Pocahontas was bred by King William IV at Hampton Court. She was sold to Mr Greatrex for 62 guineas at the dispersal of that Royal Stud in in 1837. Commonly considered to be unsuccessful on the racecourse, a closer look at her turf career shows the quality of the fields she raced against. She ran only once as two-year old, managing a third to the highly regarded and unbeaten Crucifix in the Criterion Stakes, showing such promise that she was made third favorite for the Oaks Stakes. Unraced the following year prior to the Oaks, she finished a respectable fourth, again to the brilliant Crucifix, and close behind the placed fillies. In the Goodwood Cup of the same year she was in the lead at the close of the first mile before being overtaken by Beggarman, Lanercost, Hetman Platoff and Charles the Twelfth, beaten only the combined distance of a length and a neck, the rest of the field left far behind. Having already won the Cambridgeshire over Hetman Platoff, and placed third in the St Leger, Lanercost would win the Ascot Gold Cup in 1841; Hetman Platoff had won the Northumberland Plate and five other races; and Charles the Twelfth had won the St Leger. Pocahontas did not start again until the Goodwood Cup of the following year when, as a four-year old, she finished unplaced behind the winner Charles the Twelfth. Following the Goodwood Cup she was sold to Mr Theobald who sent her out in the Cesarewitch, where she finished unplaced behind Illiona, to whom she was giving 15 pounds. Mr Theobald raced her three more times in 1842 and she finished second in each race. She was then retired to the Stockwell Stud of her owner.

Her first four foals did nothing on the racecourse, winning but one race between them. Her fifth foal was Stockwell, who was purchased as a yearling by the Marquis of Exeter. In 1851 after the death of Mr Theobald, Pocahontas was sold for 260 guineas to Captain Thelluson; the following year he sold her on to the Marquis of Exeter.

Although she stood only 14.3 hands and was a roarer, her legacy to the thoroughbred stud book is inestimable. In the stud she produced Stockwell (ch c 1849 The Baron) who won the St Leger Stakes and the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes, and went on to become known as "The Emperor of Stallions." He was Champion Sire seven times and 2nd four times. Her other foals included Rataplan, who won the Doncaster Cup and Ascot Gold Vase, with a reputation as a very tough stayer, and who later became a Champion broodmare sire, King Tom, a Derby 2nd, a good stayer, and a Champion Sire twice and Knight of Kars who is prominent in 'chaser pedigrees.

Marpessa, the dam of Pocahontas, was a roarer and produced another in her son Jeremy Diddler, and Marpessa's dam Clare produced two roarers in Sycophant and Douro. Pocahontas transmitted the problem to no less than three of her offspring: Cambaules, Knight of St Patrick and Araucaria. While her three best sons Stockwell, Rataplan and King Tom were not roarers themselves, it is said that Stockwell transmitted the weakness to some of his offspring.

Pocahontas is thought to be the link to Eclipse in the "large heart" theory, having 13 crosses of Eclipse in her pedigree. Other crosses of interest in her pedigree include 191 strains of Spanker Mare (Spanker - Old Morocco Mare), 155 of the Byerley Turk, 139 of Hautboy, 121 of the Darley Arabian, 114 of Cream Cheeks, 111 of the Leedes Arabian, and 80 of the Godolphin Arabian. Some noteworthy stallions having multiple crosses to Pocahontas include: The Tetrarch (1911) with 7, Man o' War (1917) with 9, Precipitation (1933) with 27, Nearco (1935) with 37, Raise A Native (1961) with 175, Northern Dancer (1961) with 272, Mr. Prospector (1970) with 353 and Secretariat (1970) with 249. [Numbers kindly provided by Les Brinsfield].

Her line is still highly valued today; familiar names from the 20th century that trace directly from her in female descent include Ksar, Sayajirao, Dante, Belfonds, Dark Star and Bold Bidder.

Said to be the longest lived broodmare in history, Pocahontas died at Burghley Park, Stamford, still the property of Lord Exeter, in 1870 at the age of thirty-three. She heads her own branch, Pocahontas, of Family 3 tracing to the Byerley Turk Mare.