Servis looking for stakes double in Turf Amazon, Parx Dash

No trainer has been hotter the last couple of months than Jason Servis, who on Saturday will have major contenders in the twin turf sprints that highlight a 10-race card at Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia.

Servis began Thursday action with eye-catching records of 19 for 34 at the Monmouth Park meet and 14 for 30 at Belmont Park. The 61-year-old trainer will drive over from his Monmouth base to saddle Blue Bahia for the $100,000 Turf Amazon and Vision Perfect for the Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash.

The Turf Amazon and Parx Dash go as races 6 and 8 on a program that begins at 12:55 p.m. Eastern. They’re the third of five legs in their respective divisions in the newly revived MATCH series at participating East Coast tracks.

Blue Bahia has gone unraced since coming through a tight rail opening to win the March 10 Captiva Island at Gulfstream Park. She’s the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of nine fillies and mares set to go five furlongs in the Turf Amazon, and although the layoff of nearly four months might make her vulnerable, Servis said he likes the way the 5-year-old Florida-bred mare has trained in recent weeks.

“She’s got a lot of open gallops under her,” said Servis. “She’s naturally fast, so I don’t need her to show me anything great in the mornings. She’s coming into this fresh and happy.”

Blue Bahia will break from post 2 and will be ridden by Paco Lopez in the Turf Amazon (post, 3:10), which was last run in 2016 before being rejuvenated as part of the MATCH series. Her primary opposition could come from the Colts Neck Stables entry of Goldwood and Boos, or from Smiling Causeway, who draws favorably in the outside post with Daniel Centeno riding for trainer Arnaud Delacour.

Smiling Causeway had been slated to run in the June 2 Penn Ladies Dash, the second leg in her MATCH division, but a slight foot bruise forced her to miss it.

“We had to wait, but that’s all behind her now,” Delacour said this week from the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. “I’m very happy with everything. She has been training really good.”

Delacour’s longtime former boss Christophe Clement will send in morning-line favorite Pure Sensation for the five-furlong Parx Dash (post, 4:04) from his New York base. An enduring fan favorite with a bankroll of more than $1.3 million from 27 starts, Purse Sensation clearly has a fondness for the course: He has won the last two runnings of the Parx Dash as well as two renewals of another Grade 3 fixture at Parx, the Turf Monster (2015, 2017).

The 7-year-old gelding was particularly impressive last year in the winning the Parx Dash by nearly six lengths and earning a 110 Beyer Speed Figure. Kendrick Carmouche will be aboard Pure Sensation from post 4 amid a full gate of 12 older horses.

Vision Perfect (post 8, Frankie Pennington) is the 5-1 second choice on the Parx morning line. The 6-year-old horse was sixth as the 2-1 favorite last out in the Grade 3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the May 4 Kentucky Oaks card at Churchill Downs after winning the March 10 Silks Run at Gulfstream with a career-high 105 Beyer.

“We’re all going to have to run to beat Pure Sensation,” said Servis. “My horse threw in a clunker at Churchill, or he might have just bounced off that big Beyer at Gulfstream. He doesn’t show many works because he open gallops on a regular basis and gets a lot out of it.”

Oak Bluffs, with Lopez riding from post 6, is among the other contenders in the Parx Dash. The 8-year-old New Jersey-bred gelding is the points leader in this MATCH division after capturing the June 2 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup for owner and trainer Mary Eppler in his last start.

With a welcomed cooling trend hitting the East Coast this weekend, the local Saturday forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 81.