On June 22,2026, three-year old registered Pennsylvania-bred fillies take the spotlight in the $75,000 Malvern Rose Stakes at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, PA. The six-and a half furlong race on the all-weather surface was named after the notable stakes-winning Pennsylvania-bred filly, Malvern Rose, who raced from 1999 to 2003.
“The restricted Pennsylvania-bred stakes program schedules several stakes at each thoroughbred track in the state,” explained Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary of the PHBA. “The PHBA pays for all the restricted stakes at Presque Isle Downs and Penn National. Parx gets added money along with what we pay, and we name the stakes after outstanding Pennsylvania-bred race horses,” said Sanfratello. “Malvern Rose was a multiple stakes winner with earning of almost $500,000.”
Owned and bred by Patricia Brunstetter, Malvern Rose was trained for a short time by David Van Ess at Philadelphia Park. After Van Ess retired, she moved to trainer John Charles Zimmerman at Penn National for the rest of her career.
“I trained Malvern Rose when she first came to the track as a two-year old,” said retired trainer Van Ess. “She was small, about fifteen hands, but she was smart and quick. We were high on her and hoped she would be ready for the Blue Mountain Futurity, but she just wasn’t ready, and we didn’t want to rush her,” Van Ess said. “I retired then, and Pat Brunstetter sent her to a trainer at Penn National, John Zimmerman, and she had a great career,” said Van Ess.
Malvern Rose was by Carnivalay out of Igotnothingtolose by Traveling Music. Igotnothingtolose was also owned by Brunstetter and trained by Dave Van Ess. “I trained Igotnothingtolose, who we nicknamed “Rosie”, until she was claimed by Pam Shavelson at Philadelphia Park. She won about $99,000, and she was a stakes winner and won a Pennsylvania-bred stake. She was difficult, and she seemed to hate people. She was good to train though, but she didn’t like to be touched. After she was claimed, the new owners didn’t like her and didn’t get along with her, and they asked Pat if she wanted her back. Pat didn’t want anything bad to happen to her, so she decided to take her back and breed her. She produced several nice horses, but the best was Malvern Rose. Igotnothingtolose turned out to be a great broodmare and turned nice and friendly when she got to the farm,” Van Ess said.
Malvern Rose had a career that lasted four years, and she retired with a record of forty starts, seventeen wins, nine seconds, five thirds and earnings of $447,555. She won her only race at two by eight-and three-quarter lengths, and returned at age three to win three stakes, the Foxy J.G. Stakes at Philadelphia Park, the Mrs. Penny at Philadelphia Park, and the Miss Woodford Stakes at Monmouth Park. She won the Foxy J.G. Stakes by seven lengths, and pulled away in the slop at Monmouth to win by eight lengths. As a four-year old, Malvern Rose had eight starts and three wins including the Missy Good Stakes at Penn National. In her last year of racing, 2003, she won two allowance races and was second in the last race of her career, the Mountaineer Park HBPA Stakes.
After her 2003 racing season, Malvern Rose retired to Brunstetter’s farm in Pennsylvania where she lived to the old age of twenty-six. She produced several foals, but they had medical problems. “She lived a good life at the farm along with her mother, Igotnothingtolose,” said Van Ess. “I saw pictures of them as old horses, and they aged well and looked great.”
The Malvern Rose Stakes for three-year old fillies is appropriately named after a filly who had a banner three-year old year and lived her whole life in Pennsylvania. The Malvern Rose Stakes attracted fifteen nominations for the upcoming event at Presque Isle Downs.
