Undercard turf sprints draw big fields

The Penn Mile undercard Saturday includes a pair of five-furlong turf stakes – the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup, for 3-year-olds and up, and the inaugural running of the $100,000 Penn Ladies Dash, for fillies and mares. If the fields hold together, Penn National’s seven-furlong turf course will be crowded in both races.

The Governor’s Cup has 11 horses entered for turf, plus a main-track-only runner. The Ladies Dash has a field of 12.

Both races are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships. The Governor’s Cup is the second leg of the turf-sprint division. The Ladies Dash is part of the fillies and mares turf-sprint division.

Since they following the opening legs of the MATCH series by two weeks, there are only two horses entered who competed in Round 1. Oak Bluffs in the Governor’s Cup, and Daylight Ahead in the Ladies Dash.

Pure Sensation will be a deserving favorite in the Governor’s Cup but will have to overcome the outside post. There is little margin for error in abbreviated sprints and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. must avoid getting fanned too wide on the turn.

Well managed throughout his career by Christophe Clement, Pure Sensation is a nine-time winner of just under $1.3 million. A fast 7-year-old, he should end up on the lead or just off the early pace.

At age 8, Oak Bluffs is in the best form of his career. He had a successful winter in Florida, winning an optional-starter race and finishing second in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint and Claiming Crown Canterbury. He was third over a soft and demanding turf course two weeks ago in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico.

Oak Bluffs was claimed by trainer Mary Eppler for $5,000 in November 2015 and has since put together a record of 4-8-2 from 18 starts while earning $188,000. He rallied in the Governor’s Cup a year ago to finish fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length.

Two longer shots in the race are Grasshoppin and Dubini.

Grasshoppin, 7, is on a two-race win streak for Claudio Gonzalez and will be making only the second turf start of his career.

Dubini, who is conditioned by Kate DeMasi, will be making his 5-year-old debut. He finished a good second in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship last November.

Morticia is clearly the horse to beat in the Penn Ladies Dash. She had a remarkable 3-year-old season for trainer Rusty Arnold, winning six of eight starts, including stakes at Keeneland, Saratoga, Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, and Laurel Park.

She has dropped three close decisions to begin her 4-year-old campaign but seems well situated in this race. Jose Lezcano, who has won five races on her, has the mount.

Morticia is cross-entered against males in the Mighty Beau at Churchill Downs on Saturday but Arnold confirmed via text Thursday that he planned to race her at Penn National.

Just Talkin comes into this off an optional-claiming victory at Gulfstream Park. Over the winter, she finished second in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint and third in the Captiva Island at Gulfstream for trainer Jason Servis.

Assail will be going dirt to turf for Mike and Patricia Farro. A fast and durable 6-year-old, she has four wins and seven seconds in her last 11 starts.

Three statebred stakes on tap

The card also includes three $100,000 Pennsylvania-bred stakes – the Danzig, for 3-year-olds at six furlongs; the New Start, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-old fillies; and the Lyphard, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for fillies and mares.

In the Danzig, Midnight Poker is perfect in four starts, all for John Servis, and looks well spotted to continue his roll. A son of Smarty Jones, he won the $85,000 Robert Hilton Memorial on the Charles Town Classic undercard in his most recent start.

Smokin Nitro, who is 2 for 2, both for Jamie Ness, and Wait for It, a winner of two straight, both for Ed Coletti Jr., look like the main challengers.

Coletti has a strong one-two punch in the New Start Stakes with expected favorite Smokinpaddylassie and Dixie Serenade.

Smokinpaddylassie lost her best chance at the start of the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct in early April but should be difficult to deny at this level.

Dixie Serenade has put together a 3-4-0 record from nine starts for her owner, Uptowncharlybrown Stud.

Bronx Beauty, a two-time stakes winner at 2, will make her seasonal debut, and is trained by Anthony Margotta Jr. She won the Colleen at Monmouth Park last summer and the Blue Mountain Juvenile Fillies for statebreds at Penn in November.

Great Soul comes into the Lyphard Stakes off a high-level optional-claiming victory on turf at Belmont Park for trainer Tom Proctor, a repeat of which will make her tough to beat.

Her main rival could be Imply, who finished fourth for trainer Bernie Houghton while making her 5-year-old debut in an open third-level optional claimer on the grass at Parx.

Last summer, Great Soul and Imply split back-to-back stakes decisions. Imply beat Great Soul over Presque Isle Downs’s synthetic surface in the Northern Fling. Great Soul came back to win the off-the-turf Mrs. Penny over Imply at Parx.