High Opinion up in time to take Neshaminy Stakes; Eons shows heart to win Bensalem
Favored High Opinion surged late on the outside under jockey Flavien Prat to capture Parx Racing's $100,000 Neshaminy Stakes on Tuesday.
The Neshaminy, for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf, was one of two Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship Series stakes on the card.
Trained by Tony Dutrow for Woodford Racing and Team D, High Opinion was pinched back slightly at the start, but soon settled in a comfortable outside stalking position as longshots Tightly Twisted and Wicked Groove led the field through fractions of 23.90 and 48.71 seconds.
Wicked Groove went after Tightly Twisted from the outside with High Opinion a three-wide presence after six furlongs in 1:12.72. For a brief instant, High Opinion looked outpaced, but Prat soon righted the ship, and his mount grinded to the lead inside the sixteenth pole.
High Opinion held off a rallying Tic Tic Tic Boom to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:43.32 seconds over a good turf course. High Opinion paid $3.80 to win.
It was another three-quarters of a length back to Wicked Groove in third. They were followed by Deciding Vote, Tightly Twisted, Out of Sorts, and Gladys.
B B's Busted unseated jockey Ruben Silvera approaching the first turn. Silvera walked off under his own power. Flashndynamite and Like a Pro were scratched.
"She's probably just a little better than those horses," Dutrow said after the race. "I have to be happy now that she's a stakes winner."
Although the Neshaminy was High Opinion's first stakes victory, she already held strong credentials. Stakes-placed as a 3-year-old, she has since placed in three graded events.
Dutrow mentioned the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa at Saratoga on Aug. 27 as a long-term goal. High Opinion finished second, beaten a nose, in last year's edition of the Ballston Spa.
A daughter of Lemon Drop Kid, High Opinion has won 3 of 13 starts for earnings of $357,375. She was bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Fielding.
Bensalem Stakes: Eons holds off favored Beacon Hill
Eons nipped heavily favored Beacon Hill in an exciting edition of the Bensalem for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
A 6-year-old son of Giant's Causeway bred in Kentucky by Camas Park Stud, Eons is a confirmed late-runner dependent on pace and race luck.
He got both in spades in the Bensalem.
Splicethemainbrace and Repo Rocks made sure the fractions were swift as they blazed the trail through splits of 22.62 and 46.77 seconds.
Jockey Trevor McCarthy took care of the rest.
He relaxed Eons three wide at the back of the field, then followed longshot Mt Suribachi’s cover when that foe made a strong outside bid to the lead after six furlongs in 1:12.06.
Beacon Hill saved ground behind the strong pace and had to wait for just an instant along the inside. That allowed Eons to get the jump on the favorite turning into the stretch.
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Eons soon dispatched Mt Suribachi, then braced for Beacon Hill’s stretch challenge. Beacon Hill tried valiantly for the length of the stretch, but Eons refused to let him pass.
At the wire, it was Eons by a nose in 1:42.71. He paid $20.20 as the fourth choice in the betting. Beacon Hill finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of King Cause in third. Then came Mt Suribachi, Magic Michael, Repo Rocks, and Splicethemainbrace.
Mandate took a bad step on the backstretch, was eased, and subsequently euthanized.
Bird King, I Am Redeeme, and Noneedtoworry were scratched.
Eons won four consecutive races as a 3-year-old in 2019, including the Stanton and Grade 3 Kent, both at Delaware Park. Winless from four starts in 2020, he won the Buckland last summer at Colonial Downs.
The Bensalem was Eons’ third start of 2022. He finished eighth in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay on Feb. 5, then was sixth in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 10.
Trained by Arnaud Delacour for Mark Grier, the Bensalem was Eons’ fourth stakes victory. He has 6 wins from 21 starts for lifetime earnings of 489,735.
The MATCH Series offers $2.2 million in purse money and more than $400,000 in bonus money. For each division, first place pays $30,000 to the owner and $15,000 to the trainer. For the overall champion, the owner receives an additional $20,000 and the trainer $10,000.