Patrona Margarita Shakes up the Pocahontas Stakes
Patrona Margarita shook up the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes with a runaway four-length victory. The daughter of Special Rate earned a berth in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and is the first filly to earn points for the 2018 Kentucky Oaks. Currently Patrona Margarita isn’t nominated to the Breeders’ Cup.
Ignored at 23-1 odds, the Bret Calhoun
trainee broke smoothly from post 11. The dark bay settled in seventh place,
three wide on the outside through a 23.68 first quarter, and 48.83 half mile. Around the far turn, Brian Hernandez,
Jr. cut Patrona Margarita loose. The pair circled the field six wide and
took the lead at the 1/8 pole. Patrona Margarita widened her advantage to win
by four lengths, getting the 1 1/16 miles in 1:46. Kelly's
Humor earned the place spot, nudging out Sunny
Skies by a neck. The pace setter, 39-1 longshot Primo
Extremo, checked in fourth.
Brian Hernandez, Jr. was effusive with praise, “Her works have been really impressive over this racetrack. She really stepped up today and showed us what she’s made of. We tracked the speed just behind horses. With 2-year-olds you never know how they will respond passing horses and you have to feel good the way she was able to win this race today.”
Trainer Bret Calhoun, whose last entrant in the Pocahontas Stakes placed third in 2010, mapped out Patrona Margarita upcoming goals. “What a rollercoaster-day. It’s a tough when you think back on what could have been winning two stakes (Calhoun-trained Mayla was disqualified from first to sixth in the Open Mind for interference in the stretch-run) but we are happy to win the Pocahontas. She’s not Breeders’ Cup eligible so we’ll probably point towards the (Oct. 6) Alcibiades at Keeneland. After breaking her maiden over this track we tried her in the Debutante and she got stopped badly. She’s a Texas-bred so we sent her to Lone Star for the Texas Futurity and she ran a solid third. She’s not a sprinter so we knew she’d improve as the distances got longer. She’s trained phenomenally over this racetrack recently and I’m happy to see everything come together.”
Patrona Margarita (Special Rate - Margarita Mistress, by Naevus) is a homebred campaigned by Craig Upham. The owner praised his team. “I’m so happy for her effort this afternoon. I bred her which makes things even more special. Bret (Calhoun) and his entire team do such a phenomenal job. With her breeding we always thought she’d do well going around two turns. It’s special to be on the ‘Road to the Kentucky Oaks’ trail. Our horse will tell us where to send her next. I just hope she comes out of the race happy and healthy.”
The two-year-old filly gave a hint of things to come when she beat Upset Brewing in her debut at Churchill. After failing to fire in the Churchill Debutante, Patrona Margarita was a fast closing third in the five-furlong Texas Thoroughbred Futurity. The dark bay Texas-bred has a 4-2-0-1 race record and earnings of $150,253.
Patrona Margarita rewarded backers with $49.60, $22.00 and $9.40. The $2.00 exacta was $325.60. The $2 Trifecta paid 1,653.00 and the $1 superfecta returned 17,123.90.