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Ben's Cat wins third consecutive Parx Dash Ben's Cat showed his class with another outstanding performance in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash, rallying determinedly to win the five-furlong turf sprint for the third straight year. The eight-year-old pushed his career earnings past the $2 million mark ($2,105,990) with his 22nd career stakes tally, improving his overall mark to 41-27-4-3, and regular rider Julian Pimenthal was up on the King Leatherbury-trained gelding. A troubled fourth behind Undrafted when shipping to Belmont Park for the Grade 3 Jaipur on June 7, Ben's Cat garnered his third win from four starts this season when out-finishing Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint runner-up Tightend Touchdown by a nose, with Jaipur runner-up Marchman another nose back in third in the photo finish. It proved to be an all-out scrum for the lead after the break, with Tightend Touchdown sticking a head in front after a quarter-mile 22 seconds. Ben's Cat was last of nine runners early but less than four lengths back in the tightly-bunched field. Tightend Touchdown got shuffled back a little on the far turn as Sharp Sensation seized control on the outside, completing the half-mile in :44 2/5, but the latter could not sustain the advantage for long. Bold Thunder moved forward to stick a head in front in the stretch drive, but Tightend Touchdown was prominent again and accelerating toward the front after turning for home. Marchman also loomed a danger in midstretch as he advanced to challenge, and Ben's Cat was cranking up his rally on the far outside. The outcome was in doubt until the final strides. Ben's Cat kept finding more to prevail in heroic fashion, surging late to just get up on the wire, and the hard-knocking veteran stopped the teletimer in :56 3/5 on the firm turf. Sent off the 5-2 third choice, the winner paid $7.40. Tightend Touchdown just missed as the 5-2 favorite, and 5-2 second choice Marchman was extremely game as well. It was a 1 1/2-length gap back to Bold Thunder in fourth, and Sharp Sensation, Stormofthecentury, Mongolian Saturday, This Ain't No Bull and Atlantic Seaboard completed the order of finish. Quality Lass was scratched. Owned and bred in Maryland by Leatherbury, Ben's Cat rates a legendary turf sprinter. He's been campaigned mostly at Midlantic tracks, compiling seven stakes wins at both Laurel and Pimlico, five stakes victories at Parx and three at Penn National. That includes four Grade 3 victories. By Parker's Storm Cat, Ben's Cat is out of the multiple stakes-placed Thirty Eight Paces mare Twofox, who is a full sister to Grade 2 queen Thirty Eight Go Go and a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Notches Trace. Also in the family are Grade 3 scorers Ah Day and Laser Lane. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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