Tom Pedulla presents five takeaways from a weekend of racing highlighted by two Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds — the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby and the $1 million Cotillion Stakes for fillies — at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa.

BREAKING THROUGH: Trainer Brad Cox was convinced Saudi Crown ranked among the best members of the sophomore class despite nose defeats in the June 30 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park and in the July 29 Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by DK Horse at Saratoga. The son of 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming showed why when he broke sharply from the starting gate for jockey Florent Geroux and never looked back in besting Dreamlike by half a length in the Pennsylvania Derby. “He needed a breakthrough performance and I think he is one of the top 3-year-olds in the country,” Cox said. Saudi Crown was facing Grade 1 company for the first time. He was unraced at 2. He made a winning debut April 16 at Keeneland and quickly followed that with an allowance victory before moving into graded-stakes company in the Dwyer.

CLASSIC NEXT?: Cox and FMQ Stables must decide whether Saudi Crown, who displayed a high cruising speed in his first Grade 1 score, is better suited to the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile or the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Cox appears to be leaning toward the 1 ¼-mile Classic. “He could be in the Classic based off the pedigree by a Derby winner [Always Dreaming] out of a Tapit mare [New Narration], his physical deal, he could handle the mile and a quarter. Obviously, you have to have the right setup. I am not sure he has to have the lead to win. He is a pretty kind horse who breaks well.” Cox pointed to the Saudi Cup next Feb. 24 as the ultimate goal.

GOOD SHIPPER: California-bred and -based Ceiling Crusher had never ventured beyond her West Coast base until trainer Doug O'Neill sent her to Parx Racing for the Cotillion Stakes. He admitted he had questions about how she would handle her new surroundings, but those doubts were unfounded. With Edwin Maldonado aboard, she rolled gate to wire in notching her first Grade 1 triumph. “She brought everything she was showing us back home on the road,” O’Neill said. “You never know until you pack your bags and have to stay in a hotel room and be away from home. She handled everything perfectly.” She held off division leader Pretty Mischievous by half a length in winning for the sixth time in seven starts.

NOT HER DAY: A sloppy, sealed surface appeared to work against Pretty Mischievous in the Cotillion. She had won three successive Grade 1 races before placing second to Ceiling Crusher, taking the May 5 Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, the June 9 Acorn Stakes presented by Great Jones Distilling Co. at Belmont Park and the Aug. 5 Test Stakes at Saratoga. She absorbed her first defeat since she took second in the March 25 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton. “You can’t be disappointed in her. We’re just a little disappointed in the circumstances,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “Hats off to Doug’s filly, too. She took her opportunity and won the race. I’m not taking anything away from her.”

UPSET LOSS: There is no doubt that Gunite ranks among the nation’s best when it comes to dashing six or seven furlongs. Ask him to go a mile and that is a very different story. The 4-year-old Gun Runner colt ran fourth in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last November at Keeneland and suffered a stunning upset to Nimitz Class after he appeared to be in command in the slop in the Parx Dirt Mile on Saturday. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione thought his mount handled the gooey track just fine. But he said of the mile, “I guess it’s just not his best distance. ... It’s just something about the two turns doesn’t work with him.” Gunite had turned the tables on crack sprinter Elite Power in the seven-furlong Forego Stakes on Aug. 26 at Saratoga in his previous start.