Graded stakes analysis: Parx Dash Handicap

BEN’S CAT and MARCHMAN, who were the respective first and second choices in last month’s Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational at Belmont Park, square off again Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash Handicap. BEN’S CAT is weighted at 122 pounds for the five-furlong turf race on the strength of his 21 stakes victories and career earnings of $1,985,990. MARCHMAN is weighted at 121 following a spring season in which he won back-to-back Grade 3 turf sprints in Kentucky.

Neither horse had success in New York, but both could get ideal tracking trips from their outside posts Saturday. BEN’S CAT will break from the nine-hole, after a less than ideal trip in the Jaipur. He finished fourth, beaten two and three-quarter lengths by Undrafted, in a race in which he was forced to steady and ran into traffic. The start was his first over the Belmont course, but BEN’S CAT will be returning to familiar territory on Saturday as he is 4-for-6 over the local lawn, among his wins last year’s Parx Dash. He has the added benefit of racing closer to home after shipping into Belmont the morning of the Jaipur, traveling about four hours from his base in Maryland, according to an assistant to trainer King Leatherbury. BEN’S CAT arrived at Belmont shortly after 5 a.m., and ran around 1:30 p.m. It would seem the circumstances will be more in his favor Saturday.

MARCHMAN was second in the Jaipur, beaten a length and a half. The Beyer Speed Figure of 97 that he earned is the co-highest last-race number in the Parx Dash. “I thought he ran very well,” said trainer Bret Calhoun. “I thought turning for home, he was a winner. And the horse that beat him just ran a heck of a race. They went [six furlongs] in 1:07 and change. He’s in against a really good group Saturday, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in him.” MARCHMAN will be shortening up to five furlongs in a move that suits him at this time, said Calhoun. The trainer is hoping for firm ground, describing MARCHMAN as a “big, heavy horse.” MARCHMAN has exceptional speed, but from his outside post 10 he could track BOLD THUNDER, THIS AIN’T NO BULL and perhaps SHARP SENSATION.

TIGHTEND TOUCHDOWN, the runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the 123-pound highweight in the Parx Dash, shares the field’s best last-race Beyer Figure distinction with MARCHMAN. TIGHTEND TOUCHDOWN earned the number for his stalk and pounce win in the $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup on May 31. He will be seeking his first win over the Parx course after finishing second in a pair of local stakes, the Grade 3 Turf Monster in September and last year’s Parx Dash.

BOLD THUNDER, like MARCHMAN, would no doubt benefit from firm ground. He has caught good courses in each of his last two starts, races in which he set the pace to the late stages. BOLD THUNDER will be making his third start since February, when he won a turf sprint on firm ground at Gulfstream Park.

SHARP SENSATION, whose six career starts have come on synthetic surfaces, makes his turf debut for trainer Reade Baker. The horse is by Sharp Humor, who gets 12 percent turf winners. SHARP SENSATION’s dam, the Royal Academy daughter Accusation, has produced a turf winner in Edgerin J, a multiple stakes-placed runner who has won eight of his 32 turf starts. SHARP SENSATION is riding a two-race win streak into the Parx Dash.

QUALITY LASS is the lone female taking on males in the Parx Dash. STORMOFTHECENTURY is 2-for-2 over the local course, among his wins last year’s Grade 3 Turf Monster.

MARCHMAN is a quality turf sprinter who might offer value Saturday given the immense popularity of BEN’S CAT in the Mid-Atlantic.