Stilettos. (Coady Media)
Ellis Park Debutante Winner Stilettos Tries To Keep Unbeaten Record Intact
Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Collinsworth Thoroughbred Racing’s undefeated Texas-bred stakes winner Stilettos leads an oversubscribed field of 14 2-year-old fillies plus two also-eligibles that entered Saturday’s 56th running of the $300,000 Pocahontas Stakes (Grade III), the kickoff of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
Stilettos, who recently won the Ellis Park Debutante, faces several talented fillies in the one-mile Pocahontas including fellow stakes winner Kimichi Cat. The fillies will head to post in Race 8 with a post time of 4:25 p.m. The first of 11 races will get underway at 12:45 p.m.
The Pocahontas Stakes will award the top five finishers qualifying points on a 10-5-3-2-1 for a spot in the starting gate in the 151st running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI), held Friday, May 2 at Churchill Downs.
Stilettos, trained by Bret Calhoun, dominated her debut on June 29 at Lone Star Park, winning a five-furlong maiden special weight contest by 16 3⁄4 lengths. Six weeks later, the daughter of Upstart returned in the Ellis Park Debutante and defeated seven rivals by 1 1⁄2 lengths under Brian Hernandez Jr. Stilettos will be ridden in the Pocahontas by Jose Ortiz out of post No. 12.
Another other young stakes winner in the Pocahontas is Joel Politi’s Kimchi Cat who won the 5 1⁄2-furlong Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga after the scheduled turf race was moved to the main track. Trained by Tom Amoss, Kimchi Cat debuted at Churchill Downs on June 14 when she finished second to Veggiedal, who would go on to finish third in the Bolton Landing. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Kimchi Cat for the Pocahontas out of post 13.
The Pocahontas is one of five stakes races featured on Saturday’s card at Churchill Downs. The lineup includes the $300,000
Iroquois (GIII), the kickoff on the Road to the Kentucky Derby; the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Locust Grove (GII); the $300,000 Open Mind (Listed); and the $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. Wagering is available on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and fans can catch all the action live on FanDuel TV.
Wagering is available on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and fans can catch all the action live on FanDuel TV.
For more information and to purchase tickets for Saturday’s card, visit http://www.churchilldowns.com/.
For those unable to attend, www.TwinSpires.com is the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and every race will be broadcast on FanDuel TV.
For more information on the September Meet, visit www.ChurchillDowns.com.
