Jamie Squire / Getty Images Alonso Quinonez, left, on No. 9 Intangaroo, edges out John Velazquez, on No. 8 Baroness Thatcher to win the Humana Distaff in Louisville, Ky.

In a finish right out of a Hollywood movie, Intangaroo, the filly owned by Camarillo resident Carl Grether, came from behind to win the prestigious Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.

Intangaroo, a long shot at 14-1, beat rivals Baroness Thatcher and Hystericalady to win by a head in a thrilling three-horse photo finish for the Grade 1 stakes race with a purse of $300,000.

"We showed them," said an ecstatic Grether, speaking by phone shortly after greeting his horse and jockey in the winner's enclosure on Saturday. "We've proved to everyone what we've always known, that she's the best sprint filly in the country."

"We have showcased her on the biggest day in the racing calendar, and it's awesome."

Intangaroo stayed at the back of the field for the first half of the seven-furlong (just under a mile) sprint and then, at the turn into the homestretch, jockey Alonso Quinonez maneuvered her to the outside and let her go all out for the finish line.

"Alonso rode her absolutely perfect," said Gary Sherlock, who trains Intangaroo at Hollywood Park, speaking live on ESPN television. "I told him, Don't change your style; don't let her run until late,' and she did everything she's always done."

Quinonez, who completed his jockey apprenticeship only last year, was emotional at the end of the race, wiping tears from his eyes and blessing himself.

"He was crying," said Grether. "I told him God be with him before he left. It's just unbelievable."

The 4-year-old filly won her first race last June on the day Grether's father, Tom, died after a major stroke. His final bet was $400 on the horse to win at odds of 14-1, and he was buried with the winning ticket. It's a story that has passed into legend and was repeated by the ESPN anchors on their Kentucky Derby telecast.

Intangaroo's road to Churchill Downs came via the Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita in February, where she came from behind to win at odds of 26-1, and her last outing in April at Las Flores Handicap at Santa Anita, where she came in third.

What makes her victory at Churchill Downs even more remarkable is that it's the first time she's raced on dirt, having previously competed only on synthetic surfaces.

Nothing, though, fazed Intangaroo on her big day, not even when security jumped on a guy who had climbed over a fence onto the track just in front of her as she was being walked out, said Grether.

"She knows she did good, and she's happy," he said.

Grether, 51, runs Tom Grether Farms in Somis, which he inherited from his father. The land lies adjacent to what used to be the famous Binglin Stable, established in the 1930s by Bing Crosby and Lin Howard, son of Charles Howard, who owned the legendary racehorse Seabiscuit. Grether says locals believe Seabiscuit is buried on the land he now uses to breed and train thoroughbreds.

After her remarkable performance Saturday, it wouldn't be too hard to believe that a little bit of the Seabiscuit magic has rubbed off on Intangaroo, who's earned her own reputation as "the little horse who could."