Pocahontas testing ground for Pangburn, Take Charge Brandi
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Regardless of who wins Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Pocahontas Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs, she will have a tough act to follow, with Untapable having won the race in 2013 and going on to take this year’s Kentucky Oaks.
The 1 1/16-mile Pocahontas, the start of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks point series, drew a deep field of 10, with horsemen eager to find if they have a horse with the talent and staying power to contend in major races such as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The Pocahontas is a Win and You’re In race for the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Nov. 1.
The Pocahontas offers a wide mix of runners, with four having stakes experience, led by Grade 3 Schuylerville runner-up Take Charge Brandi. Four others are recent maiden graduates, with Pangburn ranking among the most promising.
Pangburn won her debut at Ellis Park going a mile on grass July 12, and was subsequently taken to Saratoga, where she breezed five times but never raced. Trainer Kenny McPeek considered running her in the P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga on turf, but decided on the Pocahontas instead.
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“Two turns is right up her alley,” McPeek said. “Whether she likes the dirt or not, we’re going to find out.”
A daughter of Congrats owned by Shortleaf Stable, Pangburn has the pedigree to fare well on the main track. Joel Rosario rides.
The Pocahontas, which received a purse hike of $50,000 this year, goes as the last of four stakes on Saturday, as the 10th race on an 11-race card with post time of 5:27 p.m. Eastern.
KEY CONTENDERS
Pangburn (Beyer: 68)
◗ The runner-up and third-place finishers from her first-out maiden victory returned to win.
◗ Although unraced on dirt, she is out of a dam that was a stakes winner on the dirt main track at Delaware.
Take Charge Brandi (Beyers: 57-66-60)
◗ Won at Churchill Downs in the spring before running second in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and fifth in the Grade 2 Adirondack.
◗ By one of the top route sires in North America, Giant’s Causeway.
Loom (Beyer: 73-35)
◗ Earned the top Beyer Speed Figure in the field for her runner-up finish in a two-turn dirt race at Indiana Downs vs. males on Aug. 19.
Christina’s Journey (Beyer: 66)
◗ Continues to train quickly, as she did before her debut, a six-furlong race she won at Ellis Park in front-running fashion by 4 1/4 lengths July 27.