CHUB WAGON UPSET IN GAROFALO MEMORIAL

Don't Call Me Mary
Don’t Call Me Mary (#4 outside) upset Chub Wagon in the Teresa Garofalo Memorial S. at Parx. Photo Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.
  • userFrank Vespe
  • dateAugust 24, 2021

The perfect record is no more.

Chub Wagon, who won the first eight starts of her career, tasted defeat for the first time when second to Don’t Call Me Mary in the $100,000 Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds on “Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races” Monday at Parx Racing.

Bettors made Chub Wagon, trained by Guadalupe Preciado for co-breeders and co-owners Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut, the 2-5 post-time favorite. That was on the strength of a spotless record that included wins in four consecutive stakes entering Monday’s action.

But you had to figure that newly-minted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher wasn’t shipping Don’t Call Me Mary, a daughter of El Padrino, to Parx for the fun of it.

Under jockey Paco Lopez, Don’t Call Me Mary (5.70-1) took the fight to Chub Wagon and Jomar Torres right from the start. They were separated by just a head after an opener in 21.69 seconds, and though Chub Wagon maintained the advantage through the first five furlongs, she could never achieve any real separation.

In mid-stretch, Don’t Call Me Mary moved to even terms and then went by, going on to win by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:09.57 for six furlongs over a sloppy, sealed main track.

Don’t Call Me Mary paid $13.40 to win, and the exacta, with Chub Wagon in second, returned $25.20 on a two-dollar wager.

Don’t Call Me Mary, trained by Pletcher for The Elkstone Group LLC, now has five wins from 10 career starts and earnings of $212,060. Chub Wagon, meanwhile, has eight wins from nine starts, her earnings now at $362,600.

Parx Racing also announced during the afternoon that the Grade 3 Parx Dash, a five-furlong turf sprint, would be postponed from August 24 until August 31 because of the wet conditions of the turf course.

Other Parx stakes winners Monday afternoon:

  • Precious (Frankie Pennington up for trainer John Servis) won the off-the-turf Mrs. Penny Stakes.
  • I Am Redeemed (Abner Adorno/Penny Pearce) won the Storm Cat.
  • Admiral Abe (Silvestre Gonzalez/Robert Mosco) won the off-the-turf Marshall Jenney Handicap.
  • Fortheluvofbourbon (Paco Lopez/Michael Pino) won the Banjo Picker Sprint Stakes.

Parx handled more than $3.4 million on the card.

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