Jockey Katie Davis made her first ride at Santa Anita a memorable one on Sunday, taking the Autumn Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies with 12-1 shot People Watching. It was the first graded-stakes victory of her career.
Davis, 33, normally rides in New York. She traveled to California to team up with the filly she had piloted to an allowance-level win at Saratoga for trainer Tom Proctor. Racing is a family affair for Davis: she is the daughter of former jockey Robbie Davis, the sister of active riders Dylan Davis and Jackie Davis, and the wife of retired rider Trevor McCarthy.
The field changed early in the day when the morning-line top two, Somerset West and Green Carrera, were scratched from the Grade III race. People Watching, who paid $26.40 to win, then broke from post 8 in the one-mile turf event.
Davis moved quickly to get the filly to the two path. On the second turn she angled outside from fourth position and reeled in the leaders. Ramayana, ridden by Jamie Spencer, closed well to take second, while Brave Deb and jockey Emisael Jaramillo finished third.
“It felt good,” Davis told a Santa Anita TV interviewer. “I knew a couple of guys were behind me trying to catch me, but I knew she had it when (People Watching’s) ears (perked) up.”
According to Santa Anita, Davis is the first woman jockey to win a stakes race at the Arcadia track since Jessica Pyfer. Pyfer won aboard Bally’s Charm in the Show Chief Stakes on May 28, 2022.
Elsewhere on the card, Juan Hernandez won races with Dhitjari and Chiseled in Stone. The pair of wins put him back in sole possession of the lead in the Santa Anita autumn jockey standings, ahead of Jaramillo, 19-17.
In wagering, the pick-six paid $7,477. Bettors put up $536,793 in pursuit of a two-day carryover of $109,519.
