Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Derby & Cotillion Notes

By Tom Law —-

Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Derby & Cotillion News

Cox confident the real Further Ado will show up Saturday

The Puma ready for quick turnaround in Pennsylvania Derby

Talk to Me Jimmy set for chance at top of division

Casse readies Measure for another Grade 1 test in Cotillion

Distance the key for Cotillion contender Ms Sophistication

Mandatory distribution Saturday for Philly Big 5

Something for everyone on Pennsylvania Derby Day

Cox confident the real Further Ado will show up Saturday

In six of his last seven races, Further Ado has gone off as the betting favorite.

That trend is likely to continue Saturday when the son of Gun Runner figures to be the one to beat in the $1 million, Grade 1, betPARX Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.

Trained by Brad Cox and owned by Spendthrift Farm, Further Ado was installed as the 2-1 favorite on the morning line by Parx’s Director of Racing and Racing Secretary David Osojnak

In four of the seven races he has been the betting choice, Further Ado has won, some of them convincingly.

Witness: An 11-length romp in the Grade 1 Blue Grass April 4 at Keeneland Race Course and a 2-length victory in the Grade 3 Matt Winn June 7 at Churchill Downs. He also broke his maiden by 20 lengths at Keeneland last October.

He has also thrown in some clunkers when sent off as the people’s choice. He was the tepid 5-1 choice in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and finished 11th. Most recently, he was the even-money choice in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park and was a non-threatening fifth.

“We were super confident he would run well at Monmouth, and we didn’t,” Cox said. “We don’t like to make excuses … it was a sloppy track, he lost a shoe … it just didn’t work out for him.”

When he is right, Further Ado can be absolutely dominating. And Cox says he has Further Ado right as he heads to the Pennsylvania Derby. He has been training at Churchill Downs since the Haskell and is doing everything the right way.

In his career, Further Ado has four wins, a second and a third in nine starts. All four of his wins have come in Kentucky – two at Keenland and two at Churchill. His best race outside of the Bluegrass State was a second in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, where he finished 2 lengths behind Pennsylvania Derby rival The Puma.

“People might say he is not consistent,” Cox said. “He ran a great race at Tampa off a layoff, and he won the Blue Grass. The Derby is the Derby. You just don’t put much stock in the Derby if you don’t run as well as you had hoped.”

Further Ado will be ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, who replaces the injured Irad Ortiz Jr., who has been the colt’s partner in seven of his nine races.

Cox won the 2023 Pennsylvania Derby with Saudi Crown, who return to Parx to run in Saturday’s $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes.

Further Ado was scheduled to ship to Parx from Churchill Wednesday.

– Tim Wilkin

The Puma ready for quick turnaround in Pennsylvania Derby

The Puma has been down this road before.

When the colt takes his spot in the starting gate for the $1 million, Grade 1 betPARX Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday, it will be a three-week turnaround for the son of Essential Quality.

In the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes, The Puma finished fourth.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son and assistant Gustavo Jr. took a few weeks to evaluate the colt and, after he worked four furlongs (:51.88) at Saratoga Race Course last Friday with Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano aboard, they decided to enter.

The Puma ran one of his best races in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park March 28 where he lost by a nose to Commandment. That came three weeks after he won the Tampa Bay Derby.

“There is nothing you can complain about, energy wise,” Delgado Jr. said. “Everything seems to be in place. He is eating everything and is showing us all the signs you would look for. Coming back in three weeks? When he did it in the Florida Derby, it was his best race.”

Before the Travers, The Puma, owned by OGMA Investments, High Step Racing, TCC Stables, YNG Stables and JR Ranch, last ran in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park July 18 and he was fourth in his first race since the Florida Derby. He went to Louisville as one of the favorites in the Kentucky Derby but was forced to scratch the morning of the race because of swelling in leg.

In the Travers, he finished a length behind Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo.

“The Travers was a good race for him,” Delgado Jr. said. “Tough race, tough competition. He showed he belonged with the group. Now, of course, we are aware this won’t be easy. This is a Grade 1 and it’s a million bucks.”

The Puma, the 4-1 second choice in the field of 11, drew post six. He will be equipped with blinkers for the first time in his seventh start. His lone win is the Tampa Bay Derby.

He cuts back from 1 1/4 miles in the Travers to 1 1/8 miles in the Pennsylvania Derby.

“This is a horse that likes to rate,” Delgado Jr. said. “He didn’t seem like he was stopping in the Travers, the horses in front of him never slowed down.”

Delgado Jr. said The Puma will ship to Parx from Saratoga either Friday or Saturday morning.

– Tim Wilkin

Talk to Me Jimmy set for chance at top of division

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will be the first to tell you that there was temptation to run the 3-year-old New York-bred Talk to Me Jimmy against the big boys in the division.

Rodriguez, who co-owns the son of Modernist with SEI Thoroughbreds and Michael Imperio, said they thought about the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and the Grade 1 Travers before nixing those ideas.

Now, with the last chance to take on straight 3-year-olds on the horizon, Rodriguez and his partners are jumping into the deep end of the pool. Talk to Me Jimmy is entered in the $1 million, Grade 1 betPARX Pennsylvania Derby Saturday at Parx Racing.

And Rodriguez showed up early. He and Talk to Me Jimmy have been at Parx since last Tuesday and the colt worked four furlongs in :49.45 last Thursday.

“We are taking a chance,” Rodriguez said. “We know the race is very, very competitive. No race is easy, but we thought it was a good idea to give him a chance in this spot.”

In his last two starts, Talk to Me Jimmy competed against New York-breds. He won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes and then finished second in the Albany as the favorite. For the Pennsylvania Derby, Talk to Me Jimmy is 12-1 on the morning line.

Earlier in the year, Talk to Me Jimmy gave his connections a brief taste of Kentucky Derby fever when he won the Withers at Aqueduct February 6 by 11 lengths. They came down to earth in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial two months later with Talk to Me Jimmy was eighth.

“It’s not like he embarrassed himself in the Wood,” Rodriguez said. “We only got beat four lengths after chasing Napoleon Solo. This is a very steady horse. He is competitive and he wants to do it.”

He stayed in open company for his next start and was second in the Grade 3 Peter, also at Aqueduct, May 9.

Then came the options for the big races in the summer, but Rodriguez opted to take the low road.

Now, he’s taking the high road.

“I have been happy with him since he has gotten to Parx,” Rodriguez said. “We are like everybody else, taking the chance.”

Talk to Me Jimmy will break from post five and will be reunited with jockey Ruben Silvera, who rode him in the Withers and Wood.

– Tim Wilkin

Casse readies Measure for another Grade 1 test in Cotillion

For a time, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse was mulling the idea of running his 3-year-old filly Measure against the boys in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby.

He thinks that much of her.

Casse is bringing Measure to Parx Racing this weekend, but he has changed his mind on what race the daughter of Essential Quality will be running in the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion for 3-year-old fillies.

Owned by Gary Barber, Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Measure was made the 4-1 second choice on the morning line by Parx’s Director of Racing and Racing Secretary David Osojnak.

“For the 3-year-old fillies, it’s their last shot on the dirt (against just 3-year-olds),” Casse said. “It’s a big purse. It is a little shorter (1 1/16 miles) than I would like, but I have found that Parx plays a little better to closers and that should help her.”

Measure has taken a back seat to her more accomplished stablemate Counting Stars this year, even though she has run well against the leader of the 3-year-old filly division.

At the recently concluded Saratoga Race Course meeting, Measure made her Grade 1 debut in the Coaching Club American Oaks and finished third, 6 3/4 lengths behind Counting Stars. Always a Runner, the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Cotillion, was second in the CCA Oaks, 2 lengths in front of Measure.

Then, in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes, Measure just missed, losing to My Gun’s Loaded by a neck. Counting Stars finished third.

“(Measure) beat her and that speaks volumes,” Casse said. “Measure is a horse we have been excited about for a long time. It has just taken her a while to figure it out. It seems like she is getting better and better.”

Manny Franco, coming off his first Saratoga riding title, will ride Measure. He was on her once before, in the Coaching Club American Oaks.

Measure broke her maiden in her third try, at Churchill Downs in November. She hurt a back leg after that, and Casse had to put her on the equine disabled list.

She reappeared in May and has had four starts since, three of them at Saratoga, including the two Grade 1s.

Even though she owns just the maiden win in her seven career starts – Measure has finished second three times and third once – Casse sends her Bensalem with confidence.

“I am telling you, she is a good horse,” Casse said. “I have always had a lot of faith in her. I know she is capable.”

– Tim Wilkin

Distance the key for Cotillion contender Ms Sophistication

A $525,000 purchase as a 2-year-old, Ms Sophistication suffered from a case of seconditis, earning place money in three of her first five starts at three tracks. Trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. stayed the course and thought once he could run the daughter of Into Mischief in longer races, everything would fall into place.

Duarte, the private trainer for Richard Santulli’s Colts Neck Stables, was right. Her first start around two turns resulted in a second in the slop May 27 at Delaware Park, before she finally broke her maiden going a mile and 70 yards June 14 at Monmouth Park. She followed that with an easy allowance win at Delaware and a second by a head in the Cathryn Sophia Stakes August 18 at Parx Racing.

That effort earned her a spot in the starting gate for Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing.

“It seemed like from Day 1 that we ran her two turns, she’s been running very well and at a better level,” Duarte said. “The first time we ran her (long), the filly of Gary Capuano’s, Intrepids Fantasy, after she beat us, she won two in a row (by a combined 20 lengths). I thought it was not a crazy thought to run her at Parx, because it was two turns, close to home and leads to something better.”

In the case of the Cotillion, something much better, with the likes of Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner headlining the 9-horse field that includes Oaks favorite Zany, Alabama Stakes runner-up Measure and Black-Eyed Susan and Monmouth Oaks winner My Miss Mo.

“We’ve got to give her the opportunity at some point, and we think she’s doing well enough, so we’re looking forward to it,” Duarte said. “We’re up against some more tested and proven horses. She’s got to get faster, for sure. But there’s no saying that she couldn’t.”

Having run at Parx and being stabled an hour away, Duarte is hoping for the home team advantage.

“We’re like the local guys here,” he said. “We have a race over the track, which sometimes in the past that has helped. It’s never going to be easy. They don’t give these races away. But we paid a little bit of money for her. She has good residual as a broodmare. Anything after this, it’s like icing on the cake. She’s improving and she’s young, so we’re going to keep giving her the opportunity and see how far we can go.”

– Paul Halloran

Mandatory distribution Saturday for Philly Big 5

Parx Racing will again offer mandatory distribution of the Philly Big 5 on Saturday’s betPARX Pennsylvania Derby Day card.

The pick 5 wager, a 50-cent minimum wager with a special 15% takeout, will be offered from Race 11-15 Saturday. The sequence starts with the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile, with the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, Grade 1 Cotillion and Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby also included.

The Philly Big 5 features a carryover of more than $151,000 in the pool through Tuesday. For more information on the Philly Big 5, click here.

Saturday’s card will also feature seven pick 4s, starting in the first, second, fourth, sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th races.

All races Saturday will offer win-place-show, daily double, exacta, trifecta, superfecta. Pick 3s will be offered in all races except the 14th and 15th.

Something for everyone on Pennsylvania Derby Day

Saturday’s betPARX Pennsylvania Derby Day card features two seven-figure Grade 1 headliners along with a bevy of family friendly activities and options for serious horseplayers alike.

The Pennsylvania Derby for 3-year-olds and Grade 1 Cotillion for 3-year-old fillies take center stage on the track, along with the Grade 2, $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters and five other stakes.

Gates open at 10 a.m. ET with the first of 15 races on the card set for 10:35 a.m.

Parx Racing and Presque Isle Downs will bring back two popular wagers—the Pennsylvania Pick 4 and Keystone Daily Double—for a third consecutive year. The Pennsylvania Pick 4 features Friday’s Presque Isle Mile Stakes and Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes and Saturday’s Cotillion and Pennsylvania Derby.

With a minimum bet of 50 cents and a reduced takeout rate of 15%, the Pennsylvania Pick 4 is poised to offer substantial rewards for participants.

The Keystone Daily Double will again connect two marquee races—the Presque Isle Downs Masters and the Pennsylvania Derby. The Keystone Daily Double requires a minimum bet of $1 and will also feature a reduced takeout rate of 15%.

The day will also feature a 15- to 20-minute airshow presented by David Schultz Airshows between the Gallant Bob (post time 4:03 p.m.) and the Cotillion (post time 4:58 p.m.). The Bensalem High School choir will sing the national anthem leading into the airshow.

The picnic grove will again feature plenty of family fun, including pony rides, face painters and moon bounce, along with live music from Fish out of Water. Souvenir merchandise will be available along with food and beverage specials.

Parx Racing will again offer a free commemorative hat for all fans while supplies last.