Fresh off his first graded stakes victory in last month's Indiana Derby (G3), Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Tip Top Thomas will look to secure back-to-back wins in the $200,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing.
The Smarty Jones, a 1 1/16-mile contest for 3-year-olds, acts as a local prep for Parx's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) Sept. 20. Fittingly, the race's namesake, the 2004 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and pride of Pennsylvania, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Aug. 1.
A precocious colt who broke his maiden last summer at Saratoga Race Course before finishing second to Chancer McPatrick in the Champagne Stakes (G1), Tip Top Thomas appears to have finally hit his best form as a 3-year-old for trainer Todd Pletcher. The son of Volatile improved as he stretched out in distance, taking a first-level Aqueduct Racetrack allowance optional claimer by 3 1/4 lengths before acing his first two-turn test in the Indiana Derby.
John Velazquez, who piloted Tip Top Thomas to his front-running score at Horseshoe Indianapolis, retains the mount for Tuesday's race.
Instant Replay, a troubled fifth in the Indiana Derby behind Tip Top Thomas, will look to turn the tables on the Pletcher trainee in the Smarty Jones. Trained by Brad Cox for global powerhouse stable Wathnan Racing, Instant Replay rallied to two straight stakes wins in the Bathhouse Row Stakes and Texas Derby ahead of his Indiana defeat.
Leading the way for the local cast is Silver Trail Stables' Light Forever from the barn of Guadalupe Preciado. The son of Frosted , claimed for $35,000 back in January, has won three of his last four starts for his new stable, including two consecutive allowance contests at the Parx oval.
Parx Racing, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Race 10Entries: Smarty Jones S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Instant Replay (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 126 Brad H. Cox - 2 Fact (KY) Luis Saez 121 William Walden - 3 Tip Top Thomas (KY) John R. Velazquez 126 Todd A. Pletcher - 4 Hypnus (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 124 Kenneth G. McPeek - 5 Happily Delusional (KY) Paco Lopez 121 Louis C. Linder, Jr. - 6 Analog Jones (KY) Eliseo Ruiz 121 Robert E. Reid, Jr. - 7 Light Forever (KY) Andy Hernandez 124 Guadalupe Preciado -
Sweet Seraphine Tops Evenly Matched Field for Cathryn Sophia
The lightly raced Sweet Seraphine heads the field for the female version of the Smarty Jones in the $200,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes, the local steppingstone for the Sept. 20, $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies.
One of four New York shippers in the Cathryn Sophia, Stonehaven Steading's Sweet Seraphine exits a gutty triumph in Saratoga's Wilton Stakes June 22. The Wilton was just the third start for the $900,0000 daughter of Quality Road , who had made the leap up to stakes company following a second-out maiden tally at Churchill Downs May 24.
Also vanning down from the Empire State is Gold Square's Dry Powder, defeated a head by Sweet Seraphine in the Wilton and third in the Coaching Club American Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1), the undefeated Decadent from the Kenny McPeek barn, and the Bill Mott-trained Table Flirt, a recent 4 1/4-length winner of an off-the-turf Spa allowance optional claiming race.
Parx Racing, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Race 11Entries: Cathryn Sophia S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Sweet Seraphine (KY) Javier Castellano 124 Cherie DeVaux - 2 Table Flirt (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 William I. Mott - 3 Pretty Sassy (KY) Edgar Morales 121 Brendan P. Walsh - 4 Disco Rules (PA) Axel Concepcion 121 Riley Mott - 5 Taliesin (KY) Frankie Pennington 121 Jacinto Solis - 6 Fede (FL) Emisael Jaramillo 121 Armando De la cerda - 7 Ourdaydreaminggirl (KY) UNKNOWN 121 Louis C. Linder, Jr. - 8 Five a Side (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 121 John C. Servis - 9 Decadent (FL) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 124 Kenneth G. McPeek - 10 Brown Sugar (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 121 Brad H. Cox - 11 Dry Powder (KY) Luis Saez 121 Chad Summers - 12 Ruth (KY) John R. Velazquez 121 Todd A. Pletcher - 13 Reply (KY) UNKNOWN 121 Brittany T. Russell - 14 Volleyballprincess (NC) Paco Lopez 124 Louis C. Linder, Jr. - 15 Princess of Omaha (KY) Marshall Mendez 121 Paul McEntee -
