Vazquez faces an old friend at Parx

Juan Vazquez, coming off his first leading trainer title at Delaware Park’s recently concluded meet, will try to beat one of his former trainees when he sends out the 3-year-old filly Bernadette’s Song to face the 5-year-old I’llthinkofsumthin in Monday’s feature at Parx Racing.

The 6 1/2-furlong sprint, a second-level allowance for fillies and mares, carries a purse of $48,000 and goes as the ninth of 10 races.

Until Oct. 30, both Bernadette’s Song and I’llthinkofsumthin were part of Vazquz’s stable, which produced a meet-leading 83 victories and $1.3 million in earnings at Delaware’s 113-day meet that ended Nov. 6. I’llthinkofsumthin was claimed by Vazquez for $25,000 in June and won 2 of 3 starts for the trainer. But he was reacquired by her former connections, trainer Scott Lake and owner Ben Mondello, out of a win in an optional $16,000 claimer slightly more than two weeks ago. She is a six-time winner this season and 13 for 38 overall.

Lake, the distant runner-up to Vazquez in the Delaware standings one year after he was dethroned by Cody Autrey after winning seven consecutive titles there, is winning at just an 11 percent clip at Parx Racing this season. But his percentage soars to 28 percent (7 for 25) when he moves a horse up to allowance company first time off the claim, according to DRF’s Formulator stats for the past two seasons.

Vazquez, who was winless in his first seven starts of the Parx meet, will counter with Bernadette’s Song, a three-time winner at Delaware since she was claimed for $25,000 in May. Although Vazquez’s main client during his successful season at Delaware was Florence Patitucci, the former owner of I’llthinkofsumthin, he has also done well for KIng Star, the owner of Bernadette’s Song. This season, Vazquez shows a 21 for 58 record (36 percent) with King Star runners.

On the down side, Bernadette’s Song is 0 for 4 at Parx Racing and is coming off a seventh-place finish in her first start since August.

Two other sharp horses in the six-horse field are Funzionare and Diosa Indian.

The 3-year-old Funzionare moves up in class after clearing her first allowance condition going this same 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 26 with a 79 Beyer Speed Figure, close to the Beyer par of 82 for Tuesday’s class level.

Diosa Indian, based at Delaware with trainer Pablo Andrade, flashed high speed and finished second when switched from turf to dirt and shortened from a route to a sprint last time out at Laurel Park.