September 14, 2026
If you thought Manuka Honey might not get a mile in the Pocahontas Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs, you must not have gotten a look at the filly.
Manuka Honey, if anything, seems to want to go farther than a mile, and it was through the last furlong of Saturday’s race that she validated her heavy favoritism, pulling away to a two-length victory under Luis Saez.
Manuka Honey got her one-turn mile in 1:36:90 and paid $3.92 to win. Brian Lynch trains the filly for five owners: Lisa Lee, Jason Sciortino, William Lynch, Brian Howe, and Terry Hamilton. Manuka Honey is by Upstart out of Drop Dead Red, by Hold Me Back. Bred by Hamilton, Manuka Honey was offered by Hidden Brook Farm at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton October Sale. She’s unbeaten in three starts, has already earned about $400,000, and might just now be getting out to the distances she really wants.
Scarlett Begonia, coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Adirondack at Saratoga, finished second, a head in front of Miss Anna. Stripe Show was fourth and Betty Sue fifth, the top four finishers earning, respectively, 10, 5, 3, 2, and 1 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks.
That classic race is run over 1 1/8 miles, and while it’s too early to say whether Manuka Honey has the talent of a true Oaks contender, she’d probably get that distance, too. Now 3 for 3 to start her career, Manuka Honey won a five-furlong maiden race in June by 7 1/4 lengths and the seven-furlong Ellis Park Debutante by a similar margin: The short-sprint score was especially impressive coming from a big, strong filly with the stride and bearing of a route horse.
Saez had to ride Manuka Honey in the Pocahontas, keeping his mount busy to the half-mile pole and around the turn, and riding very aggressively to the five-sixteenths marker. Manuka Honey advanced in spurts while generally drawing closer to Scarlett Begonia and Miss Anna, and by the three-sixteenths pole it was apparent she’d pass them. Saez, in fact, was able to ease up on the pressure after Manuka Honey got into a homestretch rhythm to win going away.
-edited from www.drf.com