Lazy Daisy bests His Glory in Pocahontas Stakes
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Doug O’Neill has never been afraid to take a shot. Nor is he unfamiliar with success in Kentucky.
So when Lazy Daisy prevailed Saturday at 7-1 in the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs – thereby earning a spot back home in California in the Breeders’ Cup – no one could honestly say they were all that surprised.
O’Neill, the two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer, said by phone from California that co-owner Erik Johnson suggested running back in the Pocahontas shortly after Lazy Daisy finished fourth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 31.
“Erik picked the spot, and the filly came out of the Debutante bucking and squealing, so credit to them and my assistant Sabas Rivera in what was a great team effort,” said O’Neill. “I’m pumped.”
Locked in battle with 43-1 shot His Glory almost from the opening strides, Lazy Daisy and jockey Abel Cedillo finally got the best of that rival for a 1 1/4-length triumph in the 51st running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Pocahontas. Portrait, the 13-10 favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, was another 3 1/2 lengths back in third.
Lazy Daisy returned $16.40 after finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.89 over a fast track. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Paynter is owned by Johnson’s EJR Racing, Great Friends Stable, and Tom Mansor.
By winning the Pocahontas, Lazy Daisy earned the automatic Win and You’re In berth toward the Nov. 1 BC Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita and the first 10 qualifying points for the 2020 Kentucky Oaks. None of the eight Pocahontas starters had previously won a stakes.
Cedillo, 30, has emerged as an up-and-coming rider on the Southern California circuit, having finished third in the standings at the recent Del Mar meet. This was his first mount at Churchill.
The $2 exacta (4-2) paid $446.20, the $1 trifecta (4-2-3) returned $985, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-2-3-5) was worth $399.68.
