Mott has rare Parx starter as Tuttipaesi goes in Penny Memorial
Bill Mott doesn’t run many horses at Parx Racing, but when he does, it is wise to pay attention.
Since 2011, Mott has run 15 horses at Parx, five of whom have won. In stakes, he is 3 for 6. His stakes winners are Close Hatches in the Grade 1 Cotillion in 2013, To Honor and Serve in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby in 2011, and Birdrun in the $200,000 Greenwood Cup in 2011.
On Monday, Mott will have his first Parx starter since August when Tuttipaesi goes postward as the expected favorite in the $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial. The Grade 3 Penny Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares, is the first graded stakes of the Parx season. The Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash, a five-furlong turf sprint, follows the Penny Memorial this coming Saturday.
Tuttipaesi, 6, raced in Italy and France as a 2-year-old before being acquired by Valor Ladies LLC and imported to the United States. In 2013, she won the Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park, finished third in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride, and was second in the Grade 1 Ashland before going to the sidelines for more than a year and a half.
Since returning to the races in the fall of 2014 with Mott as her trainer, Tuttipaesi has slowly worked her way back into form. She has won three of her last four starts and in her most recent start shipped to Santa Anita to win the Grade 2 Santa Ana, her first graded stakes victory.
Tuttipaesi’s chief rivals Monday are Tammy the Torpedo, who was entered and scratched from Saturday’s $100,000 Perfect Sting, a one-mile turf race at Belmont Park; the improving Zipessa; and Tiger Ride, who had a traffic-filled trip in the Grade 3 Gallorette last out.
Penny Memorial, Race 8
Key Contenders
Tuttipaesi, by Clodovil
Last 3 Beyers: 89-95-96
◗ Her best form coincides with jockey Chris DeCarlo becoming her regular rider. He’ll be aboard Monday.
Tammy the Torpedo, by More Than Ready
Last 3 Beyers: 87-94-93
◗ Trained by Chad Brown, she will make her first start since finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Honey Fox at Gulfstream Park in early April. In her prior two outings, she won the Grade 3 Suwannee River and the $80,000 Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream.
Zipessa, by City Zip
Last 3 Beyers: 90-90-94
◗ Trained by Michael Stidham, she finished fourth, beaten six lengths by Tepin, in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.
◗ She is lightly raced, with only six starts under her belt. Florent Geroux is named to ride.
Tiger Ride, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 81-90-88
◗ Don’t judge this Graham Motion trainee by her effort in the Gallorette at Pimlico on Preakness Day. The course was wet, and she raced in tight quarters along the inside to the stretch.