Queen’s Martini grabbed the lead on the second turn and held off Pronghorn by a nose to win the $200,000 Dig a Diamond Stakes for older fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn.

Ridden by David Cabrera, Queen’s Martini covered the one mile over a fast track in 1:37.21. Pronghorn, who was off last, finished 4¼ lengths ahead of Standoutsensation, the 6-5 favorite in the six-horse field. Runamileinmyshoes, Mad About Marie, and Bundle completed the order of finish. Ultimate Authority was scratched.

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The Dig a Diamond marked the 395th career Oaklawn victory for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, who conditions Queen’s Martini for the Fleur De Lis Stables of Naveed Chowhan, a New Albany, Ind., hematologistoncologist.

Chowhan privately purchased Queen’s Martini following a third-place finish in a May 20, 2024, allowance race at Parx. Queen’s Martini was exiting a fifth-place finish in an allowance sprint Feb. 22 at Oaklawn.

In the Dig a Diamond, Queen’s Martini, raced third down the backstretch, just outside Runamileinmyshoes and Standoutsensation. Heading into the turn, Queen’s Martini moved to the leaders, three-wide, and stuck her head in front passing the three-eighths pole. Queen’s Martini, under right-handed urging, opened a 2 ]½-length lead with a sixteenth of a mile remaining and had just enough to edge Pronghorn. One mile races at Oaklawn begin and end at the sixteenth pole.

An 8-1 outsider, Queen’s Martini paid $19.20 for the victory. Pronghorn outfinished Standoutsensation by 4 1/4 lengths for second.

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Queen’s Martini, a 5-year-old daughter of Mucho Macho Man, raised her earnings to $341,351 following her fourth victory from 13 lifetime starts. The Dig A Diamond was her first career stakes victory.

Saturday’s estimated attendance was 25,000. Total mutuel handle was $6,913,722.

Dig a Diamond Quotes

Winning Jockey David Cabrera (Queen’s Martini): “I learned a lot from her the last time. She doesn’t like too much kickback and she doesn’t like to be in between horses, in traffic that much. I knew we were going to have a little speed, so I just let her get out of there and put her in a good position without getting the kickback. And, of course, I won’t be in traffic. And, it worked out.”

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Winning Trainer Ron Moquett (Queen’s Martini): “She tells us when she needs a little spacing and we like to listen. It’s very rewarding. When we got her, she was a little thin and she was kind of wrung out. The good doctor (owner Naveed Chowhan) let me kick her out for a while and do right by her and I love to see him get rewarded for that.”

This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Apr 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.