Pass the Hat refused to lose Sunday at Saratoga, fighting every step of the stretch drive to capture the Poker S. (G3) and secure the first Graded stakes victory of his career. After stalking the pace and launching his bid on the far turn, the Pin Oak Stud runner responded when called upon, battled his way between horses in deep stretch, and gamely dueled stablemate Capitol Hill to the wire before prevailing by the slimmest of margins.

Sent off at odds of 10-1, Pass the Hat tracked heavily favored Zulu Kingdom through opening fractions of :23.92 and :47.60 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. Moving into contention around the far turn, he ranged up alongside the favorite at the top of the lane and dug in as the race developed into a prolonged stretch battle.

Zulu Kingdom was the first to yield, but his stablemate Capitol Hill was just getting started. The two Bill Mott trainees matched strides through the final sixteenth, with Pass the Hat showing plenty of grit to fend off his stablemate’s late charge and get his nose in front where it mattered most.

“I’m glad that I got on the good side of that one,” Velazquez said following the race. “He was ready today. Bill [Mott] told me he was pretty sharp today, and that’s the way he was. We thought if Zulu Kingdom wanted to be the speed, we could sit right off him. We caught up to him, and that’s when Bill’s other horse showed up. I was very pleased with his effort.”

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Pass the Hat has steadily progressed since returning to action last year. After making just two starts as a juvenile in 2023, he resurfaced in Mott’s barn and has continued to improve since being switched to the turf. Sunday’s Poker Stakes victory followed allowance wins at Gulfstream Park and Aqueduct earlier this year.

“It took us a while to figure out what he wanted to do,” Mott said. “Last year when we started him out, we ran him the first time on the dirt, and he ran well. Second time, no good, so we switched him over to the grass. He’s gradually gotten a little better and a little better.”

Bred by Bobby Flay Thoroughbreds, Pass the Hat is a son of Collected out of the mare Veronique. Veronique also produced the stakes-winning, new track record-setting Nashville (Speightstown).

The Poker S. (G3) was not the only Graded success for Pin Oak connections at Saratoga on Sunday. Just a few races later, Slay the Day (Into Mischief – Mind Out), a filly bred and sold by Pin Oak Stud, captured the Soaring Softly S. (G3), earning the second Graded stakes victory of her career and capping a memorable afternoon for the farm.

Slay the Day’s dam, Mind Out, was purchased by Pin Oak Stud for $1.2 million at the 2021 Keeneland November sale, and is a half-sister to champion sprinter Miss Mischief (Into Mischief) and to the dam of multiple G1-placed Rowayton (Into Mischief). Slay the Day is the
mare’s first foal. She also has a 2-year-old colt by Curlin and a
yearling filly by Gun Runner.