Buccherino picks up another local win in Stable Recovery
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On Pennsylvania Derby Day last year, trainer Alfredo Velazquez was on the verge of tears when Buccherino entered the winner’s circle with blood pooling under his front hoof. At the end of a gutsy stakes victory, the celebration was muted as the connections feared for the horse’s future.
There were no such reservations on Pennsylvania Derby Day this year, when the popular Parx-based runner dug in to win the $150,000 Stable Recovery Stakes. Velazquez embraced everyone in sight after his determined 5-year-old battled for his fifth career stakes victory.
“This time, I’m not complaining,” Velazquez said.
Tom and Kathy Lamont, owners of Happy Tenth Stable, were just as elated in the winner’s circle after their horse’s first victory of 2026. The series of injuries took a toll on them as well, but credit for another strong return went to Velazquez.
“We just love this horse, and Freddy has just done such a wonderful job with him,” Kathy Lamont said.
Buccherino’s injury on Pennsylvania Derby Day last year did not keep him off the track long, but another setback earlier this year kept him on the shelf for six months. When he finally returned in August, he drew the rail in the $75,000 State Representative’s Sprint and could not keep pace, fading to fourth.
Velazquez said he was concerned when the Florida-bred drew post 2 in the 6 1/2-furlong Stable Recovery, but jockey Eliseo Ruiz knew he would come back stronger. He broke sharply and gamely dueled between Fire Pit and Bartlett through an opening quarter-mile in 21.90 seconds.
“It was hard because we had a lot of pressure in the first half-mile,” Ruiz said. “They put a lot of pressure on me. We went too fast. But I mean, he ran last time with nothing serious. He had seven months off, so he needed a race.”
Fire Pit, the winner of the State Representative’s Sprint last time out, held a short lead through a half-mile in 44.37, but Luis Saez did not get much more out of him from there. Bartlett also faded on the far turn, leaving Buccherino to kick clear by two lengths at the top of the stretch.
Ignite the Light and Houghton Shuffle both closed from the back and seemed likely to capitalize on the hot fractions, but neither managed to run down the winner. Buccherino, game as ever under Ruiz, prevailed by a head, completing the 6 1/2-furlong distance in 1:15.60.
Ignite the Light, a 10-1 shot trained by Rick Dutrow and ridden by Flavien Prat, finished second by a head over Houghton Shuffle, who could not make the most of a steady closing bid under Jose Ortiz.
Velazquez and Kathy Lamont both dreamily mentioned a trip back to Florida, Buccherino’s home state, for a start down the line, but Tom Lamont more flatly said the 5-year-old will stay close to his found home at Parx.
The Lamonts also celebrated their 45th anniversary on Saturday, making the celebration in the winner’s circle all the sweeter. Tom Lamont said an appetizer and dessert were both feasible at dinner this evening.
U Lit Up My Life takes Philly Special
Saffie Joseph Jr. knew he was giving U Lite Up My Life a stiff test in the $150,000 Philly Special Stakes, entering her in her stakes debut on a short turnaround over a new track. None of it seemed to make a bit of difference when she kicked clear by 2 1/4 lengths.
“This was huge,” Joseph said. “Getting a placing would have been good, but a win is huge. After this, now you have to raise the bar.”
In a statement victory at a mile and 70 yards under jockey Paco Lopez, the 5-year-old mare swung into contention on the far turn and powered home in what is likely the best performance of her career so far. She paid $13 to win.
Since entering Joseph’s barn earlier this year, much of U Lite Up My Life’s 2026 campaign has been mired by layoffs. Joseph placed her confidently after winning a second-level allowance at Colonial Downs on Sept. 5.
“Any change of track, you never know,” Joseph said. “And she was coming back quick out of the Colonial win, but she seemed to be well. She's a big, heavy filly, so you give it a shot, but you don't know if you're gonna fire either.”
Joseph also entered the 5-year-old mare Sugar Fish, a Grade 2 winner who boasted far more experience at higher levels. But while her stablemate surged away to an easy victory, she and jockey Flavien Prat could only manage a modest rally for third.
The Pennsylvania-bred Nature’s Candy ran with an uncontested early lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.39 seconds and half-mile in 47.16, but she quickly bowed out when the contenders came calling.
U Lite Up My Life and the 4-5 favorite Pronghorn had the first chance to launch into command on the far turn, but Pronghorn came up empty for trainer Steve Asmussen. Lopez urged U Lite Up My Life to a four-length lead at the top of the stretch, giving late closers Scalable and Sugar Fish too much to do late.
Scalable, a graded stakes-tested mare trained by Todd Pletcher, made a slightly better show of it and finished 1 1/2 lengths clear for second, but she never came close to catching the winner. U Lite Up My Life easily held and completed the mile and 70 yards in 1:41.24.
Joseph said the natural next step with his new stakes winner was to try a graded race.
Icona Mama upsets Liberty Bell
Icona Mama might not have been the best horse in the $150,000 Liberty Bell Stakes on Saturday, but a perfect trip can always be an equalizer. Jockey Manny Franco could not have put the 4-year-old filly in a better position to overtake Irish Maxima and Haulin Ice in a stylish two-length victory.
“Going to the three-eighths pole, she switched leads on the turn and went forward,” Franco said. “I knew they were going to come back to me, because they were cooking.”
From her earliest days as a juvenile, Icona Mama has had a reputation as a consummately competitive runner. In her third career start in September 2024, she went off at 30-1 and just missed by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 3 Pocahontas, developing a trend that has persisted for years.
“She's always there,” trainer Flint Stites said. “She always tries really hard, and she just continually gets better and better.”
But on Saturday, in a stiff 6 1/2-furlong stakes, Icona Mama and Stites finally had their day, earning her first stakes victory in open company and paying $23.60 to win. If the heavily favored Haulin Ice and 2-1 second choice Irish Maxima had not dueled in the early going, it might not have been possible.
With 14 stakes victories between them, Haulin Ice and Irish Maxima were sure to challenge one another as potential pacesetters in the field of eight fillies and mares. Frankie Pennington tried his best to keep Irish Maxima in a stalking position, but he could only do so much.
Haulin Ice held a clear lead through an opening quarter-mile in 21.73 seconds for Saffie Joseph Jr., but by the time she completed the half-mile in 44.07, Irish Maxima was right alongside her and advancing. When the John Servis trainee finally put her away at the top of the stretch, it seemed like she might be home.
But Stites knew the race wasn’t over, as did Franco. When the jockey rode her in the $300,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon at Charles Town last month, she had no chance while making up ground behind a runaway winner. But at Parx, she came charging.
“When she turned for home and just moved to the outside, I really thought she was going to get it,” Stites said.
With a flying stretch bid behind flagging front-runners, Icona Mama blew right past without any resistance and pulled away at will near the wire. She completed the 6 1/2-furlong sprint in 1:15.97.
“That’s the trip I expected on paper,” Franco said. “It was a lot of speed, so I just took my time. I liked the way she ran last time at Charles Town, so I liked my chance in the race. I just let her settle and when I took her to the outside, she was there.”
Irish Maxima, resilient under Pennington, held her hard-earned advantage over Haulin Ice and took second by 1 1/4 lengths.
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