Tommy Macho goes two turns in Swatara
The $100,000 Swatara Stakes, which leads into the $200,000 Fabulous Strike at Penn National on Wednesday evening, will match eight grizzled veterans and is not an easy nut to crack.
The 1 1/16-mile Swatara is slotted as race 3 on the card and follows the $100,000 Blue Mountain, a six-furlong stakes for 2-year-old Pennsylvania-bred fillies.
Todd Pletcher will ship in hard-trying Tommy Macho, who will be the Swatara favorite under Luis Saez.
The 5-year-old has made all seven of his starts this year against graded company. While his lone victory this year came in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope at Gulfstream Park in January, he has more than held his own against top-level competition, finishing third in four of his races, including the Met Mile and Carter Handicap.
The Swatara will be Tommy Macho’s first two-turn race since he finished fourth in the Richard Small Stakes at Laurel Park a year ago. He did win the Grade 3 Discovery, a 1 1/8-mile race at Aqueduct in November 2015.
Most recently, Tommy Macho was fourth in the Grade 2 Kelso. The winner, Sharp Azteca, has since finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Tom’s Ready, who was third in the Kelso, returned to win the Grade 3 Bold Ruler.
Tommy Macho’s rivals include Fear the Cowboy, John Jones, and Discreet Lover.
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Fear the Cowboy has put together a strong season for trainer Efran Loza Jr., going 8-3-3-0 and earning $270,000. He has won the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Cup at Mountaineer and the Grade 3 Skip Away at Gulfstream.
John Jones will be making his third start of the year, all for trainer Lacey Gaudet. He finished fourth in a high-level optional-claiming turf sprint Oct. 5 at Belmont Park, and then tired to seventh as the favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Maryland Million Classic 16 days later.
He has good early speed and fits well at this level and distance.
Discreet Lover is an iron horse. He has started 12 times this year at age 4, all for trainer Uriah St. Lewis, and ran 14 times in 2016. He won a no-conditions allowance in October at Parx Racing and was second to Afleet Willy in the Richard Small on Nov. 11 at Laurel.
The 10-horse Blue Mountain Juvenile Fillies includes open-stakes winner Bronx Beauty.
Trained by Anthony Margotta Jr., she decisively won her first two starts, a Penn maiden race and the Colleen at Monmouth Park. Bronx Beauty will be first-time Lasix Wednesday after fading to fourth in the Mrs. Henry D. Paxson Memorial at Presque Isle.
Locally based horseman Bernie Houghton has entered Indian Beauty, a six-length debut winner, and Moon Chant, who won a $25,000 maiden-claiming race by 13 lengths.
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