The Diana – (Grade l)

Purse $500.00 – For Fillies And Mares Four Years Old And Upward

1⅛ Miles  – Turf

Saratoga – July 18, 2026

The winning streak lives on as Poetic Panther turned back another accomplished field to make it three straight victories in The Diana! Displaying both speed and determination, she led from start to finish to add another Grade One victory to her incredible résumé. Few turf mares have put together a run like this, and this daughter of Lil Pink Panther’s record now reflects it with fifteen career wins and earnings of $5,386.52. The six-year-old mare stopped the timer in 1:45.20 to deliver the second-fastest performance in the history of The Diana. Owner Maletto and jockey Jam Rodriguez continued their outstanding record in this race, earning their third consecutive victory together. There appears to be no slowing down Poetic Panther whose recent form suggests there may be even bigger accomplishments still to come. It looks like Kentucky Downs is where we’ll see this Florida-bred next, but connections will have plenty of options moving forward. A huge congratulations to Maletto on this win!

Winner: Poetic Panther – (Maletto, Jam. Rodriguez) Breaking from the gate, this mare took advantage of her inside post and went straight to the rail rounding the first turn. She got the lead passing the ⅝ pole, setting interior fractions of 47.13 and 1:10.41. Poetic Panther continued to inch clear from the field down the backside, putting a length on her rivals. As the horses reached the far turn, many contenders were beginning to launch their bids on the outside. This mare had a two-length lead at that point and began to pull away. Poetic Panther just cruised down the stretch to score for her third consecutive victory in The Diana. Well done! What a campaigning job by Maletto as well!

Second Place: Beach Towel – (Winning Link Stables, B. Curtis) This daughter of Livinonthebeach went off as the 4-1 favorite in her first time going 1 1/8-miles on the turf. She sat her usual trip down the backstretch, which was just a couple lengths off the pace in third. Beach Towel raced three-wide and was gaining ground all the way into the far turn. However, as Poetic Panther was drawing away from the field, this five-year-old was being pushed even wider approaching the quarter pole. The eventual winner continued to find more in the stretch and never gave her rivals a chance to get by. Beach Towel is proving to be ultra-consistent, never finishing off the board in seven straight graded events.

Third Place: Mami – (Alydar Stables, V. Espinoza) Coming off a Grade One victory in the Gamely Stakes, this filly bounced back with a very respectable effort. She actually broke quicker than Poetic Panther and took the early lead around the first turn. Mami raced two-wide down the backside but was losing a bit of ground passing the half-mile pole. Jockey Victory Espinoza was trying to keep pace as there were many other rivals trying to close on the outside. This Texas-bred fell two lengths back at that point, so it was just a matter of whether she could save second place. Mami continued to fight on gallantly down the lane and ended up finishing third. She will carry a lot of momentum throughout the summer.

Fourth Place: Lady Hilltopper – (Black N Gold Stable, E. Esquivel) Compared to this mare’s four-race win streak at the start of the year, this was a disappointing effort. She broke just ok and ended up settling behind Poetic Panther about three lengths off the speed in fourth. Lady Hilltopper saved a lot of ground down the backstretch where she got in a comfortable rhythm. Jockey Emmanuel Esquivel started to ask this seven-year-old to go at the ⅜ pole being well within striking distance. I was expecting another impressive display of this mare’s turn of foot down the stretch, but Lady Hilltopper ran evenly to finish fourth. I’m hoping this isn’t the start of her going in the wrong direction.

– AJM

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES