Jockey Stewart Elliott pulled off quite the feat Wednesday night at Remington Park, winning all four races of the Primetime Pick 4 for four different trainers.
Elliott solidified his second spot in the jockeys' standings with 25 wins, seven behind three-time defending champion David Cabrera with 32. Richard Eramia is third with 17 trips to the winner's circle and rounding out the top five are Leandro Goncalves and Ramon Vazquez tied for fourth and fifth with 16 apiece.
Elliott had lost on his mounts in the first and fourth races on Wednesday, but he awoke in the last half of the nine-race card. Afleet Okie, who went off at 7-2 odds with two other horses, broke from the 10-hole in a claiming $7,500 race in the sixth for 3-year-olds and older, fillies and mares, and bided her time down the backstretch, sitting seventh. Elliott circled horses from the outside and passed the other two 7-2 horses in the stretch as they ran 1-2-3 in the race. The 9-5 favorite, Hunny Hush, broke very poorly from the gate and was pulled up on the backstretch when she faltered about 20 lengths back.
Afleet Okie scored a 1-1/2 length victory and paid $9.40, $4.80 and $3.40 across the board. Her running time for the 6 furlongs was 1:12.92. The early fractions she cut into were :22.44 for the quarter-mile, :46.11 for the half-mile and :59.26 for 5 furlongs. Elliott's first win came for owner Ross Burdette of Sallisaw, Okla., and trainer Jesse Oberlander. Afleet Okie beat runner-up S C Tiny Secret, who was another three-quarters of a length ahead of third-place finisher Cherokee Lass.
The second win for Elliott came in the seventh aboard Medalla Match for owner Twisted Chaps Racing Stables (John Morris) of Edmond, Okla., and trainer Michael Biehler. Elliott's mount, a 3-year-old filly in a second-level allowance sprint on the turf at about 5 furlongs, was a winner by three-quarters of a length at 5-2 odds. She was the co-favorite with slightly less win money on her nose. Italian Justice had a bit more win money on her and was the actual betting favorite. She finished fourth.
Medalla Match sat just off the pace for Elliott in third and then pounced in mid-stretch to pass front-runner Honeyfromthesouth (17-1), who faded to third as Chikara (7-1) closed strongly off the flank of the winner to lose by less than a length. Medalla Match returned $7.60, $4.40 and $3.20 across the board.
Elliott and his filly's winning time was :57.73 seconds after the early speed covered the grass like lawnmowers, setting fractions of :21.86 for a quarter-mile and :45.77 for the half. Chikara swept past Honeyfromthesouth to finish two lengths ahead of her.
Elliott's third win came for owners Amy Hardy and Westside Racing Stable (Cindy Perez) of El Paso, Texas, and trainer Mindy Willis aboard heavy favorite Favorable Outcome (6-5) in the eighth race, a one-mile allowance-optional claiming $50,000 race for 3-year-olds and older that had not won two races this year. That race scratched down to four horses from its original eight starters. Favorable Outcome made every pole a winning one, extending his lead with each stride. The 7-year-old horse eventually hit the wire 6-1/2 lengths in front of Catdaddy (3-1), who was another 2-1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Drifting West in a strung out field. Fourth-place Popularity finished last, three lengths behind Drifting West.
Elliott sat chilly for most of the race as he looked like a statue in the saddle of the winner. His steed paid $4.60 to win and $2.40 to place in the short field. There was no show wagering. Favorable Outcome handled the distance in :23.94 seconds for the first quarter-mile, :47.56 for the half, 1:11.78 for three-quarters, 1:24.20 for seven-eighths and 1:37.03 for one mile at the finish line.
The final win of the night came in the nightcap aboard Morning Twilight, a $310,000 purchase at the 2021 Ocala (Florida) Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Edwin Barker and Titletown Racing Stables of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The 2-year-old filly by Morning Line, out of the Medaglia D'Oro mare Sweet Golden Carol, was bred in Oklahoma by Joe Merrick. She is trained by the nation's leading conditioner, Steve Asmussen.
Morning Twilight went off as the even-money favorite, but was hard-pressed to win until she changed leads in deep stretch to get up by one length. The filly was followed in second by Diamond N Gasoline (18-1), who was 3-3/4 lengths ahead of third place finisher Presley's Artwork (15-1). Morning Twilight paid $4, $3.40 and $3 across the board. Her winning time for the 6 furlongs was 1:13.87.
That concluded the Primetime Pick 4 with Elliott up on all four winners. The 50-cent wager returned $72.10.
Racing continues this week with a Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 7-9, schedule remaining. First post time is 7:07 p.m. each night.
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