Dream Awhile the filly to beat in Dr. James Penny Memorial

Dream Awhile is the horse to beat in the Grade 3, $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial on Saturday at Parx, while Care Lady is an intriguing wild card as a two-time Group 1 winner in her native Argentina.

“We’re still learning about her,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said of Care Lady, a recent private purchase by Lael Stable.

The Penny Memorial was carded in July but had to be rescheduled after extreme heat forced the cancellation of a few summer dates of racing at Parx. The 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares drew a field of seven for Saturday, including main-track-only entrant Divine Miss Grey.

The forecast for Saturday calls for a high of 75 degrees and an 80 percent chance of morning rain.

KEY CONTENDERS

Dream Awhile, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 97-92-93

◗ She has had a productive summer in stakes at Monmouth for owner Joseph Allen and trainer Chad Brown. Dream Awhile won the Grade 3 Eatontown on June 30 and returned a month later to run second by a neck in the Grade 3 Matchmaker. Stablemate Elysea’s World, who won the 1 1/8-mile Matchmaker, then came back to capture the Grade 3 Violet, also at Monmouth.

◗ Dream Awhile has since been working at Belmont Park, with her latest move a half-mile in 50 seconds on Sept. 1. She will be shortening up to 1 1/16 miles Saturday, the distance of both the Eatontown and the Tropical Park Oaks, a race she won in December at Gulfstream Park.

◗ Dream Awhile owns the field’s best last-race turf Beyer Speed Figure.

◗ Feargal Lynch has the mount from post 5.

Care Lady, by Equal Stripes
Last 3 Beyers: 80–NA–NA

◗ She made a splash last year in Argentina, winning the Group 1 Seleccion at about 1 1/4 miles on dirt in October. She then faced older fillies and mares for the first time in December and won the Group 1 Copa de Plata Roberto Vasquez Mansilla Internacional at the same distance on turf – a race successful Argentine import Dona Bruja won in 2016.

◗ Care Lady has made one start since, finishing fifth in an optional $80,000 claiming race Aug. 2 at Saratoga in her first start for Lael Stable and Delacour. She showed pace in the 1 1/8-mile race and has reason to move forward in her second start since December.

“Last time, it was a slow pace,” Delacour said. “She was right there, lacked a little bit of rally to go with those fillies.”

◗ Care Lady will add blinkers Saturday.

“We tried them in the morning, and we’re very happy with what we saw,” Delacour said of the equipment Care Lady has worked in at her base of Fair Hill.

◗ Daniel Centeno has the mount from the rail.

◗ Care Lady is still a candidate to run if the race were to be moved to the main track due to the weather, but Delacour said that decision will be based on surface condition.

“Hopefully, it stays on turf,” he said Thursday.