Force the Pass surges late to win the rich Penn Mile

In his most recent start, on Preakness Day at Pimlico, Force the Pass recovered from a troubled trip to miss winning the James W. Murphy Stakes by three-quarters of a length. 

On Saturday night, with far more on the line, Force the Pass got through this time with a furious late charge to win the third running of the Grade 3, $500,000 Penn Mile for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. 

Ridden for the second time by Joel Rosario, the son of Speightstown out of the multiple graded stakes-winning mare Social Queen, was caught behind horses coming off the far turn, but when he finally found room he surged powerfully to overhaul leader Night Prowler to win by a head. 

Granny’s Kitten was three-quarters of a length back in third followed by Ocho Ocho Ocho, My Point Exactly, High Noon Rider and Papacoolpapacool in the field of 11. The top eight runners of the field finished less than two lengths apart. 

The race capped a record-shattering card for the fledgling Penn Mile, which in its short history has quickly become one of the most important turf races for 3-year-olds in the country. 

The all-sources wagering total of $3,827,158 set a record for the highest single card handle in track history, while the $1,250,969 bet on the Penn Mile itself established a new standard for a single race. 

Owned and bred by Richard Santulli’s Colts Neck Stables, Force the Pass ran the mile in 1:34.03 under Rosario. 

Trainer Alan Goldberg, who watched the race at home on television in Oakhurst, N.J., was thrilled with the performance. 

“He’s really a pretty good horse; we thought highly of him from Day 1,” Goldberg said. “He ran hard in the Pimlico race, and that was the first time he every really ran hard. The first time he ran, he had no idea what was going on. The second time, he beat the field from the quarter pole to the eighth pole. And same with the next race, that little stakes [in Florida]. 

“I had his mom, Social Queen, she was a graded winner.” 

The Penn Mile began with long-shot Comanche’s Storm cutting a fast pace of 46.42 for the first half-mile, pressured by another long-shot,Gallery. Six furlongs into the race, the pace-setters were done has a swarm attacked the front. Night Prowler went four wide around the far turn and took the lead with a furlong to go, yet Force the Pass nailed him on the line. 

“I was between horses the whole time,” Rosario said. “It’s not easy sometimes when you have nowhere to go. But he responded and he’s a nice horse.” 

The winner paid $20 for a $2 win bet as the 9-1 sixth choice. 

Force the Pass, who also won the Cutler Bay Stakes on April 1 at Gulfstream Park, has now won three times in five career starts. Goldberg said he would be under consideration for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Belmont Derby Invitational at 1 ¼ miles on July 4.

Source: Penn National/John Scheinman