Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey returned to top form with a front-running victory in the $1 million Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 21 at Parx Racing.

Asked for speed early by rider Jaime Torres, Seize the Grey made the lead and loped along through fractions of :23.89, :49.25, and 1:13.81. Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold lodged a menacing challenge outside the leader in the lane, but Seize the Grey repelled him to win going away by 3 3/4 lengths in a time of 1:51.89 for the 1 1/8 miles.

Nearing the finish with the outcome no longer in doubt, Torres stood in the irons and celebrated as Seize the Grey crossed the wire much the best.

"I didn't expect to get the lead that easy," Torres said. "I thought it would be more tough, but you have to come out and stick with the plan. If you can follow the plan that's a good thing."

Stronghold was second. Dragoon Guard rallied along the inside to finish third, snapping his four-race winning streak. Longshot Uncle Heavy finished fourth.

After a pair of disappointing losses at Saratoga in the Belmont Stakes and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, 3-year-old Seize the Grey again looked like a classic winner. Sent out by legendary 89-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas for ownership group MyRacehorse, Seize the Grey finished the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.89 and paid $10.60 to win.

Seize the Grey's victory provided his MyRacehorse 2,570 micro-share owners with another unforgettable thrill as he led throughout.

"I don't know if I have ever been involved with that many people who are crying and hugging and jumping up and down," Lukas said. "It was unbelievable. The real joy is doing it for your clients. After you win one, you are always thinking about the clientele."

After jumping to the upper echelon of the 3-year-old class with back-back-to-back wins in the Grade 2 Pat Mile Day Mile presented by SAP at Churchill Downs and Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Seize the Grey finished seventh in the Belmont Stakes and fourth in the Jim Dandy in his most recent start.

"The thing about him is that after the debacle in Saratoga he trained brilliantly ever since. He was really sharp every day. This is very gratifying," Lukas said. "I was very confident. I have been that confident with him three times and all three times he won."

Bound for Gainesway Farm after his racing career, Seize the Gray added another dose of top-level success to his resume that includes five wins in 13 career starts. The Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar could be next, but Lukas was uncertain if the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile or the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles would be the best for him.

"I will give them my vote. I don't like to make decisions in the winner's circle," Lukas said. "I am thinking (Dirt Mile) but a mile-and-a-quarter is well within his scope, especially on that track. If you are ever going to get a mile-and-a-quarter, you will get it (at Del Mar)."

It wasn't as easy as her three earlier Grade 1 victories this year, but Thorpedo Anna 's class came through in the end with a narrow score in the $1 million Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes Sept. 21 at Parx Racing.

Boxed in turning for home, Thorpedo Anna shouldered her way outside of horses when she gained room at the top of the stretch and ran down a game Gun Song by a neck margin at the wire.

The overwhelming 1-9 favorite in an eight-horse field, Thorpedo Anna ($2.20) clocked the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.45 under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr.. Gun Song finished second at 44-1 odds. Tarifa was third.

Thorpedo Anna was exiting a heartbreaking loss to Fierceness in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 24 against males at Saratoga. The Kenny McPeek trainee runs for the partnership of Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks, and Magdalena Racing.

When McPeek reported a month ago that Thorpedo Anna would target the Cotillion against her own sex rather than re-oppose males in the Pennsylvania Derby, victory appeared all but inevitable for the filly sensation. And so the racing public watched with bated breath as Thorpedo Anna cut the win a little too close for comfort Saturday afternoon.

"Oh my goodness. That's what horse racing is about," said co-owner and breeder Judy Hicks after the race.

Thorpedo Anna added to her Eclipse Award-worthy resume, having secured earlier season wins in every top race in her division including the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn Stakes, and the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks.

"A win is a win. I am going to take it," said McPeek. "I'm not complaining. Good ones overcome everything. She is head over heels above the 3-year-old fillies."

Cutting back to the 1 1/16-mile trip after traveling the classic 1 1/4-mile distance in the Travers, regular rider Brian Hernandez tucked Thorpedo Anna into a stalking position just behind pacesetting Mystic Lake and Gun Song through the opening fractions. Following splits of :23.94, :48.01, and 1:12.55, Thorpedo Anna found herself boxed in with nowhere to go as the field turned for home. Patient and aware of the loaded cannon beneath him, Hernandez waited until Mystic Lake conceded her advantage and the early runners drifted apart before gunning Thorpedo Anna for the leaders.

Thorpedo Anna edged in front of her game rival, who had re-rallied strides from the finish. Hernandez, while encouraging his filly, never once used the whip on Thorpedo Anna.

"(John Velazquez aboard Gun Song) put us in a box, and we were just stuck there behind him for a long, long time," said Hernandez. "Then we finally got a little seem turning for home. She lengthened her stride, and she was able to just put her neck in front. She just showed how game she was from the eighth pole home."

The next stop for Thorpedo Anna will be the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 2 at Del Mar. -- Molly Rollins