Parnac (FR)

French-bred Parnac won her first two career starts racing in Germany in 2021 before being purchased and sent to the U.S. where Christophe Clement assumed training duties. The Zarak filly finished fourth, second, and seventh in her first three starts in New York but won her fourth attempt on Oct. 29, 2022, during the Belmont at the Big A meet. She then finished seventh in her first stakes appearance at Aqueduct’s regular meet to close out her 3-year-old season.

After a nearly five-month break, Parnac returned in the Monroe Stakes at Gulfstream Park on May 7, 2023, and finished fourth. She was shipped back to New York for a start in a June 11 allowance optional claiming race and won the 1 3/8-mile race by a rallying neck. Next up, Parnac made her graded stakes debut in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes July 1 at Delaware Park and finished a good third.

Parnac was withdrawn from an August allowance race at Saratoga, and as a substitute, Clement decided to start Parnac in the Sept. 2, Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes during that track’s closing weekend. Facing only three opponents, including 2-5 favorite McKulick and stablemate Amazing Grace, Parnac went immediately to the lead under Dylan Davis and set a leisurely pace in the 1 3/8-mile race. She turned for home with a clear lead and held a rallying McKulick at bay by 1 ¼ lengths to earn a career-defining win and also an automatic berth in the Nov. 4 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Parnac is co-owned by West Point Thoroughbred and Dream With Me Stable. As participants in America’s Best Racing’s award-winning “A Stake In Stardom” initiative, Fox sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport also have ownership shares in the filly through West Point.