Bernie Houghton saddled his second stakes winner at Presque Isle on Aug. 6, this time with Barlar LLC's Advert, ridden by Julio Hernandez, in the $100,000 Malvern Rose Stakes at one mile for 3-year-old, Pa-bred fillies.

Advert's sister Imply had won the Northern Fling Stakes a month earlier at Presque Isle for the same connections.

"Barlar is owned by Larry Karp, an investment advisor, a money manager, from Plano, Texas," said Houghton. "Larry bred both fillies."

Houghton has trained Karp's horses for about five years, and Karp has foaled all his mares at Houghton's family farm, Sylmar, owned by his parents, Ronnie and Betsy Houghton, for the past two years.

Both fillies are out of Allude, by Orientate, but Imply is by E Dubai, a stallion Karp owns, while Advert is by Lonhro (Aus).

"Advert broke her maiden first time out for me," said Houghton. "We ran her one more time last year and then gave her the winter off. She's been second in an allowance race and then won an allowance."

 

ADVERT HAS started seven times, all on the turf or on an Presque Isle's all-weather track, with three wins, one second and one third.

Her first win was at Laurel on July 17, 2016, and she won an allowance race this year at Parx on July 10.

"She's a beautiful horse to train," said Houghton. "She's very mannerly."

"The plan is to run them both, Imply and Advert, on Sept. 2 in Pennsylvania Day at the Races at Parx ," said Houghton.

Advert won by a length over Buttonwood Farm's Rose Tree, trained by Jonathan Sheppard and ridden by Andrew Wolfsont.

"We were very pleased with Rose Tree's race," said Sheppard of the filly who was the Pa-bred 2-year-old Filly of the Year last year.

"I had her in training at Delaware Park," said Sheppard.

But he said that she got very strong training there, and that she ran off with Wolfsont during one work there.

Sheppard took her back to his farm in West Grove, Pa., where she trained better, but he said they were still worried that she wouldn't rate in the Malvern Rose Stakes.

But Rose Tree settled nicely into sixth while racing four wide down the backside and began to make her move as she turned into the stretch, finishing gamely to clinch second.