Pocahontas preferred target for debut winner Girl Daddy

Albaugh Family Stables typically focuses auction money on young colts. But it’s a filly who’s emerged as the first graded stakes candidate among the operation’s current 2-year-old crop.

Girl Daddy debuted a winner Friday at Ellis Park, scoring by 5½ lengths in a maiden special weight event. Jockey Joe Talamo earned the victory aboard the Dale Romans trainee.

“Anytime you have a first-time starter, you’re not exactly sure how they’re going to act,” said Jason Loutsch, racing manager for Albaugh Family Stables. “But she’s been a true professional. She really ran a nice race and gave us some optimism going forward.”

Albaugh Family Stables primarily runs male horses. Current stakes winners include 3-year-olds Dennis’ Moment and Thousand Words, the latter of whom will try to cement a Kentucky Derby bid in Saturday’s Shared Belief at Del Mar.

The family spent $500,000 last September at Keeneland for Girl Daddy, an Uncle Mo filly out of Unbridled’s Song mare Cara Marie. That purchase came during an auction that saw 22 yearlings go for $1 million or more. 

“We were like, ‘Man, we’ve got to get something bought here,’” Loutsch said. “The colts were just going way out of our price range.”

Loutsch gave father-in-law Dennis Albaugh credit for spotting the promising filly.

“She was just gorgeous at the sale last year,” Loutsch said. “We went and examined her and did all our evaluation. So we just decided to add a filly to our roster. It looks like a good move right now.”

Tammy Fox, Romans’ partner and exercise rider, registered the name Girl Daddy this spring. The name was inspired by the “Girl Dad” movement stemming from the January deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash.

“’If you’ve got a good filly, I want you guys to use this name,’” Loutsch recalled Fox telling him. “I said, ‘Yeah, we’ve got one.’”

Girl Daddy joined Romans’ barn late this spring and turned in her first timed work June 3. She worked consistently at Churchill Downs since then, breezing four furlongs in :47.6 on July 14 in her latest move.

Romans debuted Girl Daddy on Friday in a six-furlong sprint over Ellis Park’s main track. The Albaugh Family Stables runner went off at 2-1, the second betting choice in a field of 10 freshman fillies.

Girl Daddy broke slowly but regathered and settled into third place behind pace setter Rock Out and 3-2 favorite Malibu Bird. She made a three-wide bid for the lead through the turn, put a nose in front coming into the stretch and drew clear to beat Malibu Bird by 5½ lengths.

“She’s a very, very talented filly,” Talamo told Ellis Park publicity after the win. “I was pretty confident riding her even though she broke a little slow. Really, just every eighth she just picked it up really, really nicely. 

“She did it about as impressively as one could do it. She was almost doing it too easily that last part. I kind of had to 'flag' her the last part to keep her mind on it. Inside the eighth pole I pretty much let her coast in. I was very, very impressed the way she won.” 

With Friday's victory, Girl Daddy proved herself worthy of a shot at graded stakes company. 

Both the $200,000 Pocahontas (G3) going a mile Sept. 3 at Churchill and the $250,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) over seven furlongs Sept. 6 at Saratoga are under consideration. Loutsch said between those two stakes, the Pocahontas would be connections’ preferred target.

The Pocahontas – scheduled one day prior to the 2020 Kentucky Oaks – kicks off the points-paying prep series toward the Oaks' 2021 running. Its winner also receives a "Win and You're In" berth for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

“I’d probably prefer to stay home just because it’s in our backyard,” Loutsch said of the Pocahontas. “It’s Derby week. It would be fun. If she’s doing good, we’ll give her a shot at two turns. I think she’ll like it.”