Waterway Run stands out on class in Mrs. Penny
Parx has carded 12 races for Pennsylvania-breds on Saturday, including five stakes for varying divisions.
Waterway Run is the only graded stakes winner in the entries and figures to be a heavy favorite in the $100,000 Mrs. Penny Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares.
Other notable horses on the card include Officer Alex and Res Judicata, who will meet in the $75,000 Banjo Picker Sprint at six furlongs; Sailor’s Revenge in the $75,000 Roanoke at 1 1/16 miles; and Pixie Dust, who could go favored in the $75,000 Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial, a six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies.
Mrs. Penny (Race 11)
KEY CONTENDERS
Waterway Run (Last 3 Beyers: 87-92-90)
◗ Was imported from Europe by owner Martin Schwartz after she concluded her 3-year-old season in June 2013. She finished a close second for trainer Chad Brown in her first two starts this year – a third-level optional claimer at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs – before breaking through with a neck win in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont Park in May.
◗ Waterway Run will be returning from a two-month layoff Saturday, a pattern similar to the way she went into the Beaugay.
◗ Brown has 12 wins and a second from 14 starts at Parx this year.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Brown is 0 for 6 in stakes at Parx over the past five years.
Appealing Cat (Last 3 Beyers: 87-64-75)
◗ Has run evenly in graded stakes in three of her last four starts and, with the exception of the winner, is facing easier company here for trainer Graham Motion. Appealing Cat will race as an entry with stablemate Cat’s Holiday.
Lenape Rim (68-79-56)
◗ Beat Appealing Cat and Ferry Star, who is also in this race, in the Lyphard Stakes at Penn National in May. She also defeated Cat’s Holiday in an allowance race at Presque Isle Downs in June. Has finished off the board in her last two races.
Roanoke Stakes (Race 10)
KEY CONTENDERS
Sailor’s Revenge (Last 3 Beyers: 75-87-92)
◗ Finished seventh of 10 in the 1 1/2-mile Greenwood Cup last Monday at Parx for trainer Ramon Preciado. Prior to that, was seventh in the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup on July 27. Rallied from off the pace three starts back to win an open, third-level optional-claiming race at Parx.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Preciado is 15 for 74 (20 percent), with a return on investment of $1.62, over the last five years while bringing horses back with 1 to 7 days between starts.
Traffic Light (70-91-102)
◗ Finished third, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths, in the open, $100,000 Donald Levine Memorial at Parx two starts back.
Yougotthatgoingforu (Last 3 Beyers: 105-88-9)
◗ Earned a race-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure in winning an open, second-level optional claimer at Parx by seven lengths in his most recent start.
Banjo Picker Sprint (Race 9)
KEY CONTENDERS
Res Judicata (Last 3 Beyers: 88-86-102)
◗ Had a three-race winning streak stopped last out in the Sen. Robert Byrd Memorial at Mountaineer. Facing easier here for trainer John Servis.
Officer Alex (57-62-81)
◗ Won the Lyman Handicap at Parx in May but has tired to finish off the board in his last three races.
Marshall Jenney Handicap (Race 8)
KEY CONTENDERS
This Ain’t No Bull (Last 3 Beyers: 79-76-84)
◗ Won this race a year ago for trainer Cynthia Reese. Enters this five-furlong turf sprint off a $16,000 starter-allowance win at Parx at same distance as the Banjo Picker.
Pixie Dust (Last 3 Beyers: 64-85-88)
◗ Tired in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks on July 5. Has three sharp works at Fair Hill for return. Trainer James Lawrence III turns her back to a sprint.