Blue Devil finished last at Oaklawn this afternoon. He was admittedly up against it from a pace perspective as eventual winner Osborne found himself alone on the lead through soft splits. Blue Devil, meanwhile, was in tight early and settled in second last. He was guided out into the clear and moved up some down the backside, but was back to last into the home bend and just never really got going after that.

Both trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Keith Asmussen felt he had some trip excuses and that the lack of pace really cost him, but it’s fair to say that Blue Devil did not show much run regardless of his journey. We’ll let Steve and his team look him over, regroup, and figure out a path forward.