Gallant Bob has Grade 1 feel

The three supporting stakes on the Pennsylvania Derby-Cotillion program Saturday at Parx have come up strong and should keep handicappers fully occupied as they await the main events on the Bensalem, Pa., track’s signature day of racing.

The Grade 3, $300,000 Gallant Bob, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, will feature the second- through fourth-place finishers from the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens at Saratoga.

The $150,000 Pennsylvania Derby Champion Stakes is named for West Coast this year. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up marks the return to competition of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up, Collected.

The $100,000 Alphabet Soup, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for Pennsylvania-breds, has a competitive field of 12. The stakes are scheduled as races 7 to 9 and will be followed by the afternoon’s two million-dollar Grade 1’s, the Cotillion and Pennsylvania Derby.

Still Having Fun, who drew post 1 for the Gallant Bob, and Sunny Ridge, who would have been a key player in the Pennsylvania Derby Champion, have both been cross-entered in the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont Park and are expected to race in New York. Exulting will scratch from the Pennsylvania Derby Champion to race in a Belmont optional claimer Saturday.

Gallant Bob entrants Seven Trumpets, Firenze Fire, and Engage completed the superfecta behind front-running winner Promises Fulfilled in the seven-furlong Jerkens. None of them had a perfect trip, and the shorter distance of the Gallant Bob further complicates the race.

Engage, trained by Chad Brown, raced in early contention along the inside. He made a sharp move to hook Promises Fulfilled for the lead from the outside leaving the quarter pole but flattened out and was passed late by Seven Trumpets and Firenze Fire.

The shorter distance of the Gallant Bob should work in Engage’s favor, as he has more speed than either of the other Jerkens horses.

“We tackled Promises Fulfilled turning for home and paid the price for it,” Brown said. “The cutback will help him, too.”

Seven Trumpets completed the Dale Romans-trained Jerkens exacta. He missed the break but recovered and came up the inside into the stretch.

Firenze Fire, who may go favored in the Gallant Bob for Jason Servis, had a wide trip in the Jerkens but was gaining ground late and finished third. He was not as explosive in that race as he was in winning the one-mile Dwyer in his prior start.

How Firenze Fire runs in the Gallant Bob could determine whether he is pointed to the Dirt Mile or Sprint at the Breeders’ Cup.

War Giant will be making his debut for Jorge Navarro in the Gallant Bob. He won the Carry Back at Gulfstream Park in his most recent race and looks to have the best speed in the field.

Brown also will start Earned Success, who has won back-to-back optional-claiming races at Monmouth Park.

“He’s a late-blooming horse who’s starting to run some good numbers,” Brown said.

The Pennsylvania Derby Champion will be Collected’s first start since he finished seventh in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January. He put together a four-race winning streak last season that included the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and Grade 2 Californian.

Trainer Bob Baffert rested Collected following the Pegasus. He considered bringing him back against top-ranked older runner Accelerate in the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again, but instead opted to ship him to Parx along with Pennsylvania Derby favorite McKinzie.

“This will be a good prep for him,” Baffert said. “I might have kept him here and run against Accelerate if the Awesome Again was a mile and a sixteenth.”

Aztec Sense has won his last five starts as the favorite for Navarro, including a pair of $100,000 stakes at Parx. He likely will be the second choice Saturday.

Name Changer has easily dispatched of his rivals in three of his last four starts. Trainer Alan Goldberg has freshened him since he won the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on Haskell Day at Monmouth Park. He may be overlooked in the betting.

Fast and Accurate is the horse to beat in the Alphabet Soup for Mike Maker. The 4-year-old son of Hansen is winless in five starts this year, however, which makes him hard to solidly back. Still, a repeat of his runner-up effort in the Leematt Stakes over Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs in July would be good enough to win this race.

Bern’ James Bern, also trained by Maker, was beaten a nose in last year’s Alphabet Soup. He finished third in the Leematt, a neck behind Fast and Accurate, but was dull in the Robellino when switched to dirt in his most recent start.

– additional reporting by David Grening