Rebel red scoring Chorleywood Stakes at Churchill Downs in June. (Renee Torbit/Coady Media)
A closer look at Breeders’ Cup
John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services’ Rebel Red (GB) has had more than his share of setbacks. Last July, he suffered serious injuries to his left eye in a stable accident, leading to the eye’s removal and a question about the Frankel chestnut’s future on the track.
Incredibly, he missed little training and returned to racing just two months later in the Bernard Baruch Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Although he finished seventh, he found the winner’s circle in a Keeneland allowance last October, proving he still had his head in the game.
“I think we thought about it more than he did,” DeVaux said. “He actually lost two weeks and was back in training. We just put him in there and followed horses and saw how it went. We make sure he goes with a pony for safety because he can be a bit of a turkey. The jockeys try to take him wide to be fair to him and everyone. You would never even know (what happened).”
Rebel Red went on to earn his first placing with a third in the Grade 2 Red Smith at Aqueduct Racetrack to close out his campaign. This spring he tried his luck in a trio of graded races, finishing in the top two of the board, before suffering another wave of bad luck at Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Louisville in May, where he clipped his heels and fell.
Nevertheless, Rebel Red dusted himself off again and returned with strong form, winning his next start in Churchill’s Chorleywood Stakes by a seventh in Monmouth Park’s Grade 2 United Nations, but his determination shone again at the highest level with a close second to El Cordobes in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes in August at Saratoga Race Couse.
“She feels great… and probably beautiful!” @CBredar talked to @reredevaux about her @BreedersCup contenders VAHVA, SHE FEELS BEAUTIFUL and REBEL RED. pic.twitter.com/HLlpGjyMFc
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 28, 2025
“A lot has happened. He’s had some really good races, but in the spring he had a bad fall while on the turf track at Churchill, and I really thought that might be something for him,” DeVaux said. “Even if he doesn’t run a good race, he goes right back in, and the United Nations has proven that to the Sword Dancer.”
As he prepares for his biggest task on the track in this year’s G1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, Rebel Red comes in having already overcome much bigger obstacles along the way.
“He’s just one of those horses that has every excuse for not wanting to train or do it, but he wants to,” DeVaux said. “He is training extremely well and we are so proud to have him here.”
#Rebel #Red #Overcoming #Grass #Odds