The Puma made an eye-catching move on the far turn and held off the late charge from Further Ado to capture the $1 million G1 Pennsylvania Derby by a half-length at Parx Racing Sept. 19.
The victory was the first G1 Stakes win for the three-year-old Essential Quality colt, who also won the G3 Tampa Bay Derby earlier this year. He also was just beaten a nose in the G1 Florida Derby and finished a close fourth in both the G1 Haskell Invitational and G1 Travers Stakes.
Equipped with blinkers for the first time, The Puma broke well and was settled near the rear of the field as Ponder and Dream and Talk to Me Jimmy battled it out for the early lead. That pair continued to lead the way as the field entered the backstretch, with Talk to Me Jimmy holding a three-quarter length advantage over Ponder and Dream. The Puma continued his stalking trip, now racing near mid-pack while holding an outside position.
Entering the far turn, The Puma made a bold, sweeping move under Javier Castellano to engage with the new leader, Sassmaster, as they hit the top of the stretch. The Puma quickly put that rival away and sprinted clear, then had enough in the tank to hold off an oncoming Further Ado to get the victory. Sassmaster held on for third.
Bred in Kentucky by Hidden Brook Farm and Brian Kahn, The Puma was purchased by his current connections for $150,000 at the 2025 OBS April Sale of 2-year-olds in training. The Puma is out of Eve of War, a Graded Stakes-placed daughter of Declaration of War and is from the immediate family of multiple Graded Stakes winner, Bedanken.
Two-time Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality was represented by 19 winners in his first crop and has sired six Stakes winners so far in 2026. In addition to The Puma, he is the sire of Stakes winners Bohemian (Pucker Up Stakes), Bull by the Horns (Rushaway Stakes), My World (Jerome Stakes), Black Hornet (Black Gold Stakes), and Essential Lady (Curtis Sampson Oaks).
