Photo:
Scott Serio / Eclipse Sportswire
Bensalem, Pa.
The Puma won at the top level for the first time when he rallied from eighth place, six lengths behind, to take the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Saturday. The son of Essential Quality benefited from the addition of blinkers for the first time after finishing fourth in the Travers (G1) and the Haskell Stakes (G1) in his most recent starts.
Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano had ridden The Puma in four of the 3-year-old’s six career starts, including the Travers, and he suggested the equipment change.
Long shots Talk to Me Jimmy and Ponder and Dream set the pace for the first six furlongs of the 1 1/8-mile race with fractions of 23.27, 47.69 and 1:12.10. The Puma settled toward the back of the 10-horse field, raced four wide down the backstretch and stayed clear as he headed into the final turn. When Castellano asked the chestnut colt to run, he passed horses quickly, getting from sixth to the lead by the stretch call.
“When Javier moved, he went to the front very, very, very fast,” trainer Gustavo Delgado said.
The Puma led by three lengths at that point and then had to hold off a late run from favorite Further Ado (2-1), who would get within a half-length as they hit the wire in a final time of 1:49.10.
“He was always in the bridle,” Castellano added. “When I asked, he gave it to me right away. At some point I said, ‘Oh my God, you moved too early Javier.’ But he felt good, he was happy and it was a great performance.”
The winner went off as the 5-2 second choice and returned $7.40, $3.40 and $2.60. The Puma completed a $2 exacta with the top two betting choices that paid $28.60. Sassmaster, 7-1 in his fourth career start, finished third to complete a $1 trifecta worth $174.
Our Moneyman finished fourth while the pacesetters Talk to Me Jimmy and Ponder and Dream faded to finish seventh and 10th. Zihnal was scratched from the original field of 11.
The Puma had tried to win a Grade 1 three other times, including the nose loss in the Florida Derby three weeks after winning the Tampa Bay Derby on the Kentucky Derby trail. The Pennsylvania Derby victory came three weeks after the Travers.
“As soon as I got off the horse after the Travers I told Gustavo, ‘this horse needs blinkers. We need blinkers. I think he’s going to move forward to the next level.’ That’s the goal with the horse,” Castellano said. “He’s there, but if you are going to compete with the better horses in the country you need to put something, blinkers, develop the horse. He did an amazing job with the horse.”
After his second career victory, and his first at Parx, The Puma improved his record to 7: 2-2-1 and became a millionaire with earnings of $1,122,280.
“Very happy and very exciting,” Delgado said. “Right now, we will wait before thinking about the Breeders’ Cup. We will go back to Saratoga, and we will meet with my partners and my son (assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr.) and then decide.”