Bronx Beauty wins Penn Ladies Dash to stay perfect at Penn National

Bronx Beauty, based at Monmouth Park with trainer Anthony Margotta Jr., improved her record at Penn National to 4 for 4 on Saturday with a sharp victory in the $100,000 Penn Ladies Dash, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares that is part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series.

Equipped with blinkers for the first time, Bronx Beauty pressed a rapid pace outside 4-5 favorite Ms Locust Point and then proved best in the stretch, edging away to a 1 1/2-length victory.

Manny Franco was aboard Bronx Beauty. The Penn Ladies Dash was his second consecutive stakes win on the card.

Bronx Beauty paid $24.20 and was timed in 1:08.57 after attending fractions of 21.17 seconds, 43.52, and 55.82. Her clocking missed the track record by 0.14 seconds.

Ms Locust Point held second by three-quarters of a length over 13-1 Zipper’s Hero.

Bronx Beauty won her career debut and the Pennsylvania-bred Blue Mountain Juvenile Fillies at Penn National in 2017. She started her 3-year-old season with a victory in the statebred New Star Stakes on Penn Mile Day a year ago.

The Penn Ladies Dash is Bronx Beauty’s second open stakes win, following the Jose Flores Memorial at Parx last August. She is now 6 for 11 in her career.

Danzig: Call Paul long gone

Call Paul ran to his 2-5 odds in the Danzig Stakes under Franco, scoring by six lengths without being urged late.

Trained by Jason Servis, Call Paul prompted the pace in the six-furlong stakes for 3-year-old Pennsylvania-breds outside Admiral Abe through a 21.64-second opening quarter. He took control on the far turn and then responded when roused by Franco in upper stretch.

Thiscatcanjump made a middle move after the two leaders on the far turn, took aim at Call Paul in upper stretch but then flattened out. He held second by 1 3/4 lengths over Kaiju, part of a Rodrigo Madrigal-trained entry.

Call Paul, who paid $2.80 and was timed in 1:09.00, is now 5 for 9. The Danzig is his fourth stakes win.

New Start: Gotta Be Strong just gets up

Gotta Be Strong rallied past 7-5 favorite I’m the Talent in deep stretch of the $100,000 New Start Stakes under jockey Frankie Pennington to win the six-furlong race for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old fillies by a half-length.

Gotta Be Strong paid $6.20 as the second betting choice. She was timed in 1:10.64. The final furlong went in a tepid 13.04 seconds following a quick half-mile of 44.76 and five furlongs in 57.60.

Jamie Ness trains Gotta Be Strong, whom he claimed for $50,000 in January. She is now 5 for 10 in her career.

I’m the Talent held second by a neck over Key Light, who was coupled in the betting with fourth-place Keltoi.

Inoel Beato, aboard the late-closing Keltoi, lodged an objection against Pennington and Gotta Be Strong for putting him in tight quarters along the inner rail nearing the stretch, but it was disallowed by the stewards.