Point Dume got the best of an early duel and outlasted a pair of closers to win the $75,000 M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile at Parx Racing on Tuesday. It was trainer Timothy Kreiser’s first stakes victory in more than two years.  Before he was claimed from Jamie Ness for $40,000 in July, Point Dume made his first two starts at Parx in March and April, improving to win a pair of allowances. He is now undefeated in three starts on the Bensalem, Pa., track after winning his first stakes on Tuesday.   The 4-year-old gelding was one of four front-runners set on taking the early lead into the first turn, but he was one of three who was foiled when 2-1 favorite Bernie’s Mitts broke sharply from the 1 post. In a show of deft strategy, jockey Eliseo Ruiz angled Bernie’s Mitts off the rail, forcing the three rivals outside of him to travel wide around the turn.  Point Dume, second widest of the quartet, managed to stay in contention, but the New York-based contender Film Star and longshot Awesome Flay struggled to get comfortable from the far outside posts. They finished fifth and seventh, respectively. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Bernie’s Mitts and Ruiz took full advantage of their track position to lead on the backstretch, but Point Dume and jockey Angel Cruz weathered the wide run and ensured an honest opening quarter-mile in 23.60 seconds. When Point Dume took a short lead through a half-mile in 46.80, Bernie’s Mitts briefly rallied but eventually gave way to Adero, one of two contenders trained by John Servis, who advanced from fourth to challenge the new leader.  For a brief moment on the far turn, it looked like Point Dume was going to give in after fighting for the lead from the starting gate. Adero was looming and his stablemate, Irish Cork, was making up ground from last, but when Cruz asked his gelding for more, he kicked away and entered the stretch with a two-length lead. He held on to win by 1 1/2, completing the mile in 1:37.98 and paying $13.40 to win.  Irish Cork, who was well behind early in the race, managed to finish second by two lengths over Adero. The stablemates could not secure a victory for Servis, but with the next finisher 7 1/2 lengths behind, they still gave solid efforts.  Kreiser’s last stakes victory came in September 2023, when 18-1 longshot Dollarization, then a 5-year-old gelding, won the $100,000 Lite the Fuse Stakes at Pimlico. The Mid-Atlantic trainer has been a fixture at Penn National for years, and a stakes victory at Parx only adds to a glowing 2025 campaign, in which he has earned 65 wins in 255 starts. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.