the two Chad Brown-trained entrants in the race, cruised two wide in second. That order did not change through early fractions of 23.45, 47.79 and 1:14.94.

It was in the second turn where She Feels Pretty made what was hardly an unusual move for her. She habitually works her way into contention coming through the top of the stretch. Sure enough, she had taken a 1 1/2-length lead through a mile in 1:34.87.

Velázquez then tipped her out, and that was where the blinkers really kicked in. So did that explosive speed DeVaux mentioned. It resulted in a winning time of 1:46.50 and a record margin of victory for this race that has had 41 runnings.

“I made sure I’d keep her busy,” said Velázquez, who also rode She Feels Pretty to her first Grade 1 win last year in the Natalma Stakes at Woodbine. “There were a couple of European horses there that I know they had a chance. So let me keep her busy just in case.”

Soprano (5-2), who notably won the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot, proved the best of the overseas visitors. She raced along in ninth place early before making a strong move in the homestretch to finish second. She got within 2 1/2 lengths of Caitlinhergrtness before she made her move in the stretch.

“She finished off electrically,” Soprano’s jockey Billy Loughnane said. “She’s still learning about the tracks. If you saw her, she was a little bit (off) balance coming off the home turn for a few strides. It just took us a while to get her up and organized and into top gear. When she hit that, then she began to flurry.”

It was good enough for a consolation prize but futile in hopes of catching She Feels Pretty, who, for a change, was not looking for someone else to be the alpha dog in the stretch.

“I was really happy going around the turn when I saw how much horse Johnny had left,” DeVaux said. “When she came out and kicked clear, it was almost unbelievable to see that she was doing it that easily.”

Was it beyond DeVaux’s expectations?

“Yes, yep, yeah.”

Soprano finished a neck ahead of third-place Caitlinhergrtness, who in turn was a head better than fourth-place Pin Up Betty (27-1). Grayosh (9-1), the other Brown trainee and the one who beat She Feels Pretty by a neck in the Lake Placid, was yet another neck behind in fifth.

Oversubscribed, Buchu (15-1), France-based Candala (11-1), Pounce (36-1) and Waves of Mischief (21-1) were sixth through 10th in that order.

She Feels Pretty paid $5.08, $3.10 and $2.58; Soprano $3.66 and $3.14; and Caitlinhergrtness $6.48.

The QEII was the year-long target for She Feels Pretty, who was a $240,000 yearling when the Jacksons’ Lael Stables bought her two years ago. The $435,938 first-place money lifted her career earnings to $948,317 from her record of 7: 4-1-2.

DeVaux, however, did not completely rule out a return to the Breeders’ Cup, where She Feels Pretty lost by only a half-length last year finishing third in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“It’s a short trip to Breeders’ Cup,” DeVaux said, more likely thinking it is only three weeks away at Del Mar. “There’s a couple of other races to target. We’ll just have to see how she comes back.”

DeVaux did not commit to a 4-year-old campaign, either. But hey, give her a break. She was still getting her footing after a complicated trip home from the Tattersalls yearling sales this week at Newmarket, England. She had a layover in Boston, another flight to Cincinnati and finally a drive to Keeneland that got her to the track Saturday at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Finally, a good night’s sleep seemed to be in her immediate future. Except DeVaux laughed at that notion.

With a big smile, she said, “I won’t be able to sleep after this.”