Mid-Atlantic racing roundup, November 6

Mischevious Alex and Frankie Pennington won the $75,000 Parx Juvenile. Photo By Barbara Weidl /EQUI-PHOTO.

Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.

Here’s your five-minute read to get caught up on all of it:

LAUREL PARK

• Laurel played host to the championship for the Longines Fegentri Amateur Rider series on Thursday. Taylor Leatherman won the one-mile maiden claiming contest aboard Here Comes Mongo, for her first riding win. She was up on the pace early, then pounced when early leader Not Necessarily began to tire. Turning for home, Here Comes Mongo had a five-length lead, and there were no anxious moments from there. The race marked Leatherman’s first mount since June 10, 2018, when she finished fourth in a Fegentri race aboard Zeke the Streak.
• Arrifana may have been the most impressive of the Friday allowance winners, but there were plenty of other noteworthy victories on the day. Brooks Robinson, named after the Maryland baseball legend, won his second in a row in race 3, winning a starter optional claiming race by a neck. He covered the six furlongs in 1:10.69, holding off the late surge of Time Flies By. Brooks Robinson is now a perfect 2-for-2 since returning off a four-month layoff.
• In the following race, Phantom Shot pulled off a 9/1 upset in a n/w2x allowance for fillies and mares. She was at the back of the back early, then swung five-wide turning for home. In the last eighth, she wore down the early leaders and won by 1 ¼ lengths. The winner is owned by Patricia Haun Beck, trained by Donald Barr, and was ridden by Jorge Ruiz, for one of his two winners on the Friday card.
• Sunday’s feature was marred by a minor spill at the eighth pole. Oldies But Goodies tried to come through a small opening between horses, but was bumped by Threes Over Deuces to his outside while Showalter, to his inside, wandered outwards. This caused Oldies But Goodies to stumble and unseat Julian Pimentel. Oldies But Goodies never went down and completed the course, while Pimentel walked off under his own steam. Brother Chub took advantage of the chaos to rally up the inside and win at 17/1. This marked the Jersey-bred’s first start since April 22, and his first win since February 26.
• Claudio Gonzalez saddled six winners this week, including three on Friday, giving him the lead in the trainer standings once again. Three of those wins came with first-time starters: Bernie’s on Fire in Friday’s 10th race, Romanoff in Saturday’s 2nd race, and Lucky Trinity in Sunday’s 4th race. 
• Five wins for Sheldon Russell put him in first place in the jockey standings once again, three clear of runner-up Trevor McCarthy.

CHARLES TOWN RACES

PARX RACING

• Parx hosted a pair of juvenile stakes this week. On Monday, Project Whiskey won her second start in a row, taking the Parx Juvenile Fillies by ¾ of a length. She rated well off loose leader Capital Q, then made a three-wide rally on the turn. Down the stretch, she battled with favored Fly on Angel, but pulled clear to win, going seven furlongs in 1:25.16. A Maryland-bred daughter of Tapizar, she’s owned by Cash is King LLC and LC Racing, trained by Robert Reid, and was ridden by Frankie Pennington.
• Pennington and Cash is King swept both juvenile stakes, as Mischevious Alex took Tuesday’s Parx Juvenile. Sent off as the 5/2 second choice after a seventh-place finish in the Laurel Futurity on the turf, he encountered some early pressure, but drew away to win by 9 ¾ lengths. This was the second win in the career of the John Servis-trained gelding, both of which have come at Parx.
• Pennington’s stakes wins helped him maintain the lead in the rider standings; he’s currently four wins clear of Mychel Sanchez. Joseph Taylor is in first place in the training race, with 83 wins.

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