Courvoisier in good spot to bounce back in City of Brotherly Love

Courvoisier earned 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points when he won Aqueduct’s Jerome on New Year’s Day. The regally bred son of Tapit out of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Take Charge Brandi looks to rebound from a seventh in the Grade 3 Withers on Feb. 5 when he faces seven 3-year-olds in Tuesday’s $100,000 City of Brotherly Love at Parx.

The 1 1/16-mile City of Brotherly Love is one of four $100,000 stakes on the Tuesday card, along with the Main Line for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and 70 yards, the Society Hill for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs, and the Rittenhouse Square for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.

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Trainer Kelly Breen said Friday that Courvoisier “might have been run off of his feet trying to keep up with [Early Voting]” in the Withers. Early Voting, who won the Withers by 4 1/2 lengths, is the eighth-ranked contender on Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch.

While Breen has a schedule planned for Courvoisier, he said he “doesn’t want to put the cart in front of the horse.”

“We’re going to go one race at a time,” he said. “I’d like to get his confidence back.”

Three others in the City of Brotherly Love were beaten double digits in the Withers. Constitutionlawyer, the second choice on the heels of an 85-Beyer maiden win, faltered to last.

“It was disappointing the way he ran,” said trainer Ray Handal. “It was a head-scratcher, but we’re going to try again.”

Smarten Up, second in the Jerome, ran sixth in the Withers. He and Withers fifth-place finisher Noneedtoworry might have been compromised by muddy footing.

Beast Or Famine stretches out around two turns in the City of Brotherly Love after having sprinted in his first five starts. Trained by Penny Pearce, Beast Or Famine finished second in Laurel Park’s James F. Lewis on Nov. 13, then placed third behind Morello and Life Is Great in the Jimmy Winkfield on Feb. 6. Those two horses were entered for Saturday’s Gotham at Aqueduct.

Completing the field are Epic Luck, a stakes winner on turf last year, stakes-placed Vine Jet, and Twisted Ride.

Main Line Stakes

Morning Matcha and Early Glow look like prime contenders in the Main Line. Morning Matcha, based at Parx with trainer Butch Reid, has placed in stakes three times, including a second behind favored Magic Circle in Aqueduct’s Busanda on Jan. 23.

Early Glow, a Godolphin homebred trained by Bill Mott, enters off a 6 3/4-length victory in an Aqueduct maiden special weight on Jan. 14.

Stakes-placed Champagne Poetry, a daughter of Carpe Diem out of a half-sister to millionaire Madefromlucky, stretches out for trainer Chad Summers.

◗ Mott trains Rosebug, the morning-line favorite in the Society Hill. The daughter of American Pharoah turns back in distance and adds Lasix after finishing fourth in the Busanda.

She could meet stern challenges from Maryland Million Lassie winner Buff My Boots and Shamrock Rose winner Disco Ebo.

◗ Dance Code has won three of four local starts, including the Parx Juvenile on Dec. 29, and is the morning-line chalk in the Rittenhouse Square. Fourth in the Winkfield, he’ll receive Lasix for trainer Juan Vazquez.

Stakes-placed runners Uncle Buddy and Practical Coach deserve consideration, along with Uncaptured Spirit and maiden winners Scarmouche and Talented Man.