Coal Front Back In Winning Groove in Parx Dirt Mile
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Photo: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Coal Front wins the Parx Dirt Mile at Parx Racing
Rebounding from a third-place finish in the Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3), Coal Front turned back a second-turn bid from Diamond King and inched clear from that rival for a three-quarter-length victory in the $153,500 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes Sept. 21 on the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) undercard.
Under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Coal Front sped to the early lead, setting relatively easy opening splits of :23.90 and :47.34. Then as the six-horse field advanced down the backstretch, Diamond King, who was perched on the outside, dialed up the pressure. He cut into Coal Front's lead before poking a neck in front with a six-furlong split in 1:11.63.
Smith had something saved aboard his mount, and under urging down the lane, Coal Front asserted his superiority over the final furlong. He hit the wire with his ears pricked, finishing in 1:37.53 for a mile on a fast track at Parx Racing.
Diamond King, winner of last year's Federico Tesio Stakes and the 2017 Heft Stakes at Laurel Park, finished second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Forewarned, who rallied belatedly to grab the show.
The Parx Dirt Mile was the third stakes victory of Coal Front's 5-year-old campaign. He won the Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City-District One (G2) at Meydan in Dubai Mar. 30 and the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park Feb. 18. A year before, he won the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park, and in 2017 he won both the Gallant Bob Stakes (G3) at Parx and the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.
Owned by Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners, Coal Front raced in the Parx Dirt Mile in part as a test of his aptitude for a race such the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita Park Nov. 2, trainer Todd Pletcher said before the race.
Bred in Kentucky by Michael Edward Connelly, Coal Front, by Stay Thirsty , is the first graded stakes winner out of the Mineshaft dam Miner's Secret. A half brother to stakes winner Conquest Titan, he was a $575,000 purchase by LaPenta from the 2016 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
The heavy favorite, Coal Front paid $3.40 to win and elevated his bankroll to over $1.81 million. He has an 8-0-1 record from 12 starts.
The Parx Dirt Mile was one of four ungraded stakes that preceded a trio of graded events Saturday at the Bensalem, Pa., track. Pumpkin Rumble ($4.40) closed up the inside to snag the $104,850 Alphabet Soup Handicap for Pennsylvania-bred males; Trace of Grace ($9.40) took the counterpart race for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares, the $124,000 Plum Pretty Stakes; and Rocky Policy ($10.40) stalked and pounced to win the $158,000 Turf Amazon Stakes for female grass sprinters.
Claimed for $40,000 at Del Mar Aug. 1, Rocky Policy more than paid for her purchase price in taking the Turf Amazon, earning a $90,000 first-place check for owner Barry Ostrager. The race was her second start for him and trainer Bob Hess following a fifth-place finish in the Safely Kept Stakes at Monmouth Park Sept. 1.
A Maryland-bred 7-year-old daughter of Rock Slide out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Policy, she zipped five furlongs under Paco Lopez on a good Parx turf course in :56.62. It was the second stakes win of her career after taking the Jameela Stakes at Laurel Park in 2018 for different connections.
Pace-setting Stetson Gold held second in the Turf Amazon, three-quarters of a length behind the winner. Boos was third, and favored Miss Gossip was fourth. Goldwood, who was expected to start as the public choice after winning four straight stakes at Monmouth Park from spring through summer, was scratched.