Familiar foes square off in PTHA President's Cup Stakes
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Fillies and mares who have been running around the Mid-Atlantic region, in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, converge on Parx Racing’s turf course for the $75,000 PTHA President’s Cup Stakes, the feature on a 10-race Sunday card.
The race reunites the top three finishers from last year’s off-the-turf edition of this race, held last fall, in Deciding Vote, Tic Tic Tic Boom, and Sweet Willemina. Deciding Vote also won the Dahlia Stakes at Laurel last year in a strong campaign for Edward Graham. She comes into this year’s renewal of the President’s Cup off a prep in the off-the-turf Dahlia, finishing fourth in her first start in more than six months. She should be tighter in her second start off the layoff.
Tic Tic Tic Boom is coming off a third in an allowance/optional-claiming event earlier this month on the Pimlico turf. Sweet Willemina has continued to be more of a main-track specialist. Stakes-placed on the main track at Parx earlier this year, she is coming off a third in an allowance at Monmouth.
Bipartisanship, who is based at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland with trainer Graham Motion, was most recently third in the Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico. However, she is a well-traveled mare, with stakes wins at Del Mar and Gulfstream. Her strong form has made her the 2-1 favorite on the morning line for the President’s Cup.
The 3-1 second choice is Fuente Ovejuna, the only entrant in this field of 10 to make her most recent start outside of the Mid-Atlantic region. She has not missed the board in three starts this year and is coming off an allowance win on the Churchill Downs turf.
Allowance draws deep cast
A $60,000 allowance race immediately preceding the President’s Cup on the program has drawn several runners with stakes form, including Far Mo Power, who was involved in a thrilling edition of the Parx Dirt Mile last fall at this track. The gelding was on the engine throughout, and fought back to cross the wire first by a neck over multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control after being headed by that foe in the stretch. He was disqualified to second for interference, but the result of that race is currently being adjudicated, as Mind Control later tested positive for an unidentified medication.
Ridin With Biden is a multiple stakes winner at Parx, including last year’s Grade 3 Greenwood Cup. He is entered to make his first start since finishing 12th in the Pegasus World Cup in January. Bird King and Shooger Ray Too also are stakes winners at Parx.
Eloquist is making his second start since winning the Discovery last November at Aqueduct.
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