The highlight of the holiday week at Parx Racing includes the last two PA-Sired, PA-Bred stakes races for two-year olds. On December 27th, the $200,000 Miss Behaviour Stakes for two-year old fillies going one mile and seventy yards and the $200,000 Wait For It Stakes for two-year olds going one mile and seventy yards concludes the lucrative, six race PA-Sired, PA-Bred series for 2023. “This is a great program. It gives breeders a great incentive to breed to Pennsylvania sires and raise Pennsylvania- breds,” explained Parx trainer, Eddie Coletti, Jr. “This is a big help for owners and breeders in the state. I look for PA-Bred and PA-Sired horses first when I go to the sales, and I have two horses running in the stakes that day,” said Coletti.
Photo Credit to Kim Pratt
Top choice Aoife’s Magic heads the nine horse field in the Miss Behaviour Stakes. The undefeated, stakes- winning filly, trained by David Dotolo and ridden by Wilfred Vasquez, is the early favorite at 9-5. The daughter of one of Pennsylvania’s best and most popular race horses, Smarty Jones, Aoife’s Magic drew off and won a maiden special weight race at Parx in her first start. Next, she won the Imply Stakes by 41/4 lengths, and on November 15, 2023, she won an allowance race by 41/4 lengths. “She’s doing fantastic. She’s a talented filly, and she does everything we ask of her,” said trainer David Dotolo. “She’s training the way I hoped, and she has a good attitude. I think the distance will suit her, and she does relax during a race. Her regular jockey is riding her, and he comes by every morning to get on her. She’s number four again, and she was four in the Imply. Maybe that’s a lucky number,” said Dotolo.
The 9-2 second choice is Eddie Coletti trained, Noisy On the Bay, a maiden, stakes-placed filly by Boisterous out of Sunday On The Bay by Disco Rico. She was second to Aoife’s Magic in the Imply Stakes and second in a maiden special weight race on November 21, 2023 going one mile and 70 yards. “She’s training great into the race. She was second to a nice horse in her last race going a mile and seventy yards, and I think she likes going long. I ran her in that race to get her ready for this stake, and I expect her to run good,” said Coletti.
Other entries include Flamingo Way by Social Inclusion, Mary’s Reward by Warrior’s Reward, Namora, by Il Villano, Betsy Is the Gal by Lord Shanakill, Merrychill by Winchill, Maria Says So by Peace and Justice, and Lucky Opportunity by Hoppertunity.
Photo Credit to Kim Pratt
Also on the card that day, the Wait For It Stakes drew eleven entries. Notice of Action, the early favorite, is by Hoppertunity and is trained by Bobbi Anne Hawthorne. A stakes winner of the Prince Lucky Stakes, he was third in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx. At odds of 7-2, Uncle Heavy, trained by “Butch” Reid, won first time out in a maiden special weight race at Parx and ran fifth in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes. He is by Social Inclusion. Also trained by Reid, Carcharoth is a full brother to stakes-winner and fan favorite, Beren. He’s by one of Pennsylvania’s leading sires Wegelia.
At 10-1 odds, Addyson’s Dream, by hot PA sire, Uptowncharlybrown, is trained by Eddie Coletti, Jr. and owned and bred by Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC. “We gave him extra time, and I think two turns will help him. He’s a maiden, but he’s stakes-placed in the Prince Lucky Stakes, and he ran good last time,” said Coletti. “I think both of my horses will run good, and I think the two turns will help them both.”
“These are great races for us in Pennsylvania. This program is one of the reasons we bought our horse at the sale. Having a program for PA-Sires narrows it down for us so we compete on a local level,” commented David Dotolo. The Miss Behaviour Stakes and the Wait For It Stakes represents the best of PA racing showcasing the state’s leading stallions. As the sire of undefeated Aoife’s Magic, and at age twenty-two, Smarty Jones shows he’s still going strong.
Cover Photo Credit to Kim Pratt
