Although rainy weather had left the Penn National turf course bogged down by rain, the sun was beaming through the clouds in the afternoon when jockey Tyler Conner and Wow Whata Summer unleashed a bold move past the half-mile pole and scampered clear to spring an 83-1 upset in the $400,000 Penn Mile Stakes (G2T) June 3.
A homebred for Jeremy Brooks, Wow Whata Summer seemed an unlikely candidate to take home the earmark event on the Penn National yearly calendar. The 3-year-old son of Summer Front , who failed to meet his $24,000 reserve at the 2020 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, had only a maiden win (via disqualification) from last summer at Colonial Downs to his credit in six prior starts. Nonetheless, the Chuck Lawrence trainee vanned in from his Fair Hill home base off a solid third in an April 23 5 1/2-furlong allowance contest at Laurel Park.
The Penn National marked the seasonal debut for Bass Racing’s Annapolis , a grade 2-winning colt shipping down from New York for the powerful Todd Pletcher stable with the red hot Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons.
As the gates opened, fellow Fair Hill alumni Uncaptured Spirit broke best of the eight sophomores and quickly opened up two lengths on the field through a :24.08 opening quarter-mile. With Annapolis tucked into third position outside of horses, Conner wrangled Wow Whata Summer into second along the rail as long as he could before pouncing on Uncaptured Spirit with zealous vigor down the backstretch after a half-mile in :49.50.
Annapolis, showing the effects of the eight-month layoff, was second, two lengths ahead of Uncaptured Spirit.
Wow Whata Summer paid $168.60 for a $2 win ticket, with the trifecta paying a whopping $1,485.30. The gelding improved his overall record to 7-2-0-2 for earnings of $296,000.
Bred in Kentucky, Wow Whata Summer is the first stakes winner produced from the winning Malibu Moon mare Loan Guarantee, a half sister to stakes winner Strong Incentive (Warrior’s Reward). Loan Guarantee is the dam of an unraced juvenile filly named Cherished Wish by Mshawish and a yearling Desert Party colt named Wow Whata Party.
The Penn Mile was the biggest career stakes score by Conner, who landed four races on the Friday Penn card, including the $100,000 Danzig Stakes with Nimitz Class and the $100,000 Lyphard Stakes with Maldives Model.
Haughty Takes Penn Oaks Off the Bench
One race earlier, the Chad Brown-trained Haughty outclassed a five-horse field for a facile victory in the $150,000 Penn Oaks.
Owned in partnership by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Tim and Anna Cambron, and Team Hanley, Haughty hadn’t started since a narrow third-place finish, defeating eventual Qipco One Thousand Guineas (G1) captress Cachet , in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
Haughty tracked the early pace set by 64-1 longshot Irie Empress and disposed of that foe turning for home, soaring home a 4 3/4-length winner under jockey Flavien Prat. The daughter of Empire Maker clocked the one-mile on the soft turf course in 1:44.43.
Pennsylvania-bred Irie Empress, trained by Herold Whylie, ran on bravely for second, 2 1/2 lengths clear of Belacqua .
Haughty, earning her first stakes tally in the Penn Oaks, was bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds and is out of the Kingmambo mare Soaring Emotions, the dam of six winners from eight foals to race, including multiple stakes winner, grade 2-placed Souper Colossal.
Bradley Thoroughbreds purchased Haughty for $310,000 as a 2-year-old at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales’ Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training when she was offered by the Julie Davies consignment.
Original source credited to: bloodhorse.com
