Breeders’ Cup Connections: She Feels Pretty and Enrique Miranda A Winning Duo

Wandering Eyes · 2025-09-17T13:39:39Z

It's easy to see why She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) has become a fan favorite. She's remarkably consistent, never out of the money in 12 career starts. She's gutsy, having fought to claim her latest of five Grade I wins by a narrow head. And she's got personality. Her friendship with an ornery goat named Mickey has a growing following on social media.

Enrique Miranda, an assistant trainer for Cherie DeVaux, is the star filly's main exercise rider and can attest: to know She Feels Pretty is to love her.

“She can be a little quirky,” he said with a wry smile. “She's an effective communicator, I would say. If she doesn't like something, she'll let you know. In the barn she's actually really quiet and sweet, but in her training, she knows her job very well. She doesn't need your help. She wants you to just leave her to it and she'll do the rest.”

Miranda is no stranger to riding superstar horses, having worked with a Breeders' Cup champion just last year. For him, being around the good ones like She Feels Pretty reminds him why he chose this career.

Growing up in Northern California, Miranda didn't have much interest in the horse industry even though his father Efrain Miranda was a trainer and some of his uncles were jockeys. Every weekend, Miranda and his brother went to work for their father at the barn, pitching in by walking hots and cleaning stalls.

Everything changed when Miranda was 17 and his father asked if he wanted to learn how to ride.

“From that day forward, I was hooked,” Miranda recounted. “That was all I wanted to do. I just wanted to ride horses. It's so much fun, like there are so many feelings you get with it. The connection between you and the horse is the main thing and I love adrenaline, so there's the feeling you get from having so much power underneath you.”

At age 20, Miranda decided he was ready to step out from under his father's tutelage. He headed south, driving straight to Santa Anita and walking into John Sadler's barn. They weren't hiring exercise riders at the time, but Miranda said he could start off as a hot walker. He landed the job and soon began riding for the Sadler barn.

Enrique-Miranda-at-Saratoga-08-27-2025-S

Enrique Miranda | Sarah Andrew

One of the first talented horses to make an impact on Miranda was Flagstaff (Speightstown), a hard-knocking gelding who won the 2021 GI Churchill Downs Stakes.

“He was super easy to get along with,” Miranda recalled. “He was my buddy and my favorite horse there. Even when he came back as a barn pony, I always wanted to ride him.”

Sadler's assistant Juan Leyva, a former jockey who famously rode Breeders' Cup champion and Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit) in the mornings, proved to be influential to Miranda not only in furthering his riding career, but in developing other aspects of his horsemanship. Leyva showed Miranda the ropes of being a barn foreman and assistant.

After six years in Southern California with Sadler, Miranda was ready for a change. He wanted to learn more about the racing industry outside of California. Miranda first met Cherie DeVaux when he took Grade I winner Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) to the 2021 Belmont Stakes. He followed the then up-and-coming trainer's career from afar over the next few years.

In 2023, She Feels Pretty handed DeVaux her first Grade I score in the 'Win and You're In' Natalma Stakes. Miranda saw She Feels Pretty in person for the first time when the filly arrived at Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup and he watched as she fought to claim third in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Not long after, Miranda joined the DeVaux team. He started out as an exercise rider and again, quickly worked his way up the ranks.

Now an assistant trainer for DeVaux, Miranda travels between the stable's bases at Keeneland, Churchill Downs and Saratoga.

Enrique Miranda and Cagliostro last summer in Saratoga

Miranda and Cagliostro last summer in Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

“We have a lot of good people on our team and I really enjoy working here,” he said. “We're like a family. My role is I oversee the day-to-day operations of the barn and assist Cherie in whatever she needs. I also gallop horses and I'll get on the pony.”

Last year, Miranda rode MGSP Cagliostro (Upstart), GIII Pimlico Special Stakes winner and Breeders' Cup Classic contender Pyrenees (Into Mischief) and More Than Looks (More Than Ready), who handed DeVaux her first Breeders' Cup victory when he brought home the Mile.

This year, Miranda has played a role in developing one high-profile youngster whose pedigree hints at big things to come. Nymue (War Front), the final foal out of Breeders' Cup champion and Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}), was under Miranda's care during her time in Saratoga this summer.

While Nymue's debut has not yet been set, Miranda said the filly certainly has her dam's personality.

“She's very intelligent,” he said with a grin. “You've got to be careful with the smart ones. She has her days where sometimes she wants to be a little quirky. As they get fitter, they kind of want to test you a little bit more, so I've got to watch out for her. She's really starting to show a little something. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we're excited.”

Miranda also started riding She Feels Pretty on a consistent basis when the 4-year-old arrived in Saratoga in June. After claiming the GI New York Stakes and running second to Excellent Truth (Ire) (Cotal Glory {GB}) in the GI Diana Stakes, the Lael Stables-owned filly went to Woodbine to claim the E.P. Taylor Stakes on Aug. 16. The tough chestnut fought late in the stretch to fend off Godolphin's Diamond Rain (GB) (Shamardal) and win by a head, earning a 'Win and You're In' ticket to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“I was so confident that I thought she was going to win by a mile,” Miranda admitted. “It got a little challenging there, a little tricky at the end, but she pulled it off. I knew she would. I feel like she gets better every day. Every time we take her over to the races, I feel all the confidence in the world in her.”

She Feels Pretty is now back at Keeneland and according to DeVaux, will train straight up to the Breeders' Cup.

Miranda and Lady Eli's son, 'TDN Rising Star' Dr. Agne, this summer in Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

The DeVaux team credits at least a small part of She Feels Pretty's success to her sidekick Mickey. The black-and-white goat accompanies She Feels Pretty to the races and acts as her emotional support companion. Over the past year, DeVaux has documented the antics of the “dynamic duo” on social media.

“You can tell if you move Mickey away from her eye line, she'll let you know that she's not happy with that,” Miranda shared. “The funny thing was that when she left to run in Canada, Mickey wasn't able to go with her and it was the first time they'd been separated. Mickey seemed more upset about it than she was. He's got a lot of personality and she just loves him so much. He keeps us all laughing here at the barn.”

We were all excited to welcome She Feels Pretty but none more than Mickey. He had been quietly eating grass for a while until this moment. pic.twitter.com/kJSGHJgHC9

— Cherie DeVaux (@reredevaux) August 17, 2025

Getting to know the horses as individuals and honing in on how to get them to perform at their best is one of Miranda's favorite aspects of what he does.

“They all have their own specific personalities,” he explained. “Some of them kind of grow on you or in She Feels Pretty's case, you might like one right away. They become your friends when you see them every day and building those connections with them has been something special.”

Miranda is proud of how far he has come. His father recently retired from training, but tunes in from California to watch all of the DeVaux barn's races. Miranda has aspirations to open up his own stable one day, but for now he is happy to learn and be a part of an active stable that has a good shot at getting back-to-back Breeders' Cup wins.

“One is plenty, but two is just too good,” Miranda said, his excitement evident as he looks toward the weeks ahead. “It's an honor to be around such talented horses. It's like a dream come true.”