When trainer Michael Simone claimed Micanopy (Uncle Chuck) for $8,000 out of a non-winners-of-two lifetime race on April 25 at Tampa Bay Downs, his expectations were modest. How could they not be.? The horse was a low-level claimer and had never run better than a 60 Beyer number. Fast forward, some six months later and Micanopy, who is named for a tiny town in northern Florida (population 648) , has won a $200,000 stakes race and has a puncher's chance in Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.“We were kind of just looking for some young three-year-olds to bring back up north,” said Simone, who is based at this time of year at Delaware Park and noted that he won a five-way shake the day he claimed the gelding. “I know they have a lot of races up here where they have the dual conditions for three-year-olds. So we were basically just looking for something that would fit in those kinds of races. It turned out that we got more than we bargained for.”So how does any horse make the ascent from the $8,000 claiming level to being a contender in a $1 million Grade I race? That's not an easy one to answer, but this wouldn't be the first time that a three-year-old took time to develop and then improved dramatically once hitting its stride.“We got him at the end of the Tampa meet,” Simone said. “So when we first brought him up here, obviously, he was in new surroundings and everything. It took him a little bit of time to get established here. But we've been happy with the way he's been training. I know he's put a lot of weight on over the last couple months and his coat looks great. He's really been super healthy and he just that type horse where it seems he's just improving now and really figuring stuff out now. We've just been so happy with his performances and with each race he just seems to run better and better for us. He's been a dream come true so far.”In his first start for Simone and owner Jane Perry, Micanopy won a starter allowance/optional claimer at Delaware Park by 3 1/4 lengths. After a second-place finish in an allowance race at Delaware, he finished fourth in a first-level allowance. Though he had lost two straight, there were positive signs as his Beyer numbers kept getting better with each start.That gave Simone the confidence to try him in the $200,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, the local prep for the Pennsylvania Derby. Sitting fourth early, he took off in the stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths while earning a career-best Beyer number of 91.“We ran him here in an allowance at Delaware Park in the previous race before the Smarty Jones, and he had just a rough trip that day,” Simone said. “He was caught wide on both turns and he still made a nice run. There were a couple of nice horses in that race who also went into stakes and ran well. We kind of wanted just to give him a chance. It was for $200,000. He surprised us too. I knew he could run and we knew he was a nice horse, but he definitely exceeded our expectations. I'm sure we would've been happy with him hitting the board and coming back sound. That would've been great. This was really above and beyond.”Simone has been training since 2007 and is enjoying his best year ever. He has won 71 races on the year and is wining at a career-best rate of 21 percent. But he remains a “claiming” trainer, and the Smarty Jones win was his first ever stakes win.“Winning that race was definitely a dream come true,” the trainer said. “I deal with a lot of claiming horses and the lower rank right now. So just to be able to run in a stakes race is quite an accomplishment. I think I've only run in about five of them my whole career, so just running in one felt great, let alone to win one and to have a chance in a million-dollar race coming up.”Samuel Marin rode the three-year-old in the Smarty Jones, but Simone said the jockey decided to ride on Saturday at Belmont Park, where he is trying to break into the riding colony. The new rider will be Paco Lopez.“Paco has been riding for us a lot this year,” he said. “He's been riding for the barn and he's been doing very well. We've won a lot of races with him over the last few months. When you have Paco on, you always are confident. The thing with Paco is you can't tell Paco anything, but you don't want to tell Paco anything. You just want to let him ride his race and do what he wants to do and be Paco.”For Micanopy, it won't be easy winning the Pennsylvania Derby. He is 15-1 in the morning line and even though he won the Smarty Jones, the jump up to Grade I company is a considerable one. But this doesn't appear to be a horse in with no chance. He is improving with each start and this will not be a particularly strong rendition of the $1 million race.“He's training very well, but it's an awfully salty race,” Simone said. “There are some nice horses in there, horses that I actually followed and bet in the Kentucky Derby myself. Just to be able to run with these horses and just to be able be associated with the races is something we're very proud of. Everybody at the barn has done a great job throughout. Time will tell, I guess.”The post Can A Former $8,000 Claimer Win The PA Derby? Michael Simone Is Ready To Give It His Best Shot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.