Girl Daddy pulls away in Pocahontas Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Girl Daddy kicked off what could be a birthday week to remember at Churchill Downs for Dennis Albaugh, winning the Grade 3, $200,000 Pocahontas Stakes by two lengths Thursday, the Thoroughbred owner's 71st birthday.

"That's the bad news," Albaugh joked of his age. "Whatever. I feel like I'm a lot younger."

Good horses are often credited with keeping one feeling young and looking forward, and Albaugh has plenty to look forward to. Girl Daddy not only secured an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 6 at Keeneland with her victory, she also earned 10 points toward the 2021 Kentucky Oaks, as this was the first race awarding qualifying points.

In the more immediate future, Albaugh Family Stables co-owns Kentucky Derby entrant Thousand Words with Spendthrift Farm. The stable's other entrants this weekend include the 2-year-old colt Sittin On Go in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes, the brother race to the Pocahontas, offering 2021 Derby points and a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

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In the meantime, however, Girl Daddy ($8.60), trained by Dale Romans, cemented her status as a rising star for the stable by remaining unbeaten in her short career. The filly was a 5 1/2-length debut winner going six furlongs July 24 at Ellis Park, and successfully stretched out to the one-turn mile Thursday. Girl Daddy made a three-wide move to seize the lead nearing the quarter pole and powered clear in the lane while ridden out in the final stages by Joe Talamo.

Girl Daddy completed the mile on a fast track in 1:34.94.

"We loved everything about this horse," Albaugh said of the Uncle Mo filly, who he went to $500,000 to acquire at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale. "She's turned out to be exactly what we hoped she'd be. It's off to the Breeders' Cup now."

Crazy Beautiful, who was favored in the Pocahontas off a victory in the Debutante at Ellis Park, trailed the field early but made an eye-catching move between horses to reach contention on the far turn. She encountered a wall of horses turning for home and eventually split horses four wide for clear running room, but proved clearly second-best, crossing the line 3 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place Alexandria.

Crafty Daddy survives in Opening Verse

Earlier on the card, Crafty Daddy survived a strong rally from Captivating Moon and then survived an objection to win the $115,000 Opening Verse Stakes.

Crafty Daddy, under Brian Hernandez Jr, made a three-wide bid to take the lead at the quarter pole of the Opening Verse, which scratched down to just four horses when it was taken off the turf. Captivating Moon, who hopped slightly at the break under Julien Leparoux, raced in last early but rallied to come to the leader near the furlong grounds. The two dueled down the lane, with Crafty Daddy, on the inside, drifting out and Captivating Moon changing leads near the wire. Crafty Daddy crossed the wire a head in front, and a rider's objection was disallowed to make him the official winner. The time for the mile was 1:34.10.

Crafty Daddy ($9.80), who was graded stakes-placed last year for trainer Ken McPeek, was making his second start off an 11-month layoff. He finished sixth in the Kentucky Downs Preview Tourist Mile Stakes in his return last month at Ellis Park.

Hernandez returned to the saddle Thursday after being taken off his mounts the previous two days after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday. He subsequently tested positive for the virus antibodies, and, after lengthy consultation with health officials and Churchill officials, the decision was made to allow him to resume riding on the basis that he is not an infectious danger to others.