THE hyped battle between Kentucky Derby Nyquist and Preakness winner Exaggerator in the Pennsylvania Derby turned into hype and that’s all, as Connect upset the Pennsylvania Derby also at Parx.

A winner of the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga, Connect staved off Gun Runner to win by a half-length with Wild About Deb third. Nyquist looked to challenge but faded to sixth, his third consecutive loss while Exaggerator plugged on to be seventh, his second straight loss and a seventh straight loss over a fast track.

Javier Castellano guided Connect, a son of Curlin, for Paul Pompa Jr. and Chad Brown. “Perfect trip today. That was exactly what I was looking for. I had three or four main concerns today. There was speed in the race, those three or four horses were my main concern.

“If I was right behind those horses, in a good spot, saving all the ground that was going make me happy,” Castellano said.

“That’s what I thought, and we discussed it with Chad in the morning – mid-pack, hopefully they go quick in front of us and they would come back a little bit. That kind of horse, Connect, he’s not explosive but he can come with a good run. He carries his speed. He never stops.”