Shedaresthedevil 'exploded' onto the Oaks trail in Oaklawn's Honeybee
A relative newcomer to the Brad Cox barn, Shedaresthedevil jumped straight into fifth place on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard by securing 50 points with her victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Honeybee Stakes before an Oaklawn Park crowd of 22,000.
Ridden by jockey Joe Talamo, Shedaresthedevil settled off the pace as Ring Leader took command early through fractions of :23 3/5 and :47 4/5 for the first half mile. The winner split horses late and burst to the lead in the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length over 2-1 favorite Alta’s Award.
The final time was 1:44 2/5 for a 1 1/16 miles over a fast track.
“I was loaded the whole way around there,” Talamo said. “It was just a matter trying to pick a seam and boy when it opened up, she absolutely exploded through there. I was very impressed with her gallop out and distance won’t be a problem.
"I think she’s going to get every bit of the mile and an eighth or even more. Hats off to Brad (Cox) and Jorge (his assistant) they’ve done a great job with this filly and I don’t think she’s even peaked yet. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet.”
Shedaresthedevil, who returned $7.80 as the 5-2 second choice, now has a record of 2-2-1 from six starts and has earned $297,648. She's now campaigned by Flurry Racing Stables LLC., Qatar Racing Limited and Big Aut Farms.
"We obviously ran a horse that was eligible for a 1X in a Grade 3," said Cox, whose owners plucked the Daredevil filly out of last November's Keeneland sale for $280,000. Previously, Shedaresthedevil had twice placed in stakes on the west coast when trained by Simon Callaghan.
"We had a lot of confidence in her," Cox added. "She's a nice filly. She puts a lot into her training in the morning. She gives you the confidence. She rewarded the ownership today, us and the whole group."
Cox said Shedaresthedevil will likely make her final prep before the Kentucky Oaks in the local Fantasy Stakes (G3) on April 10.
Also picking up points for the Oaks were Alta’s Award, who received 20 point for finishing second and is now ranked sixth on the leaderboard and Motu, who picked up 10 points and now has a total of 16 is ranked eighth. Queen Bridget received five points for fourth.