The grade I Cotillion Stakes, which figures to have a major impact on the 3-year-old filly championship, attracted some of the top members of the division and few interesting wild cards for its Sept. 20 renewal at Parx Racing.
A field of nine was entered in the $1 million Cotillion, a 1 1/16-mile test that goes as race 11 on a 13-race card at the Pennsylvania track. The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) for 3-year-olds is the 12th race on the program.
The Cotillion has lured Winchell Thoroughbreds' Untapable, winner of the Longines Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose Stakes (both gr. I); Repole Stable's Stopchargingmaria, winner of the Alabama Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks (both gr. I); and Treadway Racing Stable's Sweet Reason, winner of the Acorn Stakes and Test Stakes (both gr. I). Also in the field is Main Line Racing Stables' locally based Joint Return, who almost upset Stopchargingmaria in the Alabama in her first start with blinkers.
Untapable, by Tapit , drew post 8 in the Cotillion and will be ridden by Rosie Napravnik at 124 pounds, the same weight Stopchargingmaria and Sweet Reason will carry. In her last start, the Steve Asmussen-trained filly took on males for the first time in the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) and finished an even fifth in a race won wire-to-wire by Pennsylvania Derby entrant Bayern .
Untapable had won four in a row before the Haskell and is listed as the 7-5 favorite in her return with fillies.
Stopchargingmaria, trained by Todd Pletcher and to be ridden by John Velazquez from post 9, began her three-race win streak with a victory in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (gr. II) in May, and has been powerful at distances between 1 1/8 miles and 1 1/4 miles. The Tale of the Cat filly has won six of 10 starts but is zero-for-two at the Cotillion distance.
Sweet Reason, trained by former jockey Leah Gyarmati, won her two grade I stakes around one turn. By Street Sense , Sweet Reason prefers to come from off the pace but could be closer should the early fractions be slow on the stretchout.
Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode her the last two times in the grade I scores, has the call from post 2.
The John Servis-trained Joint Return, second in the Alabama and Delaware Oaks (gr. II) in her last two starts, began her career at Parx but has been based this summer at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. With two wins at Parx, if the Include filly is ready for a breakout race, this could be the proper setting.
Kendrick Carmouche will ride Joint Return from post 4 at 119 pounds.
Parx Racing, Saturday, September 20, 2014, Race 11Entries: Cotillion S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Cassatt (KY) Kerwin D. Clark 122 J. Larry Jones - 2 2Sweet Reason (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 124 Leah Gyarmati - 3 3House Rules (KY) Javier Castellano 119 James A. Jerkens - 4 4Joint Return (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 119 John C. Servis - 5 5Vero Amore (KY) Frankie Pennington 119 Robert E. Reid, Jr. - 6 6Little Alexis (KY) Joel Rosario 119 Carlo Vaccarezza - 7 7Jojo Warrior (KY) Martin Garcia 122 Bob Baffert - 8 8Untapable (KY) Rosie Napravnik 124 Steven M. Asmussen - 9 9Stopchargingmaria (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Todd A. Pletcher -
