Crazy Beautiful looks to extend hot start in Pocahontas

Crazy Beautiful has already shown to be one of the more versatile members among the current crop of juvenile fillies. On Thursday, the gray will seek to remain undefeated while taking on a full field in the $200,000 Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Held over the one-turn mile, the Pocahontas has attracted a field of 12. It offers a free berth into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland in November as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge, and offers qualifying points of 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers for the 2021 Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Crazy Beautiful has won over the distance, in her July 5 debut at Ellis Park on the turf by 3 1/2 lengths, and she followed up with a similarly convincing tally in the Ellis Park Debutante over the Ellis main track going 7 furlongs over Mania, Fabricate, and Xtrema.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Crazy Beautiful will be joined by stablemate Dream Quist, who broke her maiden second time out at Ellis by 3 3/4 lengths going a mile.

Also likely to attract significant play is Inject, a Frosted three-quarter sister to Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tapwrit, who romped by six lengths in her 5-furlong debut at Ellis, which netted the Stan Hough trainee an 88 Brisnet Speed rating.

Fillies that graduated at Ellis and Indiana Grand comprise many of the other potential contenders. Girl Daddy and American Grace won on debut at the "Pea Patch" for Dale Romans and Larry Jones, respectively, while Ava's Grace graduated there first out also before weakening to third after setting the pace in the Adirondack (G2).

Although bred for turf on the sire side, trainer Joe Sharp's Blissful Change romped by more than nine lengths in an off-the-turf maiden at Indiana when last seen Aug. 11.

The Pocahontas is the 10th of 11 races on Thursday's Derby Week card.