Madame Cactus flies home in Raven Run

"On the turn I thought we were in big trouble," Rocco added. "Once we got to

the stretch and I realized I didn't lose that much momentum being swung that

wide, I wasn't that far off the leaders. I thought we still might have a

chance."

Madame Cactus covered seven furlongs over the Polytrack in 1:21 3/5 as the

11-1 seventh choice and paid $25.40, $12.60 and $8.60 to her backers.

"(Eden Prairie) ran her heart out," trainer Neil Pessin said of the

runner-up. "Speed

wasn't holding up that well today, and she set the pace and went 1:08 and

change. Maybe if that horse (Madame Cactus) had gotten to her sooner she might

have dug back in because she is game. The other horse was a better horse today

and my filly ran as good as she could; she ran a big race."

Eden Prairie took second by a neck over third-place finisher My Option. Ciao

Bella Luna, winner of the Beaumont at this venue back in the spring, came in

fourth by a head over Irish Lute in fifth. It was just a nose back to Fully

Living in sixth, who also got up by a nose over seventh-place finisher Primed

for Passion. Elusive Fate, 3-1 favorite Silsita, Sittin At the Bar, Jewel of a

Cat, Turn by Turn, Finding More and Thetaloveandmine rounded out the order of

finish. Lighthouse Bay and Plenty O'Toole were both scratched from the race.

"I'm just really thankful they gave me a chance on her when my horse

(Lighthouse Bay) scratched and they drew into the race," Rocco said. "I'm very

appreciative of it.

Madame Cactus broke her maiden in her second start as a two-year-old at Santa

Anita in September 2012. She captured her stakes bow the following month in the

My Trusty Cat Stakes at Delta Downs before closing out the year with a

fourth-place finish in the Delta Downs Princess Stakes.

The daughter of Cactus Ridge did not make her three-year-old debut until just

last month in the C.E.R.F. Stakes over the Polytrack at Del Mar, where she was a

closing second. With Saturday's score, the chestnut captured her second stakes

to boost her bankroll to $325,800 from a 6-3-2-0 career line.

"She's a filly with a lot of talent," Eurton said. "Unfortunately, she got

injured last year. She's always been somewhat special. Her last race at Del Mar

(in the September 4 C.E.R.F. Stakes) was a big effort, and you saw who beat her

that day (2012 Raven Run winner Gypsy Robin). We've always kinda liked her."

Bred in Kentucky by La Ciega LLC, Madame Cactus is out of the winning Mecke

mare An Annika Moment. Her second dam is Maybe in May, who produced English

Group 3-placed Ready for Spring. Her female family also boasts 2007 Blue Grass

Stakes scorer Dominican as well as Chilean Group 1 victor Querido Machito.

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