Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Crazy Beautiful has targets in Pocahontas
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A few years ago, Churchill Downs trotted out its “Thurby” label as a marketing gimmick to reflect the ever-increasing popularity of the Thursday before the Kentucky Derby.
But can there really be a Thurby without 40,000-plus frolicking fans?
“Sure there can,” Kenny McPeek said.
As the trainer of Crazy Beautiful, McPeek clearly is biased. A gray filly who already has shown a terrific late kick in two career starts, Crazy Beautiful will be among the core of favor- ites in the 2020 Thurby feature, the Grade 3 Pocahontas for 2-year-old fillies.
Crazy Beautiful will have Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard when she breaks from post 6 in a field of 12 in the $200,000 Pocahontas, a one-mile race that not only is a Win and You’re In event toward the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, but also the first qualifying points race (10-42-1) toward the 2021 Kentucky Oaks.
“She’s done everything right,” said McPeek, already a two-time Pocahontas winner with Dothraki Queen (2015) and Daddys Lil Darling (2016). “She really is a high-level talent, and the good thing is she wants more distance.”
Crazy Beautiful, stretching out off a 3 3/4-length win in the Aug. 9 Runhappy Debutante at Ellis Park, will be looking to reel in the likes of Ava’s Grace, Inject, and Girl Daddy, each of whom won a maiden race at Ellis this summer.
Inject (post 10, Julien Leparoux), trained by Stan Hough, earned a field-high 82 Beyer Speed Figure in a six-length debut romp going five furlongs Aug. 15. Hough had considered waiting for an allowance here or at Keeneland before deciding to see how she will fare going longer in graded stakes company.
“She’s acted like she could be a good one,” Hough said.
Ava’s Grace (post 5, David Cohen) won at first asking July 3 before trainer Robertino Diodoro sent her to Saratoga, where she finished third after setting the pace in the Grade 2 Adirondack last month.
Girl Daddy (post 11, Joe Talamo) won by 5 1/2 lengths when in hand in her lone appearance, prompting trainer Dale Romans to think of her as a blossoming star.
“She could’ve won by a lot more,” Romans said. “She’s trained great since then, and we’d really like her to show something here.”
Other possibilities in the 52nd Pocahontas include two other Ellis maiden winners, American Grace and a second McPeek filly, Dream Quist; Mania, Fabricate, and Xtrema, the respective 2-3-4 finishers in the Ellis Debutante; and Alexandria, an unbeaten Ohio-bred trying open company for the first time.
First post Thursday is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Pocahontas going at 5:58 as the 10th of 11 races. Possible thundershowers and a high of 82 are in the local forecast. The entire card will be shown live on Fox Sports 2.
Cox pair heads Opening Verse
A trio of races with six-figure purses (including bonus money for registered Kentucky-breds) will precede the Pocahontas, led by the $115,000 Opening Verse (race 8, 4:52) for turf milers.
Brad Cox holds a very strong hand, sending out the uncoupled duo of Mr. Misunderstood and Set Piece in the 14th Opening Verse. Mr. Misunderstood (post 4, Florent Geroux), a multiple graded winner, could surpass the $1 million earnings mark if he can win for the 14th time, while Set Piece (post 10, Javier Castellano), a Britishbred Juddmonte Farms homebred, would be very dangerous if he can run back to his sharp stateside debut here June 12.
In all, 12 are entered in the Opening Verse, with only as many as 10 being allowed to start. Fringe players in an otherwise well-matched lineup include Captivating Moon, Renaisance Frolic, Made You Look, and Cullum Road.
Two $103,000 second-level allowances also are part of a quality afternoon of racing. Race 5 is a turf route for fillies and mares, and race 9 is for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on the main track.