Pontchatrain rolls home in Senator Ken Maddy

Pontchatrain rolls home in Senator Ken Maddy

Glen Hill Farm's Pontchatrain overcame the outside post in the 13-horse field

to capture Saturday's Grade 3, $101,500

Senator Ken Maddy Stakes at Santa Anita for her second stakes score in a

row.

The Tom Proctor trainee settled in midpack as eventual fourth-place finisher

Sky High Gal posted swift opening fractions of :21 2/4 and :43 3/5. Pontchatrain

was forced to race four wide into the stretch but that gave her the room she

needed to run. The three-year-old filly came flying on the outside to grab the

lead in deep stretch and prevailed by a length as the 2-1 favorite.

"I had a lot of horse," jockey Gary Stevens said. "She was a little keener

than usual today. I showed her daylight, and that may have been a mistake early

on (in the race). She's still a little green, she didn't punch in with me today.

She wasn't focused at the top of the stretch, she was distracted by this big

crowd.

"She's a beautiful filly. She's still growing and I think she has a big

future, she has a big turn of foot."

Pontchatrain covered about 6 1/2 furlongs over the firm downhill turf in 1:12

1/5. She returned $6.60 to her backers for the win and now sports a career mark

of  6-4-0-1 and $204,882 in lifetime earnings.

Winding Way settled for second, just a half-length ahead of third-place

finisher Judy in Disguise. It was just a nose back to Sky High Gal in fourth,

who got up by a head over Purim's Dancer in fifth. Camryn Kate, Qiaona, Let

Faith Arise, Minds Eyes, Unusual Hottie and Sister Kate rounded out the order of

finish. A Time to Love and Ultrasonic were both scratched from the race.

Pontchatrain broke her maiden by a head in her racing debut in August 2012 over Del

Mar's Polytrack. She followed up her maiden win with a third-place finish

against allowance company over the Cushion Track at Hollywood Park in her

sophomore bow on June 29.

The dark bay made her turf debut the following month back at Del Mar winning by 3

1/4 lengths in an allowance race. The daughter of War Front crossed the wire in fourth in her stakes

bow in the Sandy Blue Handicap on August 16 and was exiting a score in the Unzip Me Stakes

over this downhill turf course on September 28.

Bred in Kentucky by Lavin Bloodstock and Kenowa Stable, Pontchatrain is out

of the stakes-placed Housebuster mare Dominica, who is a full sister to stakes scorer

Find the Treasure. Her third dam is Grade 1 victress Past Forgetting, who

produced Grade 3 victor Codified. Her female family also includes Grade 2

winners Concerto and Sweet Fervor as well as Grade 3 scorer Illusioned.

Pontchatrain sold as a yearling for $200,000 at the Keeneland

September sale.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com