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Shedaresthedevil sets up Breeders' Cup bid

3 minute read

Kentucky Oaks heroine enjoys further big-race success at Churchill Downs.

Picture: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Shedaresthedevil  set herself up for the Breeders' Cup Longines Distaff at Del Mar in November with victory in the Grade Three Locust Grove Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday night.

The four-year-old filly, trained by Brad Cox, took her graded-race tally to seven – which includes last year's Kentucky Oaks – when beating Crystal Ball by a neck over eight and a half furlongs in the hands of Florent Geroux.

"That has set her up for the Breeders' Cup. Everyone is just thrilled," said David Redvers, racing manager for part-owners Qatar Racing.

"The Distaff is the target – 100 per cent."

Cox and Geroux lifted the Distaff last year with the brilliant Monomoy Girl, and adding further hope for the Shedaresthedevil team will be the fact she is already a Grade One winner at Del Mar.

That victory came in last month's Clement L Hirsch Stakes, where she accounted for Venetian Harbor by three and a quarter lengths.