Rose Catherine Sharp in Turf Amazon
Favorite Rose Catherine easily won her fourth turf stakes of the year when she took the five-furlong $200,000 Turf Amazon Handicap at Parx Racing.
The 3-year-old daughter of Speightstown—Great Plains Lady, by Peaks and Valleys, has been a turf sprint specialist for most of her racing career and proved once again Sept. 25 that short distances on the grass suit her best. Owned by Paul Pompa Jr., the filly finished second in last year’s one-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
Rose Catherine was slow out of the gate, tracking third-choice Canadian Ballet, who grabbed the early lead. By the three-eighths pole, Rose Catherine and rider Javier Castellano had taken over and had a clear lead with a furlong to run. She hit the wire 1 3/4 lengths ahead of second-choice West Ocean, ridden by John Velazquez. Todd Pletcher trained the top two finishers.