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Parx Racing 8/24/21
Full Card Selections for Smarty Jones Day at Parx
These selections were made prior to scratches and Race #10 Parx Dash has been postponed until next week.
Race 1- #1 Flashing Diamond
- Flashing Diamond has been in very good form since joining the Jacinto Solis barn earlier this summer. She has just been dominating over the parx surface and has yet to run out of the exacta on this track. She should be on the lead or close to the lead today and will most likely get the trip she prefers today with Frankie Pennington in the irons. Should be tough here.
Race 2- #7 Sheer Flattery
- Sheer Flattery is much the best in this field. His beyers are by far the best in this bunch and just loves Parx. Frankie Pennington has ridden this horse only once as Ruben Silvera rode this horse for the 4 races prior to the last race this horse ran. He is coming off a career high beyer of 94 and that was with Frankie so I think Frankie can get another big effort out of him. He will be close to the leaders today or on the lead which should be beneficial today on this track. Should be hard to beat.
Race 3- #9 Sevier
- Sevier is probably the best older horse on the grounds at Parx right now and has been unbeatable since joining the Ness barn and switching his track to Parx. He has basically won each race going gate to wire and looks to do the same today. Today however will be tougher to get that lead with horses like Kalu and Hollywood Jet directly to the inside of him. However, I think he is still the quickest of the bunch and should get to the lead and to the inside part of the track down the backstretch. Frankie Pennington rides this one as well and should be able to sweep the early Pick 3 and I highly recommend playing a cold Pick 3 with my first 3 picks today.
Race 4- #10 Omnia
- Omnia should still be in this race even since it came off the turf today. She looks to win going gate to wire for Sweezey and Paco Lopez but she doesn’t necessarily need the early lead. She has been in amazing form on both turf and a wet going but also has had dominating wins on a fast dirt track down at Gulfstream late in her 3yo campaign last year. Paco has dominated in the races he has ridden at Parx and teams up with Sweezey often for wins. I think she can win her 4th in a row today and the off turf situation shouldn’t make much of a difference.
Race 5- #5 Manahawkin
- Manahawkin is back with Haleem Lee today which means that he really likes this horse as he claimed it right back after it was claimed off of him by Jimmy Nicholson Jr. Silvestre Gonzalez also comes back to ride this horse. There is some cheap speed early in this race that could set up a scenario for a closer like this horse today. He doesn’t win often but Manahawkin always makes his run late and I think this field is by far one of the easier fields in his recent races so maybe he will have enough to get the job done today.
Race 6- #7 Thorny Tale
- Thorny Tale is much the best here when it comes to dirt horses since this race has been taken off the turf. He is just getting better and better in each start and should be on the lead early. His only loss since coming off the layoff in the spring, has been to another Jamie Ness horse and he lost by a nose. I think he will be a short price today but the most likely winner.
Race 7- #12 Lorden’s Love
- Lorden’s Love is back in the Ness barn off the claim and Ness had this horse back in June but she was claimed off of him by Lupe Guerrero. Now that she is back in the Ness barn, I tend to believe that Ness really likes this horse and has seen her potential and that is why he got her back. The outside post isn’t preferred here but I think Ruben Silvera will keep her close or on the lead and should be able to improve off the claim.
Race 8- #1 Beren
- Beren pointed to this spot over the spot he was entered in yesterday. He didn’t run too well at Saratoga but comes back to his preferred track and faces a much lesser group of horses today. Frankie Pennington even went to Saratoga to ride this horse which shows how much he thinks of this horse when it comes to ability. There is some early speed on the outside in this field and I think Beren will be able to sit just off and make one run. I also think he is more of a one turn sprinter which he gets to do once again today after trying two turns last time out.
Race 9- #3 Lovely Ride
- Lovely Ride ships in from Indiana Grand today for Bret Calhoun and gets Reylu Guitierrez who also ships in just to ride this horse. She prefers to sit off the pace and should be able to do that today. She also faces a weaker group of horses today and not as many. I think this is the perfect spot for her today and hopefully she can get the right trip today.
Race 11- #9 Ridin with Biden
- Ridin with Biden almost beat First Captain last time out at Belmont in the Dwyer but was run down late. He returns to Parx today where he has done his best work. He has done well without Lasix even though the two races without lasix resulted in 2nds. He should be trying to take this race gate to wire but can sit just off the pace which makes him versitalie. I know they want to run this horse in the PA Derby and this is the best local prep for that.
Race 12- #11 Mrs. Crews
- Haleem Lee claimed this horse last time out and puts a better jockey on the horse today in Julio Correa. Haleem had this horse back in March and those races were some of the best this horse has had in recent memory. I think this horse has a shot to improve and will be a decent price today. This is a typical below average parx race where anything can happen, so I will be hoping Haleem Lee can get this horse back in the winners’ circle for the first time in years.
