For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 1, 2015 215.639.9000 ext. 3290 or 3329 Contact: Keith Jones, Announcer – Philadelphia Park @ kjones@parxracing.com
GRADE 3 DOC PENNY MEMORIAL SATURDAY AT PARX
Saturday afternoon, Parx Racing will host the first of eight graded stakes on its calendar, the G3 $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap. The 17th running of the stake that honors the track’s long time chief veterinarian is the track’s premier distance turf race for older fillies and mares run over the grass course at one mile and one-sixteenth.
Heading the field of ten is Amerman Racing’s Coffee Clique. The 5 year-old daughter of Medaglia D’Oro was a Grade 1 winner last year and through 14 career starts has amassed just over $921,000 in earnings. She raced just three times in 2014 but won all three starts including a win in the G2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill last May. Her signature win came last June at Belmont when she rallied to win the G1 Just a Game by a nose. She was then shelved until March 15 when she opened her 2015 campaign running third in the Grade 2 Honey Fox at Gulfstream. Since then she’s run second in the G2 Distaff Turf Mile and a disappointing sixth last time out in the G1 Just a Game. Trainer Brian Lynch has named Manuel Franco to ride.
The always tough Chad Brown will send his 4 year-old filly Testa Rossi. Owned by Thomas Coleman, Doheny Racing Stable and Head of Plains Partners, the French-bred daughter of Dr. Fong is also lightly raced, having won 6 of 13 starts to this point in her career. As a two year-old, she ran second at 10-1 in the G1 Breeders Cup Juvenile Filly Turf and then opened her three year-old campaign with a win in the G3 Florida Oaks last March at Tampa. Her lone win in three starts this year came via disqualification. Bothered just before the finish by Hard Not to Like, Testa Rossi was placed first in the G3 Endeavor Stakes January 31st at Tampa. Her other two starts this year were a fourth in the G2 Santa Ana in March at Santa Anita and a fifth in the G3 Beaugay May 9th at Belmont. Kendrick Carmouche will be in the saddle.
Another contender is Mrs. P.K. Cooper’s Photo Call. Racing out of the Graham Motion barn, she’s still looking for her first stakes win here in the U.S. after arriving from Ireland last October. After winning her American debut in a first level allowance at Keeneland, she ran third beaten just a length in the G3 La Prevoyante last December at Gulfstream. This year, after finishing just behind the tough Discreet Marq in the G3 Beaugay at Belmont, the 4 year-old daughter of turf champion Galileo through in a clunker, running last in a field of ten in the G1 Just a Game. She’ll hope to rebound off that effort with local jockey Frankie Pennington aboard.
