Pocahontas (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies Two Years Old
One Mile on the Dirt
September 13, 2025

Last month in the Sorority Stakes at MTH, Ukraine Be Free and Be Royal finished 1-2, with the former winning by two lengths. They would go head-to-head again in the Pocahontas, and would take the top two spots once again, but this time it would was Be Royal grabbing the victory! This filly is trained by Mb Stables and becomes the third winner in four years for the trainer in the Pocahontas, and he has five wins in total here. A Fresu is the winning rider, and it is their first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:35.71, equaling the second fastest time in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :22.83)- Logical surges to the front for Mb Stables and quickly opens up a two-length advantage. Crushed It holds the second position for TwinTowersRacing while having the Team 7 Illusions- trained Thematic Element beside her to the inside. It’s another length to Pointed Out, who is on the far outside for D J C Racing Stables while having Ukraine Be Free running beside her for La Canada Racehorses. Williams9’s Result is next, a length ahead of Sasha and Purify, respectively trained by Alydar Stables and Bigchief Stables. It’s a length and a half to the three trailers who run alongside one another, and on the outside of that group is our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Be Royal. She has seven lengths to make up on her frontrunning stablemate. With her back there are the other Mb entry, Mapping Mandy, and the one we picked to win, Darkest Hour, from Fractious.

(½ Mile- :46.46)- Logical is all by herself out in front of the field, holding a two and a half-length advantage over the rest of the field since no one is interested in going up there and running with her. Crushed It will continue to hold the second spot, running between Thematic Element and Pointed Out, the latter of which pushed forward just a little bit. Ukraine Be Free patiently stalks that trio while having Result by herself right behind her. It’s a length behind her to Sasha and Purify, and a length and a half to Mapping Mandy and Darkest Hour. Be Royal has dropped a little further back now, now trailing everyone and being about nine lengths from the front.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Nothing has changed in front of the field, as Logical continues to hold her approximate two length win and looks to take this home all the way to the wire. Thematic Element has moved to the rail for the stretch, while Crushed It and Pointed Out run evenly with the leader. Ukraine Be Free moves to the outside but has not make much progress on Logical. Result has dropped back a bit and is now about to passed by Purify while Sasha looks for room on the inside. As this was going on, Be Royal began to pick it up midway through the turn, easily passing Mapping Mandy, then doing the same to Darkest Hour into the top of the stretch but she still had a lot of horses left to pass.

(Finish- 1:35.71)- Early in the stretch, the entire field is gaining on Logical, making it apparent that she was not going to go wire to wire. However, the one that would grab the win was still very much in question. Pointed Out seemed to be positioned well, but the close of Be Royal was the one to watch now. Between the top of the stretch, and a furlong being left in the race, she had gained significantly on Ukraine Be Free, and her Sorority Stakes rival will likely regret not having built more of an advantage for the last part of the race. Approaching the wire, several of them had a good shot, but it is Mb Stables adding to his Pocahontas Stakes trophy cabinet as Be Royal wins by about a length on Ukraine Be Free. Pointed Out is third, with Purify sliding through late to be fourth, over a dead heat for fifth between Thematic Element and Logical. The rest of the order will read Darkest Hour, Sasha, Result, Mapping Mandy, and Crushed It.

About The Winner- Be Royal, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by A Fresu, is a three-year-old filly by Bold Ruler and is out of Be Yourself. She was bred as a yearling in New York by Mb Stables, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her second in four starts and first stake win. Her career earnings are now $245.700.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :46²  1:10³  1:35³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 9 – 6 Paid 20.50
$1 Trifecta: 9 – 6 – 12 Paid 675.30

Scratched: Unfinished Symphony

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES