Pennsylvania Derby Thursday Works

2022 Pennsylvania Derby Workouts

The grandstand at Parx on Thursday Morning

Date: 09/22/2022

The highlight of the Parx Racing season is betPARX Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and Cotillion (G1) day, this year taking place on Saturday September 24. Conditions were excellent during training hours, with clear skies Thursday morning with temperatures in the low 70’s The Derby features some of the best 3-year-olds of the east going 1 1/8 miles on the main track, while the Cotillion is its distaff counterpart, for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles, and both races have $1 million purses. The undercard includes the $300,000 Gallant Bob (G2) for three-year-old sprinters at 6 furlongs, the $300,000 Turf Monster Stakes (G3) for older horses sprinting 5 furlongs on the turf, the $200,000 Greenwood Cup (G3) for older horses at 1 1/2 miles on the main track, $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile for older horses at 1 mile, the $200,000 Plum Pretty Stakes for Pennsylvania-bred older fillies and mares at 1 mile 70 yards, and the $200,000 Alphabet Soup Handicap for Pennsylvania-bred older horses at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

Entries for Saturday from Equibase.

Click the small photo to see a larger version.

Cyberknife is the 3-1 second choice from post 5 with Florent Geroux aboard. Trainer Brad Cox said, “There are not a lot of options; really none left against straight 3-year-olds. He really is doing well. Once again, he’s in this race because of how well he’s doing. I didn’t really think anything about this until last week, and I spoke to Al Gold about it and we thought he deserved it. He’s a Grade 1 horse and it’s a Grade 1 race. And look, I’m excited about matching up with Taiba. He’s a very good horse, a Grade 1 winner in his own right. There are some other very good horses in the race. It looks like a really good group of horses.” Owner Al Gold added, “My guess is that Epicenter has the 3-year-old title wrapped up, but I’m looking forward to Saturday.”

Taiba is the 5-2 morning line favorite. Mike Smith gets the call for trainer Bob Baffert. Smith said, “He was asked to do a lot early, wasn’t he? From the Santa Anita Derby he went to the Kentucky Derby. You have to remember that, even though he has run in these high-profile races, he is very lightly raced. He’s still learning, He’s learning to take dirt in his face and he is maturing. He has just shown so much raw talent. He has run against the best of them.”

Tawny Port is 6-1 for trainer Brad Cox. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides out of post 7. Cox said, “Irad (Ortiz Jr.) likes him. He’s ridden him the last few starts and we’re excited to have him back on him. He’s doing well, so we’ll see how it goes. With Cyberknife, it wasn’t a whole lot of, coming out of the Travers and ‘we’re going to go to Parx’ way of thinking. I thought we might go straight to the Breeders’ Cup. He had a really good breeze last weekend. Time wise it wasn’t anything crazy fast, but it’s how he’s doing, how he looks, how he’s acting. This is one last swing at a Grade 1 around two turns for straight 3-year-olds.”

Adare Manor is the 7-2 second choice in the morning line in the Cotillion, and gets Mike Smith from post 2. Trainer Bob Baffert, who will stay in California, added, “(Assistant Jimmy Barnes) knows my horses, He knows (stablemate) Taiba very well and it’s nice when you have a rider that sort of knows the ins and outs of certain horses. (Smith) has never ridden the filly, but Mike is very good with fillies. I won’t have to say too much. When you have a top rider, you don’t need to say too much to them.”

Secret Oath is the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Cotillion. Luis Saez gets the call for trainer D. Wayne Lukas from post 6. Lukas said, “She is only getting stronger. She sure is filling out and getting better and holding a lot of weight. She is probably maturing into the filly that we wanted her to be. (Secret Oath and Nest) are going to lock up again (in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff). We’ll have a chance to settle it again. I’m looking forward to that, but I’m looking forward to Saturday.”

Left: The sun breaks through the clouds over the barns on Thursday morning.

Right: Geese visiting the barns at Parx Racing.

Back to Horse-Races.Net main page