BENSALEM, Pa. -- The 12-horse field that went postward in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Saturday was comprised of horses at varying stages of their careers.Nyquist and Exaggerator had won on the biggest nationals stages. Gun Runner and Cupid had won important races but not at this level of competition. Others were in search of their first graded scores.Connect fell into the latter group, but when the dust cleared he had not only padded his resume but had done it in a style which suggests we will be seeing him in major races from here on in.Owned by Paul Pompa Jr. and trained by Chad Brown, Connect was making only his sixth career start. He had finished a well-beaten sixth in the Travers, his graded stakes debut, but had come out of that race ill.He had a pretty significant lung infection, Brown said by phone from Belmont Park. We cleaned that up and he came back to form today.Connect was given a ground-saving ride in the 1-1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby by Javier Castellano, and held off Gun Runner through the final furlong to win by a half-length. It was four lengths back to Wild About Deb in third.Awesome Slew hopped out to a clear early lead in the $1.25 million Derby with Cupid galloping along behind him, several lengths ahead of Nyquist, who was third, and Gun Runner, in fourth.The fractions were a realistic 23.01 seconds, 47.35, and 1:11.81.On the far turn, Cupid began to flatten out while Nyquist made a three-wide move after Awesome Slew. Gun Runner commenced his bid four wide and Connect was making progress along the inside.Entering the stretch, Nyquist challenged for the lead while Connect made a quick move and slipped through inside horses. He had the lead at the furlong pole with Gun Runner challenging from the center of the track. They stayed that way to the wire.I was confident in the stretch, Castellano said. I had a lot of horse and didnt think the other horse was going to get by.Connect paid $23.20 as fifth choice in the race. His final time was 1:50.20.Nyquist couldnt sustain his drive in the stretch and came out on the wrong end of a four-horse photo for third, finishing sixth.He was in a perfect spot, trainer Doug ONeill said. Mario [Gutierrez] said he was kind of struggling with the track but he had a good trip and we have no excuses. Well take him home and talk about what we should do next.Exaggerator made a move outside horses nearing the far turn but never reached contention and finished seventh, seven lengths behind Nyquist. Awesome Slew held on for fourth and Cupid dropped back to eighth.Connect, a son of Curlin, is now 4 for 6 in his career. After losing his career debut at Aqueduct last December, he won three races in a row - a Belmont maiden race in May, a Belmont allowance in June, and the restricted Curlin Stakes early in the Saratoga meet.The Travers is the only race where he hasnt fired, Brown said. We have always have had a lot of confidence in this horse. Im proud of him. I mean I wouldnt have gone in predicting that we would win against Gun Runner and Nyquist. Those are very tough horses. But Im not surprised either.Brown said he did not have any immediate plans for Connect, as he had been focusing solely on this race.Id like to give credit to my team and also to Mr. Pompa, who once we got him healthy wanted to run in this race, Brown said. He has always been a horse that catches the eye. Hes a big, well-bred horse. Hes really easy to like. He had his day today.Wholesale Sports Jerseys . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Sports Jerseys Sale . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.discountsportsjerseyscheap.com/ .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Clearance Sports Jerseys . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Sports Jerseys . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.Canberra are enjoying a big morale boost from having fullback Jack Wighton cleared to play in the NRL finals.Veteran forward Sia Soliola says the Raiders players cheered when they heard Tuesday nights judiciary verdict, which exonerated Wighton of a shoulder charge ahead of Saturday niights home qualifying final against Cronulla.ddddddddddddIts definitely lifted our spirits - theres a big buzz around the place, Soliola said on Wednesday. ' ' '