Cherie DeVaux

He was green, and a bit lost in the lane, but Fancy Fairlane (McKinzie) showed more than enough talent to put his rivals away and sail home to 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors at Oaklawn Park. Unveiled Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds in a six-furlong maiden special weight, he was run down late thanks in part to a sensational effort by fellow 'Rising Star' Golden Tempo (Curlin) when that one closed from a different zip code to win going away. Clocked producing a final quarter-mile in :23.57 in...

Though she had risen rapidly through the ranks to become one of the sport's top trainers, Cherie DeVaux has yet to start a horse in the GI Kentucky Derby. That may soon be about to change. DeVaux unleashed one of the more impressive 3-year-old winners of the year last week at the Fair Grounds when her Reagan's Honor (Honor A.P.) destroyed a field of older horses to win an allowance at the Fair Grounds by 6 3/4-lengths. The colt earned a Beyer figure of 96. "I was obviously very impressed...

West Point Thoroughbreds, David Ingordo and Gabriel Duignan's REAGAN'S HONOR (c, 3, Honor A. P.--Rutile, by Medaglia d'Oro)--a horse with the fingerprints of the late John Shirreffs all over him--was forced to tackle older horses in his first go against winners Thursday afternoon at the Fair Grounds, but he passed the test with flying colors, leading past every pole en route to an easy 6 3/4-length victory. After touching 2-5 in the wagering, the $140,000 Keeneland September yearling was off to an awkward beginning as the 11-10 chalk, bumping with...

Perhaps the most salient aspect of Cherie DeVaux's 1-2 in one of the first GI Kentucky Derby rehearsals was that it didn't particularly feel like any kind of statement. It was just the sort of thing that now feels natural for a barn that took only six years to go from its first winner to a $10-million campaign, and has just housed its first Eclipse champion in She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}). By sheer force of talent, DeVaux has rapidly dismantled some pretty lazy characterizations. She is no longer, for...

The podium at the 55th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony was awash in Godolphin blue Thursday, with a homebred from that global bloodstock powerhouse, Sovereignty (Into Mischief), running away with both Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male championship honors. Sovereignty's on-track tour de force included emphatic Grade I victories in the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, and those headline-grabbing wins helped to trigger a cascade of accolades for the colt's human connections. Godolphin took home its sixth straight Eclipse recognition as outstanding owner and its fifth consecutive...

Sovereignty (Into Mischief) capped off yet another massive evening at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's far-flung Godolphin operation, capping the festivities at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, by being named America's Horse of the Year for 2025 by a wide margin. It marks the second time in three years that a horse bred and raced by Godolphin stole the show, following on from Cody's Wish (Curlin), who took down top honors in 2023. Godolphin was also named outstanding owner and breeder Thursday...

GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile winner Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) have been named Best Turf Male and Female. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Notable Speech, owned and bred by fellow Eclipse winner Godolphin, also won the GI Rogers Woodbine Mile Stakes, finishing his year with back to back wins on North American shores. She Feels Pretty won three of five starts for trainer Cherie DeVaux in 2025 including the GIII Modesty Stakes,...

Under the leadership of Rich Mendez, Morplay Racing has come a long way in a short time. The Morplay team, which also includes Mendez's son, Josh, Randy Hartley, and Dean DeRenzo, and started up in 2023, has already won at the highest levels with Shisospicy (Mitole) and got a taste of Derby Fever when it won the 2024 GIII Sam F. Davis Stakes with No More Time (Not This Time). Morplay will look to add to its accomplishments when sends out its most recent acquisition, Brotha Keny (Mo Town), in...

7th-FG, $54K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 4:45 p.m. ET. Bred by Three Chimneys, PURE JOY (Gun Runner) was purchased for $1.5-million by Mandy Pope at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. After the breeder stayed in for a piece, the filly was sent to Steve Asmussen. Pure Joy's dam is MGISW Pure Clan (Pure Prize) who died in 2023. She counts among her offspring SW Princesa Carolina (Tapit), herself the dam of 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Muhimma (Munnings). The first-time starter's extended female family includes MGSW Greater...

Although Cherie DeVaux sent out the first and second choices in the wagering, the trainer knew that her horses had something to prove in Saturday's GIII Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds. Both Golden Tempo (Curlin) and Mesquite (Union Rags) had done nothing more than win maiden races and both seemed to be horses that still needed time to mature and develop. That may still be the case. But after Golden Tempo and Mesquite ran one-two, with Golden Tempo winning by three-quarters of a length, DeVaux knows she has two...

Golden Tempo (c, 3, Curlin--Carrumba, by Bernardini), tabbed as a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' in a last-to-first debut victory sprinting at Fair Grounds Dec. 20, ran by them all once again to stay perfect with a 3/4-length victory in Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds, good for 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Mesquite (Union Rags) rounded out the Cherie DeVaux-trained exacta. Longshot Carson Street (Street Sense), forwardly placed throughout, held on for third. The 5-2 favorite raced toward the rear through fractions of...

6th-FG, $60k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 3:30 p.m. ET A pair of Keeneland September acquisitions by Belladonna Racing and C R K Stable, each sold for better than a half-million dollars, debut for the in-form Cherie DeVaux barn in what appears to be a hot maiden on the Lecomte Stakes undercard. MOJACAR (Essential Quality) looks to become the fifth winner from as many to the races for dam Spanish Star (Blame), who is responsible for 2025 GI Test Stakes victress Kilwin (Twirling Candy); the crack Grade II-winning turf sprinter One Timer...