Recruiter dusts pace rivals in winning Parx Juvenile

Recruiter remained unbeaten in four starts after capturing the Parx Juvenile for 3-year-olds at Parx Racing.

The Juvenile was one of two $75,000 stakes at seven furlongs on the Tuesday afternoon card along with the Parx Futurity for 3-year-old fillies.

Both races were rescheduled after last week’s racing at Parx was abandoned due to freezing temperatures that caused unsafe track conditions.

Trained by Cal Lynch, Recruiter broke smoothly from the far outside post in the eight-horse Juvenile and perched four wide outside fellow pace rivals Ninetyprcentmaddie, Hot Love, and Winning Time through an opening quarter in 22.33 seconds.

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Winning Time and Recruiter went on with it after a half-mile in 45.79, then Recruiter finally wrested sole command for the lead at the three-sixteenths pole. He drove under the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front of a resurgent Nineyprcentmaddie with a tired Winning Time another length back in third. Then came Daydreaming Boy, John Dutton, El de Chimi, V Mart, and Hot Love.

Recruiter completed the distance over a sloppy track in 1:26.75 and returned $4.60 as the betting favorite under jockey Mychel Sanchez.

Bred in Florida by Beth Bayer, Recruiter sold for $60,000 as a short yearling at OBS in early 2021, then was purchased by Lynch and Nick Sanna Stables for $125,000 last June.

The Army Mule colt won his career debut at Monmouth on Aug. 22, then wired a group of first-level allowance foes at Laurel on Oct. 2. In his final start of 2022, Recruiter captured the James F. Lewis III Stakes at Laurel on Nov. 12.

Three of Recruiter’s victories have come over wet tracks. The Juvenile was his first start at seven furlongs. He now boasts career earnings of $170,100.

Parx Futurity

Girl Trouble earned her third consecutive victory with a facile triumph in the Futurity.

The New Jersey-bred daughter of Fast Anna, racing with Lasix for the first time, broke from post 9 in the 10-horse field, and pushed the early pace in between Alexis’s Storm and Blome after an opening two furlongs in 22.82 seconds.

Alexis’s Storm was the first to retreat, and Girl Trouble poked her head in front after a half-mile in 46.41. She rebuffed the turn challenge of Interpolate, then went about her business under jockey Paco Lopez to score by 5 1/4 lengths in 1:27.78 seconds. Longshot Empress Ariana rallied for second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Interpolate, who was bumped at the start and rushed up to get into contention. Majestic Creed, Lindalovesgold, Blome, My Sweet Khaile, Alexis’s Storm, and Shiny Slam completed the order of finish. Can’t Complain scratched.

Girl Trouble returned $4 as the betting favorite.

“The race before [Juvenile], we saw that the inside wasn’t that good, so we were very happy about her draw,” winning trainer Butch Reid said in a phone interview after the Futurity. “The outside post really helped her. We sat a nice trip just outside the speed and went on from there.”

Girl Trouble has hit the board in all seven of her starts. Third in the White Clay Creek Stakes at Delaware going two turns on Oct. 14, she rebounded with an eight-length win when returned to sprinting in a first-level allowance at Parx on Nov. 1.

Four weeks later, she dominated the Future Stars Filly Division Stakes at Parx by six lengths.

Bred by Gregory Kilka and Bright View Farm, Girl Trouble was purchased for $15,000 as a yearling by Swilcan Stable. She races for Swilcan in partnership with LC Racing and has earned $202,500

Reid said he’s looking forward to stretching Girl Trouble out in distance and mentioned future one-turn mile stakes in New York or Maryland as future goals.

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