“Barn favorite” Pleasenthanku paying off for Contreras
Ted Black
January 9, 2026
Ask any horseman and they’ll tell you: there is nothing like walking into the winners’ circle with a triumphant homebred.
Although he has saddled nearly 1,000 winners during his career, trainer Javier Contreras certainly subscribes to that belief. It’s something he has already done four times with Pleasenthanku, who seeks his fifth career victory in the Saturday night opener.
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A four-year-old gelding by Fiber Sonde out of the Gone Astray mare Heart Astray, Pleasenthanku has won four of six career starts and earned just over $80,000. He is rapidly evolving into one of Contreras’s more successful homebreds.
Though Contreras bred Heart Astray back to Fiber Sonde, he said that he opted to sell the mare in foal to French connections. The mare’s new owners, he said, may be more inclined to gear her and the foal to equestrian endeavors rather than racing on the flat.
Pleasenthanku won the first three starts of his career in 2025 and his season-ender, which came Dec. 12.
“I’ve won a lot of races up here, but there’s still nothing like winning with one of your own,” said Contreras, who entered 2026 with 975 career wins. “You wait so long for the mare to get in foal and then have the foal, and you just hope that when it hits the ground you have a healthy foal that will eventually be a runner.”
Contreras knows whereof he speaks. His career includes more than $18 million in earnings, numerous stakes wins, and a pair of Grade 3 triumphs with stellar racemare Late Night Pow Wow.
In the weeks after being foaled, Pleasenthanku gave Contreras every indication that he was healthy and perhaps destined to perform well on the track despite a docile demeanor.
He prevailed easily as the 6-5 favorite in a one-turn maiden special weight dash in his career debut last March 15 and returned five weeks later to capture an allowance race for state-breds, this time as the 5-2 choice. After a bit of a hiatus, Pleasenthanku came back to record his third consecutive tally on August 8 against allowance company, holding on to win by a neck under regular pilot Sunday Diaz, Jr.
“I love that colt,” Diaz said of Pleasenthanku. “He’s a really good horse and he’s nice to be around. He’s always been really well-mannered. I always enjoy getting the chance to ride anything for Javier. He’s always believed in me. Every time I get up [on one of his horses], I know they’re ready.”
Pleasenthanku tried stakes foes for the first time on WVBC night in the 4 ½-furlong Dash for Cash and for the first time wasn’t favored, going off at 27-1. He finished a respectable fifth as Time to Rock forged a mild upset while favored Duncan Idaho missed the break and suffered his only setback of the season.
Pleasenthanku then finished second in a one-turn allowance dash won by stablemate Pork Chop Pete before concluding his sophomore season with a handy allowance tally on Charles Town’s penultimate live card of 2025.
“I am always tempted to stretch him out, but he’s done so well going 4 1/2 [furlongs] I don’t want to change anything,” Contreras said. “I want to give him a chance to run through all of his West Virginia-bred lifetime conditions before I change anything.”
Sounds like solid horsemanship. It’s also true, though, that Contreras has a bit of a rooting interest beyond the normal owner-trainer-horse combo.
“He’s definitely one of the barn favorites. Not because he wins, but because he’s just the nicest horse to be around,” Contreras said. “He’s always acted like a pet. When he gets out on the track, he can be a little aggressive, but around the barn he’s very gentle and mild-mannered.”
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