Nelson Avenue outruns Dilger in Parx Dirt Mile
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BENSALEM, Pa. - Nelson Avenue returned to the site of his most impressive performance on Saturday and captured his most significant victory, running by pacesetting Dilger in deep stretch to win the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile by a half-length.
Dilger was second by one length over Coastal Mission, the winner of last year’s Parx Dirt Mile.
The win was the first for Nelson Avenue since he won the $75,000 Blitzen Stakes on Dec. 31, 2024. He won that race, run over an extremely sloppy Parx track, by 11 1/4 lengths and earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Nelson Avenue was winless in seven starts this year, though he did finish second to Bishops Bay in the Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park.
Jorge Abreu, who had trained Nelson Avenue for only his last three starts, ran Nelson Avenue twice on turf. Abreu actually believes Nelson Avenue may be a tick better on the turf.
On Saturday, he handled the dirt just fine.
Under Joel Rosario, Nelson Avenue settled into third position along the rail, sitting two lengths behind Dilger and Concealed Carry, who were heads apart through a half-mile in 46.72 seconds.
Dilger, under Irad Ortiz Jr., put away Concealed Carry on the turn and started to spurt away. Coastal Mission, making his first start in 202 days, started to move toward Dilger. Rosario moved Nelson Avenue with that one.
Nelson Avenue on the inside of Coastal Mission leaned on each other a little inside the sixteenth pole, but Nelson Avenue had more to give and was able to reel in Dilger late. Nelson Avenue, a 6-year-old gelding by Into Mischief owned by Rob Photos, covered the mile in 1:36.13 and, after getting a ton of late money, returned $4.20 as the even-money favorite. Nelson Avenue was given a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
“This horse was sitting on a good race,” Abreu said. “Last time, I think he was little too [close] on a fast pace at Kentucky Downs on the turf, they went extremely fast and he still dug in for fourth. I told Joel, just ride your race, I don’t want to tell you to take the lead or come from behind, but if they got too much speed, just sit right off them. He said don’t worry about it, we got it.”
Two races earlier Rosario, who won the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup with a similar-type trip on No Bien Ni Mal, said things tightened up on him and Nelson in midstretch “and for a second I thought he might not want to deal with that, but he did,” Rosario said.
Abreu said he may look to run Nelson Avenue next in the Grade 3, $175,000 Forty Niner, a one-mile dirt race at Aqueduct on Nov. 2.
Irad Ortiz Jr., the rider of Dilger, said he wasn’t planning on being on the lead, but his horse put him into the race and he wasn’t going to take back.
“I tried to let the outside horse go, I couldn’t because he put me right there without asking him to be there so I took it,” Ortiz said. “Maybe we went a little fast, but that’s the way the race set up and he tried all the way to the wire. Tough beat.”
Coastal Mission may have tired late but finished third by four lengths over Duke of Gloucester. Far Mo Power, the 2022 Parx Dirt Mile winner, finished fifth, followed by Catalytic, Concealed Carry, Silent Mode and Deposition.
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