Penny Polka Second Winner in 24 Hours for Mendelssohn

It was a second debut winner in two days for Grade I winner Mendelssohn when Penny Polka (2f Mendelssohn x Diamond Dollar, by Not For Love) won at Delaware Park.

Racing over 5 ½ furlongs on the dirt, the filly broke sharply and entered a challenge for the lead only a few strides later. The first out of the gate quickly yielded to her and Penny Polka took over by half a length with two other fillies pushing her every step of the way.

Penny Polka wasn’t about to give in and entered a stretch-long duel, refusing to let the other horse ever take the advantage. In the end, the Mendelssohn juvenile won by a head as the favorite for trainer Cathal Lynch and owner Runnymoore Racing.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Gregory and Caroline Bentley Breeders, Penny Polka is the first foal out of the stakes winning Diamond Dollar. That mare is a half-sister to stakes-placed Chelsea Barton and the dam of stakes-placed Sapphire Shilling out of Grade III winner Ruby Rubles.

Diamond Dollar returned to Mendelssohn last year.

Penny Polka is the third U.S. winner and fourth winner overall for Mendelssohn, who sired Saratoga Maiden Special Weight winner Miracle yesterday. A graded stakes winner at both two and three, Mendelssohn also has seven other placed runners from his first crop.