Named Florida-bred 2-year-old male champion after winning 4 of 5 starts last year, Bentornato looks to return to the winner’s circle in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes for 3-year-olds over six furlongs at Parx Racing. If variety is the spice of life, then Bentornato’s sophomore campaign has been flavorful, to say the least. Bentornato made his 2024 debut overseas, where he finished third in the Group 3 Saudi Derby on Feb. 24. The winner of that race, Forever Young, next repeated in the U.A.E. Derby before finishing a close third in the Kentucky Derby, while runner-up Book’em Danno subsequently captured the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. “For a young horse, to handle the travel mentally and physically, he did pretty well,” trainer Jose D’Angelo said. “Turning for home, he looks like the winner, but the stretch was so long. He ran his heart out.” From the Middle East to Charles Town, Bentornato finished second in the Robert Hilton Memorial around a two-turn, seven-furlong distance on Aug. 23. “To me, he was the best horse in the race,” D’Angelo remarked. “The pace was so fast.” D’Angelo believes that six furlongs is Bentornato’s best distance, and his race strategy seems cut-and-dried. “We have the rail, and we have a fast horse, so we have to go,” he said. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Trainer Alfredo Velazquez always believed in Buccherino’s ability, but physical issues might have affected his overall results. The colt finally validated Velazquez’s faith when he wired the field in the Gallant Bob’s local prep, the Salvatore M. DeBunda Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs on Aug. 24. “His feet were bothering him,” Velazquez said. “It took me a long time to get him straight.” Velazquez maintains that Buccherino is versatile from a running-style standpoint and doesn’t necessarily need the lead to succeed. Making his first start as a gelding, and racing for the first time in two months, Maximus Meridius made a mid-race rail challenge before settling for second in the DeBunda Sprint. “It was a first step in the right direction after a couple of disappointing efforts,” trainer Butch Reid said. “Mentally, he seems to be doing much better.” Maximus Meridius will race with blinkers off on Saturday, a move that Reid hopes “will shake things up. Maybe if he can see some competition, he’ll pick up his head a little bit.” Sunny Breeze grabbed his first three starts for trainer Ned Allard, including the Concern at Laurel Park on July 28. He finished third in the DeBunda Sprint. “I thought he’d run big in there,” Allard said. Jockey Jaime Rodriguez “said that he’s ridden a lot of horses that seem to need a race over the track. I tend to agree. He can turn it around.” Awesome Ruta, Practically Dark, and One Sharp Cookie also are entered. Alwaysintomischief was cross-entered in Saturday’s Harrod’s Creek at Churchill Downs. Parx Dirt Mile Coastal Mission drops in class out of four consecutive graded stakes in the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile for 3-year-olds and up. Second in both the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on June 15 at Monmouth Park and the Grade 2 John A. Nerud on July 6 at Aqueduct, Coastal Mission recently finished fourth in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at 1 1/8 miles. “He got far behind and outside,” trainer Jeff Runco said about the Charles Town Classic. “He was wide the whole race and just did not have a good trip.” Runco envisions a situation where Coastal Mission is not too far back. He is encouraged by the gelding’s recent training. Repo Rocks won 5 of 7 starts last year for trainer Jamie Ness, earned Beyers of 111 and 109 when dominating the Grade 3 Toboggan and Grade 3 Westchester, respectively, and finished second in the Grade 1 Carter. After finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, Repo Rocks returned this year with trainer Rick Dutrow. After an unsuccessful three-race series, the 6-year-old is back with Ness, who saddled Repo Rocks to a runner-up effort in a high-level Colonial Downs allowance on Aug. 12 followed by a restricted allowance victory there Aug. 22. “He’s been one of the better horses I’ve ever had,” Ness said. “He’s dead-ready to go. I feel really good about Repo Rocks.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  All eyes will be on Doug Cowans’s stable star Next in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup, but Injunction looks like another shrewd claim for the barn. Taken for $80,000 out of a winning effort over sloppy going on May 6 at Churchill, Injunction earned a career-high 99 Beyer in his first start for Cowans, a victory in the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Injunction prepped for the Parx Dirt Mile with a second-place finish behind 2023 Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown in the R.A. Cowboy Jones on Aug. 11 at Ellis. Adero and Concealed Carry finished one-two in the local prep, the Mayor’s Mile on Aug. 24. Adero has won 8 of 17, and he paired up 96 Beyer tops in his last two races. Film Star, Grade 2-placed last year, posted a pace-pressing win in the off-turf Lure on Aug. 3 at Saratoga. Trainer Linda Rice is pleased with Film Star’s outside post. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. “can play it the way it comes up. He can put him on the lead or stalk in second or third,” she said. Pennsylvania-bred Movisitor should show rail speed. Seven’s Eleven earned the field’s best last-race Beyer, a 99, when scoring a high-level Laurel allowance win on Sept. 7. Parx Sprint Three-time Grade 3 winner Super Chow could be the one to catch in the $100,000 Parx Sprint for 3-year-olds and up at 6 1/2 furlongs. Freshened after finishing a tired fourth as the favorite in Delaware Park’s Alapocas Run on July 7, Super Chow was supplemented to the Parx Sprint by trainer Jorge Delgado. He’ll likely have his hands full with the likes of Twisted Ride, who finished third in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at six furlongs on July 27 before running last of seven in the seven-furlong, Grade 1 Forego on Aug. 24. Twisted Ride has won half of his 18 starts at Parx. “We asked him for a lot by sending him back [to Saratoga] for the Forego,” trainer Michael Moore said. “He paid the price a little bit there. Seven-eighths, I don’t think is his best. I think he’ll enjoy a little bit of class relief and staying right here at Parx.” Gordian Knot bested Veeson and Ninetyprcentmaddie in the Jump Start for statebreds on Aug. 26, while My Buddy B got the better of Recruiter, Speedy Bolt, and Praetorian Guard in the State Representative’s Sprint on Aug. 24. Top Gunner makes his first start for trainer Brad Cox after being claimed for $62,500 on Aug. 4 at Saratoga. Depoli completes the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.