Yesterday and today: July 5 racing highlights
Zipessa took the Dr. James Penny Memorial Stakes at Parx Racing. Photo by Taylor Ejdys/EQUI-PHOTO.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: ZIPESSA TAKES DR. PENNY
Four-year-old Zipessa hasn’t done much wrong in her seven-race career.
But prior to yesterday, one thing she hadn’t done is win in stakes company.
Now she can check that off her list, and in fact, check off winning a graded event, as well. In yesterday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial, Zipessa posted a dominant, front-running score, giving her four wins from seven starts and pushing her career earnings to $227,850.
Under Florent Geroux, the daughter of City Zip sped right to the front, took the field through a half-mile in a modest 48.72 seconds and three quarters in 1:12.36, and had plenty in reserve to win by two lengths in 1:41.42 for 1 1/16 miles. Tuttipaesi was second, just over a length in front of Tiger Ride. Favored Tammy the Torpedo finished fourth.
Zipessa, trained by Michael Stidham for Empyrean Stables, paid $7.40 as the third choice in the field of seven older fillies and mares. The exacta returned $28.60.
For Geroux, it was the second graded stakes win in as many days. He also won the Grade 1 United Nations aboard World Approval on Sunday at Monmouth Park.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS
- HANDLE:
- Delaware Park: $942,529
- Laurel Park: $1,942,371
- Monmouth Park: $3,634,108
- Parx Racing: $1,538,474
- CLAIMS:
- Delaware Park: 1
- Laurel Park: 0
- Monmouth Park: 4
- Parx Racing: 4
- MULTIPLE WINNERS
- JOCKEYS
- Victor Carrasco, 3 wins at Laurel
- Feargal Lynch, 2 wins at Laurel
- Jevian Toledo, 2 wins at Laurel
- Angel Rodriguez, 3 wins at Parx
- Orlando Bocachica, 2 wins at Monmouth
- Jonathan Gonzales, 2 wins at Monmouth
- Carol Cedeno, 2 wins at Delaware
- TRAINERS
- Tim Kreiser, 2 wins at Parx
- Jorge Navarro, 2 wins at Monmouth
- Gary Capuano, 2 wins at Laurel
- JOCKEYS
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Tracks in action today: Parx Racing
- Since breaking her maiden last October at Parx Racing, Disco Rose (4-1) has kept some awfully good company, most notably earning a graded stakes placing when third in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct. This year hasn’t been quite as kind to the sophomore, however, and she’ll look to break an overall seven-race losing streak in the third at Parx, a $51,000 allowance test going 1 mile 70 yards on the main track. The Butch Reid trainee has been second twice against similar rivals in her last two starts and will have Edwin Rivera up. An uncoupled pair trained by Ramon Preciado are the top two choices on the morning line: True History (5-2), who beat starter allowance foes last out, and Miss Rockport (7-2), an 18-length winner against state-bred allowance rivals in her most recnet try.
- A pair of New York-based runners are the most intriguing entrants in the day’s eighth at Parx, another $51,000 allowance contest for distaff types, this one at six furlongs. Shayna Lady (5-2), trained by George Weaver, scored by a couple at Belmont in her last start after having been second and third in her first two starts — but she hasn’t raced since late October. Monmouth Park’s dominant rider, Paco Lopez, has the mount. Jeffrey Englehart trainee Midnight Champagne (7-2) enters this event with three straight wins, all at Finger Lakes, and seven wins in her last eight starts, all against lower claiming or New York-bred foes. Her lone defeat in that time came when she was thrashed in the $55,000 Videogenic Stakes at Aqueduct. Jose Ortiz will ride.
