Decadent, a 3-year-old filly trained by Kenny McPeek, will make her long-awaited stakes debut in the $200,000 Cathryn Sophia at Parx Racing on Tuesday. She may be lightly raced, but McPeek already has big plans for her after two unchallenged victories. “She’s done everything right,” McPeek said. “She’s never been outworked or outrun. We’re hopeful that she can jump through this hoop and then take her to the [Grade 1 Cotillion].” In the final days of her 2-year-old season, McPeek brought Decadent to Gulfstream Park, where she won her debut by 3 1/4 lengths. She didn’t run again until March, when she closed from well back and won a $130,000 allowance at Oaklawn Park in similarly commanding fashion. The filly needed time after her second victory to work through a minor setback, and McPeek has been patient getting her back in action. He entered her in the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin at Colonial Downs on Aug. 9, but he said that he wanted to wait for a race around two turns. She is one of many lightly raced contenders in Tuesday’s deep field of 14. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Sweet Seraphine, a 3-year-old filly trained by Cherie DeVaux, has shown exceptional courage early in her career and will enter another challenging spot Tuesday. She will break from the rail, which could help her safely navigate the run into the first turn, at the risk of getting swallowed up by runners coming in at the break. In June, the last-out maiden winner improved to win the $125,000 Wilton at Aqueduct in her second straight photo-finish victory. She is one of just two runners in the field with a stakes victory, along with longshot Volleyballprincess, who won the $125,000 Ruthless in February. Mayor’s Mile Stakes Bendoog was no match for Phileas Fogg in the Grade 2 Suburban last month, but the 6-year-old and trainer Bill Mott should have better luck in the $75,000 Mayor’s Mile Stakes. The hard-knocking horse is still looking for his first stakes victory. “The Suburban did turn out to be a tough race this year,” Mott said. “It was a little deep for him.” Before he came up short in the Suburban, Bendoog had been settling into consistent form as a 6-year-old, and snapped a four-race streak of runner-up finishes with a $92,000 allowance victory at Aqueduct in May. “It was important to get the first-prize money instead of the second-prize money,” Mott said. Though he used to break toward the front, Bendoog has started each of his last five races in fifth and could benefit from some early pace at Parx. Awesome Flay, a 15-1 longshot trained by Harold Wyner, should be forwardly placed. Repo Rocks would have added early speed but trainer Jamie Ness will bring the 7-year-old gelding to Monmouth Park for Saturday’s Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin instead. Offaly Cool, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Jacinto Solis, is also cross-entered in the Iselin. He will be a key contender in either race coming off a three-length allowance victory at Parx, for which he earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. State Representative’s Sprint Buccherino, a 4-year-old colt trained by Alfredo Velazquez, will return to dirt for the $75,000 State Representative’s Sprint. The two-time stakes winner held his own when fourth in the $100,000 Wolf Hill last time out at Monmouth, but it’s clear now that he’s a more imposing threat on dirt, especially at Parx. “He’s special at home,” Velazquez said. “I don’t know why, but he likes the track.” Even as Buccherino has transformed into a surefire stakes contender around the Mid-Atlantic region in the past year, his time at Parx has not lost any of its old importance. He has only lost once at the track in five career starts, and though he has always traveled, all of his career milestones have occurred here. As a juvenile, the colt earned his maiden victory at Parx in August 2023. He didn’t run in Pennsylvania again until his 3-year-old debut, when he made an emphatic statement to win an allowance by 6 1/4 lengths in March 2024. He won his first stakes by the same margin in the $75,000 Salvatore M. Debunda Sprint later that season before finishing third in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob. At Delaware Park in June, Buccherino ran one of the best races of his career in defeat when he came up just short against Full Moon Madness in the $100,000 Alapocas Run. He ran on turf in the Wolf Hill next time out. Caramel Chip, a 7-year-old horse trained by Carlos David, will also switch back to dirt after a fifth-place finish in a $120,000 allowance on turf at Saratoga. In June, he finished third in the $175,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.