Churchill Downs Stakes Recaps: Lovely Bernadette Wins Grade II Mrs. Revere, Hailstorm Slew Upsets Dream Supreme

Nov 25, 2017 Churchill Downs Communications,Darren Rogers

James M. Miller’s Lovely Bernadette sat just behind longshot pacesetter Marina’s Legacy, grabbed the lead midway around the far turn and repelled late challenges down the stretch to win Friday’s 27^th running of the $200,000 Mrs. Revere (Grade II) at Churchill Downs by a half-length over Maryland invader Journey Home. Daddys Lil Darling, the even-money favorite, was another neck back in third.

The Mrs. Revere – the penultimate North American graded stakes race of the year for 3-year-old fillies on grass – was one of three stakes races on a 12-race “Black Friday” program at Churchill Downs. Also on the card topped by the 143^rd running of the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI), Hailstorm Slew upset Ivy Bell in the 13^th running of the $79,382 Dream Supreme Overnight Stakes.

Trained by Jimmy DiVito and ridden by Florent Geroux, Lovely Bernadette ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.02 over a Matt Winn Turf Course rated “yielding” to collect her third straight stakes win and fourth overall. It was the slowest Mrs. Revere on record.

Lovely Bernadette, who previously won the $200,000 Indiana Grand and Keeneland’s $150,000 Valley View (GIII), banked the $117,800 first prize and rewarded her backers with $9.80, $4.80 and $2.60 in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies.

Marina’s Legacy made the early running and led the field through fractions of :24.55 and :50.92 as Lovely Bernadette raced in close pursuit from the outside in second. Lovely Bernadette pulled herself to the lead on the turn, passed the six-furlong marker in 1:16.70 and spurted clear at the top of the stretch. Journey Home and Daddys Lil Darling rallied from behind but could not catch Lovely Bernadette in the final stages.

“This filly has so much tactical speed I was able to sit a perfect trip,” Geroux said. “She felt like she had plenty left turning for home when the horses caught up to us. I think since we went slower on the backstretch that she was able to get a breather before turning for home. Jimmy has done such a great job with this filly throughout her career. She’s capable of winning a Grade I next year.”

Runner-up Journey Home, under New York-based Irad Ortiz Jr., paid $5.80 and $2.80. Daddys Lil Darling, ridden by Robby Albarado, was paid $2.20 to show.

I’m Betty G was fourth and was followed by Fault, Westit (GB), Proud Reunion, Tamit (IRE), Oh So Terrible and Marina’s Legacy. Sensitive was scratched.

The winner’s share of the purse pushed Lovely Bernadette’s earnings to $508,413 from a record of 7-0-3 in 14 starts.

Last fall, Lovely Bernadette won the $82,340 Rags to Riches Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs before four subsequent failed runs in dirt stakes. She debuted on turf at Churchill Downs in June and beat older rivals by 1 ½ lengths. Grass has been her preferred since that win.

“The sky is the limit for this horse,” DiVito said. “She’s shown us how talented she is on the grass and I think she’ll just keep getting better with age.”

Lovely Bernadette is a bay daughter of Wilburn out of the Bernstein mare Inloveiwthlove who was bred in Kentucky by David E. Hager II.

The Mrs. Revere is named in honor of Mrs. Revere, an accomplished Churchill Downs fan favorite in the mid-1980s. Mrs. Revere won 12 races in 28 starts, finished second seven times and earned $429,545 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Her six wins in a dozen starts at Churchill Downs included stakes triumphs in the Regret, Dogwood and Edgewood in 1984 and the Kentucky Cardinal in 1985. She was owned by Drs. David Richardson and Hiram Polk, who have provided the winner’s trophy for the Mrs. Revere in each year of its existence.

One race later in the Dream Supreme, 12-1 outsider Hailstorm Slew, bred, owned and trained by C.R. Trout, grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch under Jon Court and turned back a late challenge by 8-5 favorite Ivy Bell to win by 1 ¼ lengths while clocking six furlongs over a fast track in 1:09.56. The Oklahoma-bred daughter of Munnings paid $27.80 in the field of nine fillies and mares and banked $46,009. Overall, she has won seven of 17 starts and $325,807.

“This horse has been coming along slowly, and that was mostly my fault,” Trout said. “She’s really started to figure things out lately. It’s very special to win a race when you watch a horse like this grow up. We had a Shotgun Kowboy in the River City Handicap yesterday [note: he finished 11^th] and thought she deserved a try in this race so she made the van ride with him. I’m glad the trip from Oklahoma paid off.”

MRS. REVERE QUOTES

FLORENT GEROUX, jockey of LOVELY BERNADETTE (winner): “This filly has so much tactical speed I was able to sit a perfect trip. She felt like she had plenty left turning for home when the horses caught up to us. I think since we went slower on the backstretch that she was able to get a breather before turning for home. Jimmy has done such a great job with this filly throughout her career. She’s capable of winning a Grade I next year.”

JIMMY DiVITO, trainer of LOVELY BERNADETTE (winner): “She’s gotten the absolute perfect trip in her last three starts. They were going a slower pace up front today but Flo had her in a perfect spot. Once I saw the half-mile split in :50 I knew she’d have plenty left for when they turned for home. The sky is the limit for this horse. She’s shown us how talented she is on the grass and I think she’ll just keep getting better with age.”

GRAHAM MOTION (via telephone), trainer of JOURNEY HOME (runner-up): “I was very pleased. We just can’t beat that filly (Lovely Bernadette). We’ve run against her a bunch of times and she’s pretty tough, but I was very pleased with her. It was a very good effort.”

Q: Will she run any more this year? “No, she’ll to the farm. She’ll got to Ocala tomorrow morning. She’ll be back next year. She’ll probably be back at Keeneland in the spring.”

IRAD ORTIZ Jr., jockey on JOURNEY HOME (runner-up): “She ran good. When she saw that other horse alongside her in the stretch, she hit another gear. She didn’t give me everything I wanted when I asked her, but she kept coming. She’s nice.”

Q: Did you have any trouble? “No, I had a perfect trip. I can’t complain. She was second-best.”

KENNY McPEEK, trainer of Daddys Lil Darling (third as the favorite): “It was a solid race. A mile-and-a-sixteenth might be a smidgen too short for her, plus I don’t think she likes soft ground. She always runs hard and a little bit further she probably gets there. She was wide both turns. She was probably the best horse in the race, but just not the most fortunate.”

Q: Will she run again this year? “Maybe the American Oaks in California. That’s a mile-and-a-quarter, which she’ll love. We’ll have to see how she comes out and I’ve got to talk with Mrs. Polk (Normandy Farm’s Nancy Polk) and she what she says.”

ROBBY ALBARADO, jockey on Daddys Lil Darling (third): “It took a little while to get her moving, but once she got moving she motored home from the three-sixteenths home. But it was a little too late and we ran out of ground.

Q: Did you have any trouble during the race? “We got jostled a little bit in the first turn, but for the most part she ran well.”

DREAM SUPREME QUOTES

JON COURT, jockey of HAILSTORM SLEW (winner): “I talked with C.R. in the paddock before the race and he told me there was a lot of speed in this race. We sat a perfect trip from just off of it and it worked out for us. It was a great way to end the day and a good belated birthday present [note: Court celebrated his 57^th birthday on Wednesday].”

C.R. TROUT, trainer of HAILSTORM SLEW (winner): “Jon got her in a great spot early in the race and that really made the difference. This horse has been coming along slowly, and that was mostly my fault. She’s really started to figure things out lately. It’s very special to win a race when you watch a horse like this grow up. We had a Shotgun Kowboy in the River City Handicap yesterday and thought she deserved a try in this race so she made the van ride with him. I’m glad the trip from Oklahoma paid off.”