Parx: Gitchee Goomie beats Hessonite again in Dr. Penny

Barbara Weidl/Equiphoto

Gitchee Goomie, ridden by Alan Garcia, steps up off a win against New York-breds to win the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial for fillies and mares.

Tuesday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap at Parx turned into a summer rerun of a May stakes for New York-breds at Belmont Park when Gitchee Goomie and Hessonite repeated their one-two finish and the identical margin at the finish.

The only difference from the May 27 Mount Vernon, in which Gitchee Goomie scored by a half-length as the 6-5 favorite over 3-1 Hessonite, was the odds. In the rematch, the David Donk-trained Hessonite went off the 5-2 favorite while Gitchee Goomie was co-second choice at 3-1.

Gitchee Goomie ($8.20), a 5-year-old mare ridden by Alan Garcia for trainer Rick Violette, won the 1 1/16-mile Dr. Penny for fillies and mares on firm turf in 1:41.23. She raced fifth, pinned along the rail by Hessonite, after the first six furlongs in 1:12.15. Gitchee Goomie found room when swung to the outside and closed fast to earn her seventh win in 19 starts. Hessonite got second by a half-length over 9-2 choice Julie’s Love.

Gitchee Goomie was second in last year's running of the Dr. Penny, when the race was ungraded. A daughter of City Zip, she races for Patsy Symons.