Pennsylvania Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fulsome Takes Overland Route To Victory In Parx Racing’s Smarty Jones

Juddmonte Farms' homebred Fulsome rallied from last under Florent Geroux to win Tuesday's $300,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. The Grade 3 contest is for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles and attracted six runners.

Alonzo finished two lengths behind Fulsome in second, with The King Cheek another half-length back in third, with Ridin With Biden fourth, Fast Bob fifth and The Jones Boy sixth.

Fulsome, a son of Into Mischief out of the Distorted Humor mare, Flourish, covered the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:45.57. He paid $3.20 to win as the 3-5 favorite, winning for the fifth time in nine career starts. Among those victories was the listed Oaklawn Stakes on May 1 and the G3 Matt Win Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 29. Fulsome was coming off a third place finish to Mr. Wireless in the G3 Indiana Derby on July 7.

Fulsome is trained by Brad Cox.

The King Cheek jumped out to an early lead under Ruben Silvera, setting fractions of :23.12 and :46.75 for the opening half mile. Alonzo, who was in pursuit of the front-runner from the start, took command into the far turn, the first six furlongs clocked in 1:11.63.

Geroux allowed Fulsome to settle at the back of the pack, then commenced his rally around the far turn, going four wide into the stretch before overtaking Alonzo in mid-stretch, passing the mile marker in 1:38.79.

A local prep for the G1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25, the Smarty Jones was one of three stakes on the Parx Racing Tuesday card. A fourth stakes, the G3, $200,000 Parx Dash, was postponed until Aug. 31 after heavy rain from Tropical Storm Henri prompted track officials to take all races off the turf.

— St. Omer's Farm and Christopher Feifarek's Beren won the $100,000 Parx Summer Sprint Stakes under Frankie Pennington for trainer Robert “Butch” Reid Jr. Sent off the 2-5 favorite in a field of four 3-year-old sprinters, the Pennsylvania-bred colt by Weigelia won by 6 1/2 lengths over Marvalous Mike, with Privet Moon third. He went six furlongs in 1:10.19. The top three each earn free entry in the G2 Gallant Bob Stakes on the Pennsylvania Derby card.

— Bret Calhoun-trained Lovely Ride won the $150,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, going a mile and 70 yards in 1:42.66 under Reylu Gutierrez. The Candy Ride filly paid $6.80 to win, with favored Leader of the Band finishing second. Lovely Ride is owned by her breeder, Allied Racing Stable. The Cathryn Sophia serves as a prep for the G1 Cotillion Stakes, also on the Pennsylvania Derby program.

The post Fulsome Takes Overland Route To Victory In Parx Racing’s Smarty Jones appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Medina Spirit Possible for Pennsylvania Derby

Medina Spirit (Protonico), unraced since a third-place finish behind Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 15, was not among the nominees to the Aug. 29 Shared Belief S., but may be ready for the GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 25, trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday.

“There have been rumors about that horse since May 1,” Baffert said with a laugh this morning. “There has been a lot of talk about that horse. He's going to breeze this week and I'll know more after that. I go work-by-work with him. I'm looking at the Pennsylvania Derby, maybe as an option. [The question becomes], do I give him a race here? I'm going to let him tell me, the horse will let me know.”

Runner-up to then-stablemate Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 6 and to Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 3, Medina Spirit defied odds of 12-1 to cross the line first in the GI Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. The horse–and his trainer–have since been embroiled in controversy regarding a betamethasone positive that was returned post-race and which has yet to be adjudicated.

The post Medina Spirit Possible for Pennsylvania Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Baffert Considers Next Start For Medina Spirit, Gamine, Classier Work

The rumors on the backstretch were too persistent to ignore. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, they said, was going to run Kentucky Derby winner (pending rulings and litigation) Medina Spirit in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes, a one-mile main track event for 3-year-olds here on August 29.

“There have been rumors about that horse since May 1,” Baffert said with a laugh this morning. “There has been a lot of talk about that horse.

“He's going to breeze this week and I'll know more after that. I go work-by-work with him. I'm looking at the Pennsylvania Derby, maybe as an option. (The question becomes) Do I give him a race here? I'm going to let him tell me, the horse will let me know.”

Medina Spirit was not among the 14 nominated for the Shared Belief by Thursday night's deadline. Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World notably was, and trainer John Sadler said that will be the next assignment for the son of Candy Ride. Supplemental entries, at a cost of $1,000, can be made up to closing time of entries next Friday morning.

The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, a 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds, is set for September 25 at Parx, formerly Philadelphia Park, in Bensalem, Penn.

Classier, another of Baffert's talented 3-year-olds, worked six furlongs in a bullet 1:11.00 this morning and will run here in either the Shared Belief or next Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes, a seven-furlong extended sprint for 3-year-olds and up.

Yet another Baffert standout, Gamine, worked six furlongs in 1:12.00 with an eye toward next week's Ballerina at Saratoga and Baffert's As Time Goes By, a winner of two stakes at the Santa Anita meeting, covered five furlongs in a bullet :58.80.

The post Baffert Considers Next Start For Medina Spirit, Gamine, Classier Work appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

First Captain to Skip Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–Four-time GI Runhappy Travers S.-winning trainer Shug McGaughey said Thursday that First Captain (Curlin) will not run in Saratoga's signature race Aug. 28.

Godoplphin's Essential Quality (Tapit), the winner of seven of eight career starts, including the GI Belmont S., is the headliner for the 152nd running of the $1.25 million Travers.

Though the chestnut colt is fine following his third-place finish in the Curlin S. July 30, McGaughey decided to pass on the Travers and point to the GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 25.

“I just don't think he's ready for a mile and a quarter,” McGaughey said. “Essential Quality is pretty good.”

McGaughey said he thinks the 'TDN Rising Star' will benefit from having more time between races. Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the 1 1/8 miles Curlin at Saratoga, First Captain ended up 8 3/4 lengths behind the winner Dynamic One (Union Rags) in third. First Captain entered the Curlin unbeaten in three career starts.

“I didn't think he ran that bad,” McGaughey said. “He was wide the whole way. He was seven-wide turning for home. First time around two turns. It was a little deeper water. These horses had a lot of races, a lot of experience.”

Bred by Bobby Flay, First Captain sold for $1.5 million, the co-topper at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. He is owned by the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Flay and Woodford Racing. He debuted Apr. 24 with a seven-furlong victory, and picked up a one-mile allowance win May 29. First Captain captured the GIII Dwyer S. prior to the Curlin.

McGaughey, 70, has won the Travers with Easy Goer (1989); Rhythm (1990); Coronado's Quest (1998) and Code of Honor (2019). He said First Captain is short on seasoning for the Travers.

“I look back to Code of Honor,” McGaughey said, “and he won the Dwyer and he won the Travers, but he had run as a 2-year-old and all winter as a 3-year-old and had run in the Kentucky Derby. He had a lot of experience. This horse didn't. He lost his whole 2-year-old year, so he's really playing catch-up, I think.”

Other Travers prospects are Keepmeinmind (Laoban), runner-up to Essential Quality in the GII Jim Dandy S., and the second-place horse in the Curlin, Miles D (Curlin).

The post First Captain to Skip Travers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post