June 6 was an unforgettable afternoon of racing for trainer Cherie DeVaux for a couple of reasons.
The big one was the victory by her Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo in the Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
But earlier that day at the Spa, DeVaux put her stamp on another facet of the 3-year-old male division when the freakishly fast Englishman zoomed to a 5 3/4-length victory in the 7-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) to play his part in giving DeVaux a double dose of grade 1 success.
Nearly three months later, DeVaux will try to double up on twin grade 1 success when she sends out Golden Tempo Aug. 29 at the Spa in the Travers Stakes (G1) and Englishman returns in the 7-furlong, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds earlier on the 14-race card.
C R K Stable's Englishman scored at 4-1 odds in the Woody Stephens but figures to be considerably lower Saturday as reflected in his 3-5 morning-line odds in a field of six.
"We're super confident. He's training very, very well," DeVaux said. "He's the kind of horse that gives you so much confidence and you don't worry about anything because he's so fast."
The son of Maxfield put on a dazzling speed show in the Woody Stephens as he was a close second behind a :43.97 half-mile then took command in the stretch to soundly beat 4-5 favorite Crude Velocity.
That win avenged what happened May 2 in the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) when Crude Velocity registered a 3 3/4-length victory over Englishman, who suffered his lone loss in four career starts.
Though the Pat Day Mile showed how capable Englishman can be at a mile, DeVaux said she plans to limit Englishman to 6- and 7-furlong races this year, with an eye toward possibly stretching him out in 2027.
Bred by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, the son of the Speightstown mare In It for the Gold was bought for $400,000 out of the Mayberry Farm consignment at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
The main competition should come from Spendthrift Farm's Local Knowledge and Chris Fountoukis' Solitude Dude, who ran 1-2 in the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam Stakes (G2) earlier in the meet.
Local Knowledge, a son of Yaupon trained by Todd Pletcher, pressed the early pace and then battled Solitude Dude in a lively stretch duel to prevail by a head in his stakes debut.
"It was a gutsy effort in only his third start," Pletcher said about the July 31 Amsterdam. "He was coming out of that crazy allowance race where four horses came back to win stakes in their next start. This is another step up, but he certainly deserves a chance. We'll see if we can take another step forward."
A Yaupon colt trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Solitude Dude set the early pace in the Woody Stephens before retreating to seventh, marking the only time in seven career starts he has been unplaced. He was then a close third early on in the Amsterdam, which was contested on a good surface.
Juddmonte's homebred Into Mischief colt Deep Flame will get a class test in the Jerkens Memorial after posting an easy, 5 3/4-length victory in the 7-furlong Maxfield Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.
Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 29, 2026, Race 8Entries: H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Stickupwithoutagun (NY) Manuel Franco 124 Ilkay Kantarmaci 30/1 2 2Deep Flame (KY) Flavien Prat 124 Brad H. Cox 3/1 3 3Solitude Dude (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 124 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 6/1 4 4Englishman (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 124 Cherie DeVaux 3/5 5 5Local Knowledge (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Todd A. Pletcher 4/1 6 6Amberjack (KY) Javier Castellano 124 Jorge Delgado 30/1
