Newstome tops Pennsylvania Nursery

Newstome will be favored to win his third consecutive stakes when he stretches out to seven furlongs Saturday in the $100,000 Pennsylvania Nursery. The race for statebred 2-year-olds is the final stakes of the year at Parx Racing.

A bargain $30,000 purchase by Mike Trombetta at the Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in May, Newstome has been extremely versatile winning three of his four starts. He took his debut on the lead at Parx and has since come from just off the pace to win both the restricted Mark McDermott over the synthetic track at Presque Isle Downs and the open James F. Lewis III from the oftentimes tricky inside post at Laurel Park.

Newstome’s lone loss came in his second outing when he was bumped leaving the gate in the $100,000 Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial Downs and finished seventh going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. The winner, Four Wheel Drive, in his next start won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, and the second- and fourth-place finishers won stakes next time out, as did Newstome.

Owned by Marie Trombetta, Newstome earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure winning the six-furlong Lewis by a nose. He shares that figure, the highest in the 12-horse Nursery, with Golden Candy, winner of the restricted First State Dash at Delaware Park, and maiden winner Breezy Gust, the likely second betting choice.

Trained by Kate Demasi, Breezy Dust is coming off a front-running three-length maiden score at Parx over Pennsylvania-breds. The Great Notion gelding showed speed versus open company when third in his debut and can be expected to make a run for the lead again Saturday.

The Nursery field includes a three-horse coupled Thomas Coulter-owned entry – Literally is cross-entered at Laurel – and two runners trained by Bernie Houghton.