Sweet Bye and Bye extends winning streak to four in Crowd Pleaser

Sweet Bye and Bye passed more than one test in winning Saturday’s $100,000 Crowd Pleaser for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-olds at Parx, acing stakes company in her first attempt and defeating seven males in the process.

Rated just off the pace by jockey Carol Cedeno, Sweet Bye and Bye chased front-runner Smooth B after fractions of 23.26 seconds, 48.45, and 1:12.35 in the 1 1/16-mile Crowd Pleaser before taking command at the top of the stretch. She ultimately pulled clear from Smooth B for a three-length victory, her fourth consecutive win, all this year, after a third-place finish in her lone start as a 2-year-old when racing at Saratoga.

A daughter of Smart Mesa trained by Steve Klesaris for owner Briardale Stable, she raced 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:42.76. Backed to favoritism, she paid $5.80.

Smooth B, the winner of the Danzig Stakes at Penn National in June in his most recent attempt against statebred competition, ran stubbornly in defeat despite limited experience on turf and routing, finishing 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Wait for It in third. The latter rallied to edge fourth-place Colonel Moorhead by a half-length for the show.