PARX PICKS AND HORSES TO WATCH: March 8
Frank Vespe- March 8, 2022
Parx Racing has an 11-race card on tap for this afternoon. Post time for the opener is 12:55 p.m, and we’ve got Parx picks.
Carryovers: Jackpot Pick 5, $474,643
- Laurel: Stakes winner Speedyness makes return FridaySpeedyness, winner of Laurel Park’s Miracle Wood Stakes earlier this year, returns from a six-month break Friday at that same track.
| RACE NUMBER | CONTENDERS | COMMENTS |
| Race 7 | 3-5-8-1 | The Main Line is the first of four stakes for sophomores, this one a route for 3yo fillies… #3 Morning Matcha (2-1) looks tough off a runner-up effort last out in the Busanda at Aqueduct. She’s done nothing but run good races, has finished in the money in all eight starts, and has been stakes-placed three times… #5 Champagne Poetry (7-2) just missed in the Ruthless and gets Lasix back on for her first try around two turns… #8 Early Glow (3-1) galloped in her maiden score back in January going a mile and has been training steadily since. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott skipped some other spots prior to this contest, so expect this one to run well today… |
| Race 8 | 2-5-9-1 | She got thrashed against graded rivals last out, and two back she unsuccessfully tackled the boys in the PA Nursery. But prior to that #2 Disco Ebo (9-2) had posted three consecutive decisive scores by a combined total of more than 25 lengths. She gets Lasix on today, and back among the right sort of company, she can thrive… Disco Ebo isn’t the only speed signed on here, and if the pace heats up, look for the maiden #5 Kisses for Emily (10-1) to make late noise. Jockey Dylan Davis is in town for just two mounts, this being one of them… On her best days #9 Buff My Boots (7-2) has run some awfully good races, including a win in the Maryland Million Lassie, and a runner-up effort two back to the very good Luna Belle… #1 Rosebug (3-1) had no answers in the Busanda, but on the cutback to a sprint distance and with Lasix added, she could contend today… |
| Race 9 | 1-3-5-9 | In the six-furlong Rittenhouse Square, there’s all kinds of early speed signed on. In fact, only two runners here have ever won a race in which they trailed by a length or more at any point of call, and one of those runners did so in a 4 1/2-furlong dash last June. The other is #1 Southern Runner (10-1). He’ll need to step up his game today to contend, but it’ll be his second start with Lasix on, and he should get a pace to run at. In the Parx Juvenile back in December, the top pair ran one-two around the track, and this one was the only horse from the bottom half of the field early to make a dent in the outcome… The other horse who’s been at least slightly off the pace in a victory is #3 Dance Code (7-2), a three-time winner who won the Parx Juvenile but was nowhere last out in the Jimmy Winkfield. He’ll get Lasix on today… #5 Scaramouche (5-1) impressed in a five-length maiden score in his first with Lasix… #9 Practical Coach (4-1) won at first asking but not since… |
| Race 10 | 7-4-3-8 | In the 1 1/16-mile City of Brotherly Love, we’re thinking upset with #7 Beast or Famine (6-1). Distance will be a question here, as he hasn’t yet tried two turns. But his effort last out when third in the Jimmy Winkfield is probably better than it looks, as winner Morello returned to win the G3 Gotham nicely. The Penny Pearce trainee gets Lasix on for his return to his home track. Jockey Paco Lopez is in for just this mount… After getting thrashed in the Withers, it appears #4 Courvoisier (3-1) is off the Derby trail, but the Jerome winner has plenty of quality to contend here… If you like Courvoisier, you probably also should like #3 Smarten Up (4-1), who ran second to that rival in the Jerome and then finished ahead of him in the Withers… #8 Vine Jet (5-1) has gradually been improving and galloped last out… |
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