Rebel Red has a "shake it off" mentality, trainer Cherie DeVaux says. That attitude has served him well throughout his life.
For example, after winning at Saratoga last July, Rebel Red lost his left eye as the result of a stall incident. He was back to the races some six weeks later and was Grade 2-placed by the end of the year.
"He had something like that happen, but it didn't seem to bother him," DeVaux said. "He just seems to shake it off."
More recently, Rebel Red was lucky to walk away from a misadventure at Churchill Downs in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes on May 17, when a multi-horse chain incident led to him falling near the three-eighths pole. He walked off the course with only minor scrapes and no lingering effects mentally.
"This horse just has tremendous mental fortitude," DeVaux said.
Rebel Red showed that fortitude by proving best of a pack of late runners, sweeping to a wide, two-length win in the $200,000 Chorleywood Stakes for older turf runners on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Rebel Red returned $11.04 as the third choice at post time in the field of nine for the Chorleywood, the final race on the card. Highway Robber, favored by only a few cents over Utah Beach, finished second, with Utah Beach back in seventh. Only one favorite won during Saturday's Pick 6 sequence, leading to a $786,174 carryover into Sunday's card.
Utah Beach came into Saturday's tilt off wins in the Grade 2 Elkhorn at Keeneland and the Louisville. In the latter, pacesetting Idratherbeblessed slowed abruptly going into the final turn. That forced Missed the Cut, who was tracking, to swerve out to avoid a collision. Rebel Red clipped Missed the Cut’s heels and fell, with Tapit Shoes running into Rebel Red and losing his rider. Both horses walked off the course.
Declan Cannon, who picked up the Louisville mount on Rebel Red from regular rider Jose Ortiz - out of town to ride in the Preakness Stakes that day - suffered back injuries that have kept him from the saddle since, although he has been on the Churchill backstretch in recent days and hopes to resume riding in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Rebel Red, a 5-year-old son of Frankel whom DeVaux trains for breeder John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock, bounced out with a pair of works at Keeneland and appeared ready for his return to action with Ortiz back aboard.
Dirt marathon stakes winner Lambeth, who was trying the turf for the first time, led in the short run into the first turn through the opening quarter in 23.91 seconds. Brian Hernandez Jr., who was looking for a sweep of the day's stakes, then throttled him down under a long hold through a more moderate half in 49.46 seconds, then going six furlongs in 1:15.24 while still leading by better than three lengths.
Unwilling to let Lambeth go into the last of three turns with a loose lead, longshot Goldeneye pounced on him while intently tracked by Sugoi, and the sprint was on. At that point, with about three furlongs remaining, Rebel Red and Ortiz were still eighth with more than six lengths to make up. Ortiz fanned his mount seven wide for clear sailing into the stretch as the late runners began to stack up for their runs.
Highway Robber, third in the Grade 1 Turf Classic in May at Churchill Downs and supplemented into the Chorleywood after the weather wreaked havoc on turf stakes last week in Saratoga, got first run at the leaders, putting a head in front of Lambeth in upper stretch. His lead was short-lived, however. Rebel Red quickly appeared on his outside and cleared in the final yards.
The final time for the 1 3/8 miles on turf rated firm was 2:15.01.
A length behind Highway Robber in second, it was a blanket finish for the minor awards. Verstappen got a head in front of Lambeth for third, while the pacesetter kept a neck ahead of Goldeneye, in turn a neck a head of Angophile, who was a head in front of Utah Beach. Sugoi and Tapit Shoes rounded out the order of finish.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.