Rebel Red. (Renee Torbit/Coady Media)
Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Rebel Red (GB) had one horse beat during the early stages of Saturday’s third running of the $170,000 Chorleywood (Listed) at Churchill Downs but he closed with a rush down the center of the turf course to upset 2-1 favorite Highway Robber by two lengths and collect his first career stakes win.
Trained by Cherie DeVaux, 5-year-old Rebel Red (GB), who can only see out of his right eye, ran 1 3/8 miles over firm turf in 2:15.01 under jockey Jose Ortiz for owners John D. Gunther and Tanya Gunther’s Eurowest Bloodstock Services.
“This horse just has a tremendous mental fortitude,” said DeVaux. “At Saratoga (in the summer of 2024) he had a stall accident and ended up losing his left eye and it never really bothered him. He seems to shake things off fairly quickly and go on with it.”
Lambeth, winner of the $200,000 Temperance Hill on dirt at Oaklawn Park in March, led the field of nine older horses in his turf debut through early fractions of :23.01, :49.46. 1:15.24 and 1:39.31 as a relaxed Rebel Red (GB) only had Tapit Shoes beat during the early stages.
Rebel Red (GB) began his closing kick around the final turn, tipped out seven-wide at the top of the stretch to pass numerous rivals and collared last fall’s $300,000 Sycamore (GIII) winner Highway Robber at the sixteenth pole on his way to victory.
Rebel Red (GB), the 9-2 third betting choice, rewarded his backers by paying $2 mutuel returns of $11.04, $5.28 and $4.62. Highway Robber, the slight 2-1 choice under jockey Cristian Torres, returned $4.18 and $3.24. Verstappen, ridden by Ben Curtis, was another length back in third and paid $4.72 at odds of 10-1.
Lambeth was fourth and was followed by Goldeneye, Anglophile, Utah Beach, Sugoi and Tapit Shoes. Lord Bullingdon was scratched.
The $89,280 Chorleywood first prize pushed Rebel Red (GB)’s bankroll to $295,437 with a record of 4-1-1 in 12 starts. Prior to the Chorleywood, Rebel Red (GB) clipped heels and dropped rider Declan Cannon.
“In the Louisville when he clipped heels, he had a couple of scrapes,” DeVaux said. “We monitored him closely and nothing came up. Once again, he mentally was able to shake that off.
“Jose has ridden him most of his career and knows him. With two eyes or one he’s a little difficult. Sometimes he’ll switch on and off his leads. Since he doesn’t have his left eye, he can’t see horses to his inside. So, he’ll naturally try to come over on them because he can’t see them. He had a perfect trip today following the favorites and ran great.”
Rebel Red (GB) is a son of Frankel (GB) out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Without You Babe and was bred in Great Britain by his co-owner John D. Gunther.
The Chorleywood is named in honor of the Thoroughbred retirement farm located in nearby Prospect, Ky. in Oldham County. The 25.1-acre property was originally a Thoroughbred farm owned by George and Janet Falk, dubbed Sunny Acres Farm. The property is now owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen, who partnered with the Thoroughbred transition program Second Stride to provide rehabilitation, retraining and committed adoptive homes to retired racehorses, broodmares and young Thoroughbreds not suited to the track. Chorleywood generally houses 16 transitioning Thoroughbreds at any one time and may serve 80 horses over a year.
CHORLEYWOOD QUOTES
Cherie DeVaux (trainer, Rebel Red, winner): “This horse just has a tremendous mental fortitude. At Saratoga he had a stall accident and ended up losing his left eye and it never really bothered him. He seems to shake things off fairly quickly and go on with it. In the Louisville when he clipped heels, he had a couple of scrapes. We monitored him closely and nothing came up. Once again, he mentally was able to shake that off. Jose (Ortiz) has ridden him most of his career and knows him. With two eyes or one he’s a little difficult. Sometimes he’ll switch on and off his leads. Since he doesn’t have his left eye, he can’t see horses to his inside. So, he’ll naturally try to come over on them because he can’t see them. He had a perfect trip today following the favorites and ran great.”
Cristian Torres (jockey, Highway Robber, runner-up): “We had a good trip. He was able to relax nicely on the backside. Around the turn, he got into a good position but was just second best today.”
