West Point Thoroughbreds‘ Reagan’s Wit Captures First Stakes Victory in James W. Murphy
Reagan’s Wit (Authentic) secured his first black-type win Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, taking the James W. Murphy Stakes by a commanding 3 1/4 lengths under jockey Jose Ortiz.
The chestnut colt, who races out of the Cherie DeVaux barn like his older half-sister Reagan’s Edge (Competitive Edge), settled several lengths off the early pace as the field completed the first quarter in :24.07.
Still well back at the :48.69 half-mile mark, Reagan’s Wit navigated through traffic on the turn before displaying some greenness in the stretch — changing leads multiple times and drifting inward dramatically while still pulling away convincingly.
“He does that when he makes the lead,” Ortiz explained after the race. “He doesn’t slow down and he didn’t brush the rail. He’s pretty green. I was ready for it. I knew it was coming… I’m very excited about the way he ran today. Hopefully he matures a little after this.”
The 3-year-old son of Authentic was purchased for $135,000 at the Keeneland September sale by West Point Thoroughbreds and Reagan Ingordo — stepdaughter of trainer DeVaux.
His path to stakes success hasn’t been straightforward. After finishing second in his Ellis Park debut last August, Reagan’s Wit was sidelined for five months following a van injury. He returned impressively at Fair Grounds in January with an eight-length victory that earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure.
In March, he finished second in Tampa’s Columbia Stakes behind Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), who later captured the GI American Turf Stakes on May 3. His most recent outing before Saturday’s win was a fourth-place finish in Keeneland’s GII Transylvania Stakes behind Test Score (Lookin At Lucky).
“Really pleased with him,” DeVaux said following the Murphy victory. “He’s kind of a goofy horse. He showed that in the stretch. Jose did a really good job keeping him to task and staying on the horse, most importantly… He has always shown a lot of ability. He’s taken some time.”
The winner’s dam produced one reported foal following Reagan’s Wit — a 2-year-old full-sister named Chasing Sunsets who was an $80,000 RNA as a weanling at Keeneland’s November sale in 2023.
Sent off as the heavy 1-2 favorite, Reagan’s Wit completed the one-mile turf contest in 1:40.25 over good ground.
Soleil Volant (Karakontie {Jpn}) finished second, with Twain (Kitten’s Joy) taking third. Both earned their first black-type placings.
⭐️ REAGAN’S WIT ($3.00) was much the best in the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes at @PimlicoRC. @jose93_ortiz was aboard the Authentic (@SpendthriftFarm) colt for trainer @reredevaux. @westpointtbred pic.twitter.com/i7sfqk458J
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing)
⭐️ REAGAN’S WIT ($3.00) was much the best in the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes at May 17, 2025
