Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races has turned into a springboard for Pennsylvania-bred thoroughbreds.
Neecie Marie was an unknown quantity last year when she stormed to victory in the Mrs. Penny Stakes. The filly has since won the Grade 3 Beaugay at Aqueduct and even more impressively run second in the Grade 1 New York Stakes at Saratoga to stamp herself a contender for trainer Butch Reid in the Filly and Mare turf division.
Witty, half-brother to Breeder’s Cup champion Caravel, ran second in the Marshall Jenney Handicap last season. Since, he’s run off stakes victories in the Ben’s Cat, Maryland Million Turf Sprint and the King T. Leatherbury Stakes. He also became graded stakes-placed with a second in the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes at Woodbine in June.
Scheduled for August 26 at Parx in Bensalem, Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races features four $100,000 stakes races, including the Marshall Jenney at five furlongs on the turf and the Mrs. Penny for fillies and mares 3 years old and up at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
The Storm Cat is at one mile and 70 yards on the dirt, and the Jump Start is new to Pennsylvania Day and is run at seven furlongs for Pennsylvania-sired Pennsylvania-breds.
Trainer Elizabeth Merryman has a strong chance again in the Marshall Jenney. She nominated both Witty and Jean Valjean, but Witty is not likely to be entered.
Jean Valjean just got on the turf for the first time in June at Penn National and ran an eye-popping race. He went 43.04 early on and finished in 54.68 under a hand-ride for the final sixteenth. That time is only 0.07 off the track record set by Bop in 2002.
“I had a feeling the way he moved and the pedigree he might really love the turf, so I gave him a break after his last dirt race,” Merryman said.
The early plan was a 30-day freshening at the farm and then an allowance on Preakness weekend, but Jean Valjean suffered a setback at the farm that delayed his return. He then ran into a canceled card at Penn National, and then he scratched after acting up in the post parade at Laurel.
It was worth the wait.
He followed up the strong effort at Penn National with another display of top-end speed at Laurel by going 42.95 to the half and finishing in 1:00.83 just a fifth of a second off the track record for 5 1/2 furlongs.
“I don’t think he wants much more distance than going that fast early,” Merryman said. “He’s always liked Parx even on the dirt and acted well. Because he can handle dirt and turf, hopefully he can handle that turf course there, which tends to be a little rough on strictly turf horses. I am really looking forward to it. The five-eighths is a great distance for him. He should love it.”
Other strong contenders include Smooth B, trained by Butch Reid. It would be his sixth straight year competing in the Jenney; he has compiled a record of a win, two seconds and two thirds in five starts. Fore Harp, also trained by Reid, finished fourth last year and is nominated again. Talented Man, last year’s winner, is expected to race for trainer Michael Moore and will likely vie for favoritism with Jean Valjean.
The Mrs. Penny will be hard-pressed to produce another winner like Neecie Marie – unless her connections decide to make an appearance again for the hometown crowd.
She was nominated for the race but has been facing open, graded-stakes company this spring and summer. In a Spin was runner-up to Neecie Marie last year, and Eight Danzas ran third. Both are nominated again.
Erin McClellan has a pair of contenders nominated in the Penny for owner Tom Coulter. On the Shortlist is accomplished over the turf with five wins but finished sixth when favored at Penn National in the Lyphard Stakes in May. New Hire has not tried the grass but has six wins from 15 lifetime starts.
“The breeding and just the way she (New Hire) travels it’s something we always kind of wanted to do and the timing never really worked right,” McClellan said. “She was running good on the dirt, so it was kind of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ kind of a thing. This year before the turf season is over, Mr. Coulter really does want to try it. I think that’s the day we are going to try it.”
Interestingly, New Hire and On the Shortlist are half-sisters from homebred mare Gwendolyn for Coulter’s Arrowwood Farm.
“She’s proving to be a pretty solid mare,” McClellan said. “I root pretty hard to get the Gwendolyn babies. After having these two, I want all the Gwen babies. They are just runners; they aren’t all going to be stakes horses, but they are honest.”
Stern Chaser won the Lyphard Stakes last year and would give Michael Matz a powerful entry with In a Spin, as both are owned by Runnymoore Racing LLC.
Princess Javoncia is likely to race in this spot, according to trainer Elizabeth Merryman. She ran third in the Lyphard and is tied with On the Shortlist and In a Spin for most turf wins in the field.
Original source credited to lancasterfarming.com
Cover Photo Credit to Elizabeth Berryman
