Serengeti Empress already drawing lofty comparisons

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s not often a 2-year-old filly is mentioned in the same breath as the great Rachel Alexandra, but that’s what’s happening with Serengeti Empress in the aftermath of her Saturday jaunt in the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The 19 1/2-length win margin by Serengeti Empress was just shy of the modern-day stakes record at Churchill, held by Rachel Alexandra (20 1/4 lengths in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks). Morever, winning the Grade 2 Pocahontas is something that not even Rachel accomplished.

It was on Nov. 1, 2008, that Rachel finished second in the Pocahontas to Sara Louise. Hal Wiggins, who trained Rachel at the time, didn’t even run her in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, which was held at Santa Anita that year. Rachel would end her 2-year-old season with a 4 3/4-length victory in the Golden Rod at Churchill, turning the tables on Sara Louise, before going on to earn Horse of the Year honors as a 3-year-old.

Clearly, Serengeti Empress is ahead of the curve. Tom Amoss said he only hopes to keep the Alternation filly “healthy and happy” in the nearly seven weeks until she races next in the Nov. 2 BC Juvenile Fillies at Churchill. Serengeti Empress earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure and an expenses-paid BC berth with her Pocahontas romp.

Her owner, Joel Politi, an orthopedic surgeon in Columbus, Ohio, was accompanied by about a dozen family and friends in watching the Pocahontas from Section 319 in the Churchill clubhouse. It was a raucous celebration from the opening bell, as Serengeti Empress and jockey Corey Lanerie sped to the early lead and never looked back.

“She’s got a lot of speed and keeps on going,” said Lanerie.

“This is the thrill of a lifetime,” said Politi. “There’s no other way to put it. I’ve got family, friends here. It’s a special day. This is as good as it gets.”

The Pocahontas was the last of four stakes on an eventful Saturday card. In the previous race, Cairo Cat earned an expenses-paid berth into the Nov. 2 BC Juvenile, getting a terrific ride from Brian Hernandez Jr. in running down favored Tight Ten in the Grade 3 Iroquois. The winning Beyer was an 80.

Kenny McPeek, who trains Cairo Cat for Walking L Thoroughbreds, said Monday the Cairo Prince colt will make his next start in the Oct. 6 Breeders’ Futurity at Keenland. “Can’t pass that one up,” he said.

In the two preceding stakes, both for fillies and mares, Vertical Oak (88 Beyer) showed a new dimension when coming from well off the pace to win the six-furlong Open Mind, after which Blue Prize (96 Beyer) once again demonstrated a fondness for the Churchill surface when digging in for a hard-fought triumph over Champagne Problems in the Grade 3 Locust Grove at 1 1/16 miles. Both winners could be Breeders’ Cup-bound in their respective divisions.