The Puma made a huge move around the far turn under jockey Javier Castellano, opened up a three-length lead through the stretch, and held off a late charge from Further Ado to win the $1 million Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by a half-length Sept. 19 at Parx Racing.

It may have taken six months, but The Puma has finally caught up with the cream of the 3-year-old male division. It was back on March 28 that the son of Essential Quality suffered a heartbreaking nose loss in the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby that nevertheless stamped him as one of the top members of his division.

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Then a leg abscess caused trainer Gustavo Delgado to scratch The Puma from the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.

Next, The Puma returned in the July 18 Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes and finished a non-threatening fourth on a sloppy, sealed track. The following month, he showed some late interest but again settled for fourth in the Aug. 29 Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes.

Finally, in the Pennsylvania Derby, The Puma notched his elusive Grade 1 victory.

"It's been a long ride. We scratched on the day of the Derby, and it was frustrating, but it was the best thing. He has really ran good the last two races, he really has. I know he got fourth in the Haskell. The Travers? That was a loaded field. He was running good," said co-owner Randy Guy of High Step Racing. "I was very confident coming in here. I was not overconfident coming here, but I knew he had that performance in him,"

The Puma, racing with added blinkers, was eighth in the early stages of the Pennsylvania Derby behind fractions of :23.27 and :47.69. As the leaders began to backpedal, The Puma launched a swift, six-wide move into contention and circled to the lead entering the stretch.

"When Javier made his move, I said, 'He wins.' He went very fast," Delgado said.

The Puma ($7.40 to win) had plenty left to turn back Further Ado, who came off the rail and split horses to mount a late bid from fourth to second. The winner covered the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:49.10.

Further Ado, the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby, was second by 1 ½ lengths over Sassmaster in third.

The victory was only the second in seven career starts for The Puma. Both wins, however, were graded stakes victories. He notched his first win earlier this year in the Grade 3 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby.

Delgado said he would consider running The Puma in the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic based on how he recovers from Saturday's race.

Bodacious Bay Upsets Always a Runner to Win Cotillion

Bodacious Bay was the winner of the $1 million Grade 1 in the Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Sept. 19 on the Pennsylvania Derby undercard at Parx Racing.

Bodacious Bay had showed her quality earlier this year in winning a maiden race at Churchill Downs in her third career start before placing in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks on July 25. Those efforts, along with her pedigree and upside, sparked the partnership of C2 Racing Stable, Miller Racing, St Elias Stable, Mathis Stable, BAG Racing Stables, Carr Legacy Racing, and Steve Taub to buy her privately for what new trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. described as "a lot of money."

That money was apparently well spent.

Bodacious Bay paid dividends for her new connections by defeating favored Always a Runner, who finished second, and Measure who settled for third. She is now 2-3-0 in five starts with a career bankroll of $708,496. Bodacious Bay paid $12.20 to win.

Bodacious Bay Wins Cotillion. (Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

"I mean, this was big," Joseph said of Saturday's victory.

Florida-based jockey Micah Husbands, riding Bodacious Bay for the first time, had her well positioned. He rated her in second for the first half of the 1 1/16-mile race, as stablemate My Miss Mo, who had beaten her in the Monmouth Oaks, established comfortable splits of :23.81 and :47.99. Bodacious Bay then made her move on the second turn, taking over with 6 furlongs in 1:11.94. She sustained momentum to the wire, finishing in 1:43.60.

"I was loaded the whole way," Husbands said. "I was just sitting there on a lot of horse. By the half-mile pole, she wanted to go a little earlier than I thought, and I didn't want to get in her way, so I just let her cruise up and tried to bide my time. She finished it off like a monster."

The win marked the fourth Grade 1 that Husbands and Joseph have won together in 2026.

"He hasn't even ridden in 1,000 races and he steps up in these big moments and showed composure," Joseph said.

Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner, behind horses the backstretch and early on the second turn, shook clear of traffic to launch a bid under Jose Ortiz, but her rally ultimately flattened out. She finished 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner, holding off a final surge from Measure by a neck for the place.

Bodacious Bay's emergence comes in a chaotic 3-year-old filly division after My Gun's Loaded, the winner of Saratoga's Grade 1 Alabama Stakes presented by Keeneland Sales, was declared out for the rest of 2026 due to injury. Counting Stars, who had won two Grade 1s in June and July and likely holds the current edge for divisional championship honors, finished third behind My Gun's Loaded and Measure in the Alabama.

"So we feel like she could develop into probably the best filly next year," Joseph said. -- Byron King