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By Tom LaMarra
Sycamore Racing V’s Jessica Krupnick already has won her MATCH Series division, but the $100,000 Roamin Rachel Stakes at Parx Racing Sept. 15 also offers her a shot at the overall series championship.
Valuable points are on the line in the six-furlong Roamin Rachel, final leg of the Filly and Mare Sprint–Dirt Division. Jessica Krupnick, trained by Francis “Tres” Abbott III and based at Fair Hill Training Center, will automatically earn 5 bonus points for competing in her fourth division race, and up to 10 more depending on her finish position.
The Roamin Rachel also attracted Liz’s Cable Girl, a Pat McBurney trainee who needs one more MATCH Series start to qualify for division bonus money. She can’t catch Jessica Krupnick but would place second in her division and also win a $5,000 bonus for her breeder, Colonial Farms, via the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of New Jersey.
The 4-year-old filly is owned by John Cocce, Lisbeth Dodd, Peter Donnelly and Gerard Melley.
Jessica Krupnick has a win and a second in two starts at Parx, while Liz’s Cable Girl is two-for-two at the Pennsylvania track.
By Tom LaMarra
Liz’s Cable Girl needed to start in the Roamin Rachel Stakes at Parx Racing to qualify for MATCH Series bonus money, but she did one better by winning the $100,000 event for owner Lizbeth Dodd and trainer Pat McBurney.
Meanwhile, Sycamore Racing’s Jessica Krupnick, leader of the Filly and Mare Sprint–Dirt Division, finished second in the Roamin Rachel to take the overall MATCH Series lead. Jessica Krupnick earned 7 points for finishing second and 5 bonus points for her fourth division start for a total of 34. That keeps her in the mix for the overall championship, which will be decided Sept. 22 at Laurel Park.
Liz’s Cable Girl, a 4-Year-old New Jersey-bred filly by Cable Boy, was widest in a four-horse scramble for the lead in the six-furlong Roamin Rachel but cleared after the first quarter-mile and increased her advantage on the far turn. That gave Jessica Krupnick, who didn’t have the best of starts and early in the race was sixth and last, a bit too much to do in the stretch.
Ridden by Jose Ferrer, Liz’s Cable Girl won by four lengths over Jessica Krupnick and paid $3.20 to win as the heavy favorite. Yorkiepoo Princess finished third. The time on a track rated fast was 1:11.73.
“Once she got to the front, she kept going,” McBurney said of Liz’s Cable Girl, who is now three-for-three at Parx. “For sure, Jessica Krupnick has been tough–she beat our filly both times she faced her–but we got the jump on her today.”
“I’d like to thank Pat for giving me the ride,” said Ferrer, who has ridden Liz’s Cable Girl to victory in her last three starts. “We had good position on the outside. You don’t want to be near the inside fence here because it can be deep.”
Liz’s Cable Girl competed in three MATCH division races and finished up with 18 points. She is the leading New Jersey-bred filly or mare in the series, and thus earned her breeder, Colonial Farms, a $5,000 bonus from the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of New Jersey.
The filly’s owner and trainer will receive $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, for her second-place finish in the Filly and Mare Sprint–Dirt Division. Jessica Krupnick, who sealed the division in the Satin and Lace Stakes at Presque Isle Downs & Casino in August, earned $25,000 for her owner and $15,000 for her trainer.