Oaks Post # 20: Wally’s Dehere
Grade I
A mile and one eighth
WALLY’S DEHERE my Oaks dream
The dream. Just when does it start? From the time you lay your eyes on the new born filly or when she has her first start?
I don’t know but these were just some of the things running through my mind on the drive to doa stable. I wanted to interview doa about the chances of her filly in the Bluegrass Oaks.
WALLY’S DEHERE
(DEHERE x FORTY NINER x PROUDEST ROMAN)
Bred by: doa
Starts: 11 wins 5 places 3 shows 2
Earnings: $615,885
What’s it like to have a BLUEGRASS OAKS runner?
I’m just thrilled to actually have one good enough to be there.
How did you come to bred with Dehere?
Well… the first year I bred, I put Dehere with a 49er mare as an experiment. The result was the now 6yo Mika Noronen. I was happy enough with that result that when I got back into the sim last year; I decided to try it again…. and again and again. lol I’ve lost count of the number of Dehere offspring I own. He crosses well with other Mr. P line sires as well, especially Seeking The Gold. Both of Dehere’s graded winning 3yos were bred by me, as well as his first winner out of this year’s crop of 2yos. I’m typically a Friday or Saturday night BP breeder, so I pick over what’s left after the big spenders are done for the week. Figuring in the 250 to sex change her “dam,” Wally probably cost me about 400 bps.
When did know you had an Oaks prospect?
I began to wonder after her first race as a 3yo. Her debut was adequate at best, but she really started to show her stuff from her second race on. A disappointing finish in her first route, coming in third behind Oaks starter A.P. Sadler, left me thinking she was a sprinter, like her “dam”. So, we went back to sprints and started up a little bit of a rivalry with a half sister, Barb’s Dehere, trading wins in the next two starts. By this time, my other filly Dehere’s Gold had won a Grade 3 of turf, so I figured I’d give her a shot at it as well. No dice… she hated it, and came back lay off to boot. It was bit of a fluke that she ended up running a route again for her 3yo debut. There were no sprint races within the 3 BP distance, and her first route actually was right in line with her other races at the time, speed figure wise, so I figured I’d give her another try. Boy was I surprised when she blew by that field of fairly accomplished fillies to a 3+ length victory and a 90 speed figure! Not nearly as surprised, though, as I was when she flies home in the Equinics to just miss with a 99. That’s when I KNEW that I had a filly worthy of the Oaks. It’s really kind of funny; too, because going into the Equinics, I was sure that Dixieland Deputy was going to be the one. But she’s sitting at 31 in the rankings now.
What about the jockey?
I was impressed with the ride N. Bonus gave her in the California Oaks, so he was my top choice despite the fact that other jockeys here to ride this race have higher win%. He’s supposedly one of the best jockeys to get on a closer. Not only that, but he’s one of the nicest guys I know. And hey, if he’s good enough for HAWA, he’s good enough for Wally.
What about her post position?
I don’t think the post position will hurt a closer like her, so I’m not too worried about it.
Well thank you very much for your time! It has been a great insight into the road to the Oaks. We can see sometimes that the road is very long and you have to be very patient when breeding a horse as we all know how many things can and will go wrong.
So on behalf of all the Dehere fans and the people who love racing, we wish your dream to come true and your filly WALLY’S DEHERE is first past the post!