By Tom Frary
Very few debutantes are capable of winning a Listed contest against established peers, but that's exactly what the Joseph O'Brien-trained Yaupon De Replay (Yaupon) achieved on Monday evening in Fairyhouse's Ballyhane Blenheim Stakes. Sent off at 20-1 for the six-furlong feature, the daughter of Spendthrift Farm's exciting first-crop sire was able to overcome any greenness under Chris Hayes and swamp her rivals a furlong out en route to a neck success from Chicago Call (Oasis Dream).
“We liked what we saw at home, but you are never sure starting off in that company, it can be tough,” the winning trainer said. “I said to Chris to educate her early and have her finishing off and she showed a big kick late on, you'd have to be very impressed with her.”
“I'd say they went a nice gallop and that helped her to relax but still it's always hard to win from anywhere behind mid-field here, especially on debut. She's a nice filly. We felt like she was working like it was worth a shot and we thought that she'd learn a lot in the race.”
“She's an exciting filly for the future. After today you can look at things like the Breeders' Cup, she's an American-bred filly and she's fast. She has a lot of options.”
Yaupon De Replay, who was knocked down to Carriganog for $150,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2yo Sale, is the first foal out of the Stakes-placed Malibu Mischief (Goldencents). A granddaughter of the Stakes winner and GII Honeymoon Breeders' Cup Handicap runner-up Thatswhatimean (Belong To Me), she also has a yearling daughter of Justify and was bred to Clubhouse Ride and Cyberknife for the next two years.
A Listed winner ON DEBUT 🤯
Despite some strong form on show, Yaupon De Replay wins the €45,000 Blenheim Stakes on her first racecourse start.
She MUST be very smart 🟢🟢@simon_munir | @JosephOBrien2 | @Fairyhouse pic.twitter.com/l5BHxCnvgZ
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 22, 2025
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