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Cyberknife, Taiba Set For Rematch In Final Pre-Breeders’ Cup Starts | 2022 Pennsylvania Derby Preview & FREE Picks
Cyberknife edges Taiba to win the 2022 Haskell Stakes (Equi-Photo / Bill Denver)
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Cyberknife, Taiba Set For Rematch In Final Pre-Breeders’ Cup Starts | 2022 Pennsylvania Derby Preview & FREE Picks

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Aaron previews the 2022 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx, then gives his top picks and longshots. Cyberknife and Taiba, the close 1-2 finishers from the 2022 Haskell Stakes (G1), are set for a rematch as they make their final starts before the 2022 Breeders’ Cup, but could a longshot spring a big upset? Tell us YOUR thoughts in the Comments section!

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The track press release:

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will look to win the $1 million, Grade 1 betPARX Pennsylvania Derby for a record fourth time Saturday when Zedan Racing Stablesā€™ Taiba leads a top field of 11 3-year-olds in the signature event of the season at Parx Racing.

The 1/18-mile Pennsylvania Derby is the 12th race on the 13-race card that also co-features the $1 million, Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The Pennsylvania Derby post time is 6:10 p.m. ET.

Taiba, a son of Gun Runner, was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite by Parx racing secretary David Osojnak. Taiba finished second in the $1 million, Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. He was defeated by Gold Squareā€™s Cyberknife, who is trained by Brad Cox and is entered in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Cyberknife won the Haskell by a head. He finished second last time out in the $1.25 million, Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga. The son of Gun Runner is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line and the only member of the field with two Grade 1 wins.

Taiba, who will be ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, has won two of four starts in his career, all of them this year. Included in his resume is a win in the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Baffert won the Pennsylvania Derby in 2014 (Bayern), 2017 (West Coast) and 2018 (McKinzie).

Other Grade 1 winners in the field include Jeff Dwornā€™s Zandon (Toyota Blue Grass) and C2 Racing Stableā€™s and La Milagrosa Stableā€™s White Abarrio (Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ā€˜nā€™ Dale Farms at Xalapa) .

The full field, with jockeys and morning-line odds:

1.     Zandon, Joel Rosario, 5-1;

2.     Icy Stormy, Jeremy Laprida, 40-1;

3.     B Dawk, Frankie Pennington, 20-1;

4.     Skippylongstocking, Edwin Gonzalez, 10-1;

5.     Cyberknife, Florent Geroux, 3-1;

6.     We the People, Flavien Prat, 12-1;

7.     Tawny Port, Irad Ortiz Jr., 6-1;

8.     Taiba, Mike Smith, 5-2;

9.     Simplification, Paco Lopez, 10-1;

10.  Naval Aviator, Abner Adorno, 20-1;

11.  White Abbario, Luis Saez, 8-1.

CONNECTIONS QUOTES FOR THE BetPARX Pennsylvania Derby:

ICY STORM (Post 2, 30-1) ā€“ Trainer Felix Flores-Coba: ā€œI think itā€™s a good spot for him. There are a lot of nice horses. You donā€™t want to be too far out against those kind of horses. I want him to break and get a good position. He is not a big horse. This is where I want him, anywhere from the two to six was good. I just want to see him run good against some super nice horses. He is doing really good. I know he will run good, thatā€™s all I can tell you. I expect a good race out of him.ā€

SKIPPYLONGSTOCKING (Post 4, 10-1), WHITE ABARRIO (Post 11, 8-1) ā€“ Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.: ā€œBoth posts are all right. Parx has a pretty good run to the first bend. I just hope we break; the draw we canā€™t control. White Abarrio will be forwardly placed. He will be on the lead or near the lead. That is the plan. Skippy is a horse that is improving. Both horses are in Saratoga and will ship on Wednesday.ā€

CYBERKNIFE (Post 5, 3-1), TAWNY PORT (Post 7, 6-1) ā€“ Trainer Brad Cox: ā€œIā€™m happy with the draw for both horses. Weā€™ve pointed Tawny Port for this race since the Jim Dandy. Everything is going great with him. Once again, heā€™s got to step up to prove that he belongs at this level. He ran a great race last time, but we need to see some improvement to get him a Grade 1. Irad (Ortiz Jr.) likes him. Heā€™s ridden him the last few starts and weā€™re excited to have him back on him. Heā€™s doing well, so weā€™ll see how it goes. With Cyberknife, it wasnā€™t a whole lot of, coming out of the Travers and ā€˜weā€™re going to go to Parxā€™ way of thinking. I thought we might go straight to the Breedersā€™ Cup. He had a really good breeze last weekend. Time wise it wasnā€™t anything crazy fast, but itā€™s how heā€™s doing, how he looks, how heā€™s acting. This is one last swing at a Grade 1 around two turns for straight 3-year-olds.ā€

WE THE PEOPLE (Post 6, 12-1) ā€“ Trainer Rodolphe Brisset: ā€œItā€™s a good draw for us. Heā€™s right in the middle of the field. Heā€™s a pretty good gate horse so we just hope for a clean break and go from there. We know all of them. Itā€™s a very strong field. If Iā€™m right I believe itā€™s the last Grade 1 for 3-year-olds so we have to be in there to win it. He doesnā€™t have to be on the lead, but the fact he has that high-cruising speed that, if he breaks clean, he usually knows how to put himself in the right position to win the race. Itā€™s just if heā€™s good enough now.   

TAIBA (Post 8, 5-2) ā€“ Trainer Bob Baffert: ā€œHe likes to be in the clear, so that is good. He doesnā€™t like being on the inside. I would rather be the five of the six, but this will be ok. Cyberknife is a tough horse; they are all good horses in here. Million-dollar races are not easy; they are not supposed to be easy. As always, you have to break. We had a little bit of a rough trip in the last one (Haskell). I know he is doing well and we are all set. Both horses (he also has Adare Manor in the $1 million Cotillion). I like the way they are training and we will be shipping tomorrow (Tuesday).ā€