Parx Horsemen to Invade Pimlico This Weekend
Photo: Nikki Sherman
Last year’s Champion Older Female at Parx, Winning Image, looks to stay unbeaten in 2014 for owner Martin Scafidi and trainer Mike Aro when she starts in the $100,000 Skipat Stakes. The seven-year-old daughter of Southern Image has two wins this year, both in Maryland, where she has shipped in from her home base here at Parx Racing.
Parx will be represented by a two-pronged attack on fan favorite Ben’s Cat in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint Stakes. 2013 Leading Trainer Patricia Farro will send out stakes winner Bold Thunder, who she claimed for owner Andrew Sulley last June for $25,000. Bold Thunder has since rewarded his connections with over $100,000, including a front-running victory in the Silks Run Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February. In addition, Cynthia Reese has entered fellow stakes winner This Ain’t No Bull, a Pennsylvania-bred son of Holy Bull, who is coming off a win at Atlantic City.
The co-featured Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Friday includes horses trained by two PTHA board members – John Servis and Robert “Butch” Reid, Jr. Servis sends out recent Calder Oaks heroine Joint Return, and her connections have been pointing for this race since that victory. She also has a win in the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct. Reid will saddle Vero Amore, who has a maiden and allowance win, and recently was fourth in the G2 Gazelle behind My Miss Sophia, who was second in the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago at Churchill. Vero Amore also totes second-place finishes in the Ruthless and Busher at Aqueduct.
Servis will return to the paddock just one race later, in the $100,000 Miss Preakness Stakes, where he has entered impressive allowance winner Stormy Novel. Also entered in the race is the undefeated filly Our Lesmis, who is trained by Cal Lynch and owned by the same group that sent out Exit Interview to a Two-Year-Old Filly Championship here at Parx last year.
And finally, on Preakness Day, Guadalupe Preciado and West Point Thoroughbreds will send stakes-placed Quality Lass to the gate in The Very One Stakes. The five-year-old daughter of Exclusive Quality will be making her first start of the year in the one mile turf event.
