Yesterday and today: July 12 racing highlights
Struth and Demon Buster slug it out. Photo by The Racing Biz.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: WHITMAN’S POETRY PENS A VICTORY
Maybe the time away did him some good.
Five-year-old Whitman’s Poetry, winless in the first six starts of his career through last August, didn’t make his season debut until June. But he returned running and after a win yesterday at Delaware Park, has two wins a third from three 2016 starts.
Yesterday, in a $36,000 allowance contested at 1 3/8 miles over firm turf, Whitman’s Poetry stalked the pace from fourth, came under a drive on the far turn, tipped out three wide entering the lane, and finished up nicely under jockey Brian Pedroza to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 2:16.78. The son of Tiznow zipped the final furlong in 11.94 seconds.
He paid $5.80 to win as the 1.90-1 favorite in the field of eight and topped a $2 exacta worth $21.40.
Winless in six starts at three and four while racing at Belmont, Saratoga, and Gulfstream, Whitman’s Poetry came into trainer Michael Dickinson’s barn earlier this year and has thus far provided two of Dickinson’s three victories during his return to training. Whitman’s Poetry broke his maiden by three lengths in his first start for Dickinson, on June 11, before running third as the favorite in allowance company last out.
He is owned by Dancing Wind Stables LLC.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS
HANDLE
- Delaware Park: $1,359,292
- Parx Racing: $1,646,624
CLAIMS
- Delaware Park: 3
- Parx Racing: 2
MULTIPLE WINNERS
- Jockeys
- Paco Lopez, 2 wins at Parx
- Jorge Vargas, Jr., 2 wins at Parx
- Carol Cedeno, 2 wins at Delaware
- Brian Pedroza, 2 wins at Delaware
- Trainers
- Jason Servis, 2 wins at Parx
- Mertkan Kantarmaci, 2 wins at Parx
- Juan Carlos Guerrero, 2 wins at Parx
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Tracks in action today: Parx Racing
- Parx Racing kicks off its card with jumps races going as the first and third events on the program. The first is a maiden special weight event with a $30,000 purse that’s attracted a field of 10, plus two on the also eligible list. Among the runners is 2013 Laurel Turf Cup winner Tricky Hat (4-1). The third race is a $35,000 allowance for horses that have never won two races with Elizabeth Merryman trainee Second Amendment (5-2) the morning line favorite. Both events will be contested at 2 1/16 miles.
- Trouble Kid (2-1), the horse who finished second in a $15,000 maiden claimer last July 5 and just over two months later won the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing, returns to action in today’s ninth race at that track, a salty, $54,000 allowance test. Two starts after the Gallant Bob, he won but was DQed in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park, and while he’s run some good races since, he hasn’t quite scaled those heights. Now in the barn of Danny Gargan — he was in Ramon Preciado’s barn during his best run — he was a win from five starts this year and most recently was fifth against similar. Among his rivals here is Cashel Rock (5-1), a three-year-old facing his elders for just the second time but one who won a minor stake at this six furlong distance two back.
