For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
PRESIDENT’S CUP ON THE TURF SATURDAY AT PARX
Saturday Parx Racing will host the $200,000 PTHA President’s Cup, a one mile and one-eighth turf test for three year-olds and up. The President’s Cup is the track’s premier race for males running long on the grass. Several multiple graded winners will head the field of nine.
The top contenders look to be Terry Hamilton’s Heart to Heart and Divine Oath, racing for West Point Thoroughbreds & Robert Masiello. Trained by Brian Lynch, Heart to Heart, a 4 year-old English Channel colt, shows three Grade 3 wins since last September. He wins with speed, going wire to wire in all three. Last September he dominated the G3 Jefferson Cup at Churchill, leading every step before drawing away to win by four lengths. He came right back at Churchill in mid-November and did much the same in the G3 Commonwealth Turf, cruising home almost four lengths in front. He closed last year a close beaten favorite in the G2 Mathis Brothers Mile at Santa Anita, finishing fourth beaten by less than two lengths. He’s had three races this year since returning in May and shows one win that was last time out August 2nd, winning the G3 Oceanport at Monmouth. Manuel Franco has been named to ride.
Divine Oath ripped off three G3 wins last year in the span of just over five months. Trained by Graham Motion, the 4 year-old Broken Vow colt went to Arlington last July and rallied to win the G3 American Derby. Two months later he shipped to Delaware Park and again came from off the pace to win the G3 Kent Stakes. His next road trip took him to Santa Anita where he was third beaten only three-quarters of a length in the tough G2 Twilight Derby. Still sharp at season’s end, he closed the year with a win in the G3 W.L. McKnight at Gulfstream Park. He’s yet to win in five starts this year, but he’s been in tough every time. He was 4-1 and lost to Main Sequence and Twilight Eclipse in the G3 Mac Diarmida in February at Gulfstream. He was 2-1 and lost to Ashleyluvssugar in the G2 Charlie Whittingham in May at Santa Anita and in his most recent start he banged heads unsuccessfully in the G1 United Nations at Monmouth Park on July 5th. Local top jockey Frankie Pennington picks up the mount.
A couple others that could well get some support include Inchcape (Jason Servis) and Chamois (Christophe Clement). Inchcape was close in both the G2 Monmouth Handicap and the G3 Cliffhanger, both at Monmouth Park while Chamois is a multiple stakes winner out of a top turf barn but still looking for that first graded win.
