Zulu Kingdom tops eight in Penn Mile; Laurelin brings perfect mark to Penn Oaks

Rescheduled from late May, the $400,000 Penn Mile (G3) and $150,000 Penn Oaks will be offered Friday evening on Penn National’s turf. Top draws for the Mile include American Turf (G1) winner Zulu Kingdom, the 7-5 morning line favorite, and Flavien Prat will be in to ride the Irish-bred colt for Chad Brown.

Zulu Kingdom enters with a 5-for-6 record, his lone setback coming in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), and the four-time stakes winner favors the mile distance. A 2-1 favorite versus 13 rivals in the American Turf on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard, Zulu Kingdom figures to be a much shorter price in this spot.

Four-time stakes winner Mi Bago, who weakened grudgingly to be a close fourth in the American Turf after setting the pace, comes next at 7-2 on the morning line. Runner-up in the off-the-turf Pennine Ridge at Saratoga 13 days ago, the Mark Casse-trained son of Vekoma will retain the services of Irad Ortiz Jr.

Dream On is listed at 9-2 following a rallying score in the Woodhaven S. at Aqueduct in late April. A Grade 1-placed juvenile, the Not This Time colt will make his third start this season for Casse and Javier Castellano rides. Other runners include Out on Bail, who will stretch to two turns after a close second in the William Walker at Churchill; and States’ Rights, who exits a fast closing second in a Keeneland allowance.

Unbeaten from three starts, multiple stakes winner Laurelin heads nine three-year-old fillies in the one-mile Penn Oaks. 

The Irish-bred daughter of Zarak launched her racing career on Aqueduct’s turf last fall, recording a convincing maiden tally, and Laurelin followed with a rallying triumph in November’s Tepin. The chestnut opened this year with a narrow win in April’s Memories of Silver, and Laurelin will make her first appearance outside of New York in the Oaks. Kendrick Carmouche pilots the 3-1 early favorite.

Love You Anyway competed in the Florida Oaks (G3) two starts back while still a maiden, finishing fifth behind Nitrogen in an 11-horse field, and the gray filly returns to stakes competition after easily defeating maiden special weight rivals at Keeneland as an even-money favorite. Axel Concepcion picks up the mount for Rusty Arnold.

A trio of stakes-placed runners, Bessie Abott, Candy Quest, and Reining Flowers, are also entered, and Brown will be represented by last-out maiden winners Accent and Midway Memories.