Cocked and Loaded, Dothraki Queen Shine at Churchill

Cocked and Loaded shook free to a convincing victory in the Iroquois Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
In only his second day of riding at Churchill Downs, jockey Emmanuel Esquivel made a big splash by winning three races on the card, including a victory in the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes to put his mount, Cocked and Loaded, on the Kentucky Derby trail.
“It’s great, I couldn’t ask for any better than this,” Esquivel said after the victory on Cocked and Loaded. “I was a little worried at the beginning, I’m new here and everything. But the agent I’ve got right now, Terry Miller, he works hard and he has the business and he gave me the opportunity to come here.”
Coming into the race with two wins in four starts, Cocked and Loaded had encountered some bad luck in his two previous graded stakes attempts, including a fifth-place finish in his previous start in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity. Trainer Larry Rivelli had enough confidence to load him onto a van to ship to Churchill Downs from his home base of Arlington Park to try and earn Cocked and Loaded the first points offered on the 2016 Road to the Kentucky Derby. Rivelli’s faith was rewarded.
Cocked and Loaded settled in third while Condominium and Expected Ruler battled for the lead 5 ½ lengths ahead of the rest of the field, running the first quarter in :22.69. The leaders opened up an even wider lead on the backstretch as they zipped through a half-mile in :46.29.
By the time the horses were entering the turn, however, several horses in field had caught up with the front-runners. Expected Ruler started to fade and Condominium was confronted with losing the lead a few seconds later as Cocked and Loaded charged ahead from the outside, taking command halfway through the turn.
Cocked and Loaded was challenged by Rated R Superstar, who attempted to grind down the leader. While he was able to cut into Cocked and Loaded’s lead, the victor would not be denied and held on by two lengths, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.94 on the Churchill Downs main track.
“At the half-mile pole, I got to the ones in front pretty easy,” Esquivel said. “I just wanted to see if I had the horse and when I motioned to him a little, he just took off with me. At that point, I didn’t want to take him back again, just let him keep on going and I felt comfortable turning for home. He ran huge.”
IROQUOIS WINNER'S CIRCLE

Unbridled Outlaw, who had raced in mid-pack throughout the race, finished third with 2.10-to-1 favorite Conquest Windycity fourth.
This was the first time Esquivel had ridden Cocked and Loaded, even though both were based at Arlington Park this summer. The Iroquois was Esquivel’s third career graded stakes victory with his first of the year coming on Mufajaah in February after winning the Arlington-Washington Futurity with Recount in 2014.
Cocked and Loaded was a $16,000 purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sale and is owned by Richard Ravin and Patricia’s Hope LLC. By 2008 Travers Stakes winner Colonel John, Cocked and Loaded is out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon and is from the family of Grade 1 winners Silver Max and Yes It’s True.
Sent off at 9.50-to-1 odds, Cocked and Loaded paid $21 to win. The Iroquois victory earned the bay colt an automatic berth for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as part of the “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series as well as the 10 points awarded the victor as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby scoring system.
“He's such a cool horse,” Rivelli said. “He rates and has a good stride. When he ran on the Poly [in the Arlington-Washington Futurity], we were scratching our heads wondering what was wrong with him, but he just didn't like the synthetic surface. He trains well on it; he just can't run on it.
“Today, he made that move at the three-sixteenths pole and he was just galloping. We've always liked this horse a lot, and people were down on him because of his last race but he just can't handle the Polytrack. I've always thought the world of him; I think he's a real special horse. He has a great mind.”
A race before the Iroquois, Dothraki Queen graced the winner’s circle following a victory in the $200,000 Pocahontas Stakes, a prep race for both the Kentucky Oaks and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Racing second to last in the eight-horse field for much of the race, Dothraki Queen and jockey Corey Lanerie bided their time during the 1 1/16-mile race. In the stretch, the pair found a gap on the rail and squeezed through while battling with half the other fillies in the field. Dothraki Queen was able to shake those horses off inside the final furlong and defeated Bold Quality by half-length in a final time of 1:45.80.
“When I got through I thought we were going to win by five. She quickened that much and I was surprised,” Lanerie said. “[Bold Quality] was heads up with me turning for home, and I just kind of took the hole from her and I didn't expect her to be running at me toward the end, but she made it close. I thought they were going to get me for one minute. I don't think my filly was going to let her by.”
STRETCH RUN OF POCAHONTAS

While Dothraki Queen’s win was exciting, there was additional drama after the race when Brian Hernandez Jr., the rider of third-place finisher Dream Dance, claimed that Bold Quality interfered with his filly Dream Dance. Churchill stewards reviewed the claim and disqualified Bold Quality for interference, elevating Dream Dance from third to second.
The disqualification gave the bettors a $212.20 payout on a $2 exacta with Dothraki Queen going off at odds of 7.40-to-1 and Dream Dance at 19.70-to-1. Those who picked Dothraki Queen to win were rewarded with $16.80 for a $2 win ticket.
For charts from all of Churchill Downs’ races today, click here.