By Dick Jerardi
Ernesto Padilla-Preciado, aka Chito, claimed Lady Annabelle for $7,500 out of a non-winners of four life race on March 11. After two undistinguished efforts in his barn, she started to win and has not stopped. And the 6-year-old mare does not just win; she crushes her opponents.
After blowing away the field in Tuesday’s The Disco Chick for Pennsylvania bred and sired horses at Parx, the streak stands at eight, with the margin of those wins at 30 1/4 lengths. The latest was never really in doubt once Lady Annabelle got clear sailing around the far turn of the 7-furlong race. She got the lead in the stretch and kept increasing her margin, winning by 4 1/4 lengths.
She had been entered in Saturday’s Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs, but the trainer thought it best to keep her home which has been the site of all the wins during the streak.
“I was thinking why even change it,” said Padilla-Preciado, who owns and trains the mare. “I’m pretty sure she would have a good chance (at Churchill). Why even bother? She made it look even easier than the last time.”
Jockey Silvestre Gonzalez has been on her back for all eight wins. When asked to describe what it feels like to ride a horse that wants to win so much, he said: “It’s just an amazing feeling, unlike anything anybody can ever really imagine. It’s almost like you’re in slow motion because you’ve got the horse that’s wanting to win and everything just kind of slows down. Enjoy the moment.”
Jockey and trainer have enjoyed every one of the eight moments with Lady Annabelle. Padilla-Preciado has made some great claims. This is surely the best. Since the claim, Lady Annabelle has earned $317,850.
“This one is very, very special,” Padilla-Preciado said. “We are very proud of the way she’s been running. Every time she runs, she’s doing better and better.”
The Disco Chick may very well have been her best yet. The field had combined for 35 wins and earnings of $1,885,356. And it was a one-horse race in the stretch.
“She’s the best,” Gonzalez said. “Just amazing, all class. She does whatever you ask her to do. Today, we sat right off the pace. She was patient, she wasn’t eager. She was right in my hands, relaxed. I tipped her out and she does what she does.”
In a year of streaks at Parx and for Parx-based horses, Lady Annabelle has come front and center with her eight straight, joining More Than Grace who has also won eight straight for trainer Michael Pino. Those streaks were all compiled at Parx.
Kerness K, who is based at Parx and will run in the Claiming Crown Ready’s Rocket Express for Jamie Ness, has won 11 straight at Laurel Park, Delaware Park, Colonial Downs and Parx.
It surely is not a coincidence that each of those horses began their streaks after being claimed by the top three trainers in 2026 at Parx. As we head into the final weeks of the year, Ness, going for a record-tying seventh consecutive title, leads the Parx standings with 106 wins, followed by Padilla-Preciado (96) and Pino (88).
We shall see how that sorts itself out soon enough while marveling at these streaks all the while.
