Penn National: Track record for Quantum Miss; Fabulous Strike fifth

In less than 30 minutes, Friday night's card at Penn National Race Course showcased the rise of one star and the descent of another.

Quantum Miss set a track record for six furlongs in dominating the $77,063 Wonders Delight for Pennsylvania-bred fillies, but Fabulous Strike, making the second start of his comeback following 15 months on the sidelines recovering from a tendon injury, faded to fifth as the 1-2 favorite in the $75,000 Changing Times for older sprinters.

Racing over a track that was fast but sealed in anticipation of approaching thunderstorms, Quantum Miss ($2.20) covered six furlongs in 1:08.63, just .02 of a second faster than Bold Union ran on July 31, 2009. She was awarded a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.

Ridden by Jeremy Rose for trainer Tony Dutrow, Quantum Miss led wire to wire to win by 12 lengths over Ann's Smart Dancer for her third straight stakes victory this season, including the Grade 3 Cicada at Aqueduct. Overall, Quantum Miss, a daughter of Smoke Glacken owned by Daniel Ryan, is 5 for 7. Her two appearances at Penn National have produced a pair of stakes victories by a combined 28 lengths.

Quantum Miss's record-setting performance was followed by Fabulous Strike's flop in the Changing Times. Unlike his first start since emerging from the 2009 Vosburgh with an injury that took stem cell treatment to repair, when Fabulous Strike flashed high speed out of the gate and was in front by the first call, this time the now 8-year-old gelding broke sixth and was rated in third for most of the six-furlong race by jockey Dana Whitney. Fabuous Strike, a 12-time stakes winner with $1.4 million in earnings, tried to make a wide move coming around the turn into the stretch, but weakened in the final sixteenth to finish fifth, beating just three horses.

The 69 Beyer that Fabulous Strike received was his lowest since he got only a 51 while finishing fifth in his career debut at Tampa Bay Downs in December 2005.

Peppi Knows ($19.80), who finished two lengths behind Fabulous Strike as the runner-up in an April 9 allowance, rallied from fourth to score the upset in the Changing Times. Ridden by Frankie Pennington for trainer Tim Kreiser, Peppi Knows finished three-quarters of a length in front of New York shipper Jack On the Rocks. Khan of Khans was another half-length back in third.

In winning his first stakes since taking the Whirlaway at Aqueduct in February 2010, Peppi Knows ran the six furlongs in 1:10.10, the slowest of the three stakes on Friday's program.

In the $75,000 Danzig for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-olds, Moonlite Grinder ($7;.20), shortening up after four straight two-turn races, emerged from a three-horse fight in deep stretch to score by 1 3/4 lengths. Trade Secret beat out Der Meister for second by a neck. Harbor Kid finished fourth as the 4-5 favorite.

Moonlite Grinder, based at Penn National with trainer T. Bernard Houghton and ridden by Angel Rodriguez, completed the six furlongs in 1:09.82 for his fifth win in seven starts. His only off-the-board finish came when he was fifth going 1 1/16 miles in the Federco Tesio at Pimlico earlier this month.