August, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Remington: Plainsman, Rated R Superstar Rematch In Opening Night Governor’s Cup

Last year, only a neck separated Plainsman and Rated R Superstar in the $175,000 Governor's Cup at Remington Park, with the latter getting the best of it at the wire as the winner in this stakes race.

Despite the loss, Plainsman, a 7-year-old horse trained by Brad Cox has been made the 9-5 morning line favorite over Rated R Superstar at 4-1 odds in the line. The pair will leave the starting gate, next to each other, from post positions one (Rated R Superstar) and two (Plainsman) in the 1 1/8-mile Governor's Cup on Friday, Aug. 19.

In last year's Governor's Cup, Plainsman, the 6-5 betting favorite, engaged in a speed duel in the early going with Hunka Burning Love and that horse wore him down just enough. Jockey Ramon Vazquez managed to get Rated R Superstar to come from next-to-last at the half-mile pole and get up in the last jumps for the win.

After losing to Rated R Superstar in last year's Governor's Cup, Plainsman, a son of Flatter, out of the Street Sense mare S S Pinafore, made his next stop Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and immediately won the Grade 3, $300,000 Ack Ack at one mile on Oct. 2.

Plainsman and Rated R Superstar did not meet again until this spring when they faced off at 1-1/16th miles in the Grade 3, $600,000 Razorback Handicap on Feb. 12 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. Plainsman was the winner this time by a neck over Shelby. Rated R Superstar finished fifth, 2-3/4 lengths behind. However, Rated R Superstar, a gelded Kentucky-bred son of Kodiak Kowboy, out of the Gold Case mare Wicked Wish, then gained his revenge over Plainsman at 1-1/16th miles in the Grade 3, $500,000 Essex Handicap in March at Oaklawn, winning easily by 2-1/4 lengths.

Plainsman ran second in the Essex as the 9-5 second wagering favorite. Rated R Superstar was sent off at 8-1 odds in that stakes race. Plainsman is owned by Shortleaf Stable of Hot Springs.

Rated R Superstar, is a 9-year-old gelding from Federico Villafranco's barn for Remington Park's all-time winningest owner Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla. David Cabrera gets the riding call Villafranco. He has won the riding title at Remington Park the last four seasons in a row. Cox, the fourth-leading trainer in the country in money earnings, according to Equibase statistics, will give a leg up to Reylu Gutierrez.

Cabrera won his first riding title at Oaklawn Park this spring despite missing the final month after a serious accident on-track that sent him to the hospital and laid him up for three months in all.

Caldwell has 396 wins as a Thoroughbred owner at Remington Park. Rated R Superstar put him in the winner's circle for his first Governor's Cup score. The race is traditionally the first stakes race of the Remington Park season.

Caldwell picked up Rated R Superstar for $50,000 in a claiming race at Oaklawn on Jan. 30, 2021. Rated R Superstar won $329,262 in 2021 and his record this year is two wins from six starts and $435,266; not too shabby for a 9-year-old. He has run in nothing but graded stakes in his last five starts. His lifetime stats are 62 starts, 11 wins, 10 seconds and eight thirds for $1,616,280. Plainsman is 31-9-7-6 and $1,408,412.

Rated R Superstar has started three times at Remington, winning one and running second once for $113,000 in earnings. Plainsman is 2-0-1-0, for $38,600 in Oklahoma City.

There appears to be a lot of speed in the Governor's Cup again this year with Plainsman, Ethical Judgement, Flash of Mischief and Tiz Life all possessing an early turn of foot. Ethical Judgement from the barn of trainer Brendan Walsh for owner Phoenix Thoroughbred III of Lexington, Ky., was made the 3-1 second morning-line favorite in this year's Governor's Cup. Jockey Stewart Elliott gets the mount. This 4-year-old colt by Honor Code, out of the Smart Strike mare Give My Regards, has yet to be stakes-placed, but is coming off an allowance-optional claiming win at Ellis Park in Kentucky by a neck.

Ethical Judgement has only raced eight times, with three wins and two seconds for $189,068.

The Governor's Cup is the eighth of nine races Opening Night with a schedule post time of 10:23. Here is the eight-horse field for with post position, horse, jockey, trainer and morning line odds:

(s) – supplemental entry fee

Rated R Superstar, David Cabrera, Federico Villafranco, 4-1
Plainsman, Reylu Gutierrez, Brad Cox, 9-5 (morning-line favorite)
Box Seat, Floyd Wethey Jr., Boyd Caster, 20-1
Ethical Judgement, Stewart Elliott, Brendan Walsh, 3-1
Catdaddy, Iram Diego, Joe Petalino, 15-1
Oliver (s), Weston Hamilton, Shawn Davis, 20-1
Flash of Mischief, Cristian Torres, Karl Broberg, 5-1
Tiz Life, Richard Eramia, Kari Craddock, 6-1

Opening Night at Remington Park

A total of 87 entered the nine races Friday evening for an average field size of 9.6. The total purses for the evening total $381,925 with the $175,000 Governor's Cup topping the night.

A 5-1/2 furlong sprint for $5,000-level Oklahoma-bred claimers, 3-year-olds and older, will begin the season. A group of eight will contest the opener over the main track.

A pair of turf races, both at two turns, take place opening night. In race six, maidens aged three, four and five, will go one mile with a field of 11 attempting to graduate to the ranks of winners. The ninth and final race on the program is an allowance event at 7-1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares, 3 and older, with 12 entered to wrap up the initial evening of the season.

Remington Park will stay with Friday and Saturday racing through the remainder of August. The first race nightly is 7:07pm. All times Central.

Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $298 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park features the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby and Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, September 25. Thoroughbred racing continues through December 17 with simulcast racing daily, and a casino that is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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Trainer Appeals 60-Day Horse Cruelty Suspension In Delaware

Trainer Alison Escobar has filed an appeal and request for stay of suspension after Delaware stewards issued him a 60-day penalty. The suspension was issued because stewards say Escobar kept a horse in training on a tendon injury for months. Stewards also imposed a $2,500 fine against Escobar and required that he pass Delaware's trainer's test before his license may be reinstated.

According to bloodhorse.com, Escobar filed his appeal on Aug. 15.

Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission executive director Sarah Crane told bloodhorse.com that she will make a decision about whether or not to stay Escobar's suspension before its scheduled start on Aug. 19.

The suspension deals with the story of Ashiham, first scratched from a race at Tampa Bay Downs on April 21 due to heat and swelling in his left front flexor tendon, and caught continuing training while lame on the same leg at Palm Meadows on June 9 and at Delaware Park on Aug. 3.

In testimony before the stewards, Escobar stated the horse had never been seen by a veterinarian in Delaware – and as of the stewards' hearing on Aug. 11, more than a week after being ordered to seek an ultrasound, the horse had still not been seen by a private vet.

‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’: Canterbury Rider Celebrates Win Too Soon

The rules of the Minnesota Racing Commission are pretty clear: “All horses shall be ridden out past the finish line in every race.”

That didn't appear to happen in the fifth race at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., on Sunday, Aug. 14. Jockey Chad Lindsay had a commanding 5 1/2-length lead aboard Noel's Angel with an eighth of a mile remaining in the maiden claiming contest for Minnesota-bred fillies and mares. Noel's Angel, a 3-year-old filly by Rocky Bar, was making her second career start for owner-breeder-trainer Gabriel A. Silva Rodriguez and had led throughout the 5 1/2-furlong test at odds of 9-2.

“Noel's Angel is starting to get tired but is doing so with a big lead,” track announcer Paul Allen said as the fillies raced down the stretch. “Voodoo Fire flying from the back of the pack. Can this horse get there? Noel's Angel from Voodoo Fire who is flying.”

As Noel's Angel approached the wire still in front, her rider reached down with his right hand to give the filly a couple of gentle pats on the neck as if to say, “Well done, girl, you did it.”

But as baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said about his struggling team's chances of winning a pennant, “It ain't over till it's over.”

Voodoo Fire and jockey Harry Hernandez were bearing down on the outside and in the final few strides passed Noel's Angel to win by a neck. The footnotes from the Equibase chart said that Noel's Angel “lost some momentum late and just missed when it appeared her rider misjudged the wire.”

Lindsay has been riding since 2015 and has 277 career races from 2,625 mounts. He's 12th in the jockey standings at the current Canterbury Park meet with 12 wins from 95 mounts.

Horseplayers who backed Noel's Angel probably felt he should have registered another victory on Sunday.

As of Tuesday, there were no rulings on the racing commission website concerning Lindsay's ride.

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Churchill Downs Tracks Temporarily Ban Trainer Burton Sipp Due To Welfare, Integrity Concerns

Trainer Burton Sipp, a longtime presence on the East Coast claiming circuit, has been temporarily suspended at all Churchill Downs facilities, according to Tonya Abeln, vice president of communications for CDI.

“CDI has elected to temporarily suspend Burton Sipp, and any trainer either directly or indirectly employed by him, from entering horses and occupying stalls at all CDI-owned racetracks, including Presque Isle Downs, until further notice,” said Abeln via email. “The suspension is a result of concerns over the care and treatment of his horses and the decision was made in the best interests of racing to protect the safety and integrity of racing and its participants.”

Sipp had most recently been running horses at CDI-owned Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Penn. He is based at Mountaineer Park in New Cumberland, WVa.

Sipp has been the subject of an online petition seeking a ban at all racetracks in the United States, due to what the petition's organizers say is a long history of Sipp-owned and trained horses ending up advertised on social media for last-ditch purchase from kill pens or bail pens. He also has a lengthy history of trouble with the law, including a 1983 case in which he was indicted for fraud after law enforcement said he had killed horses for insurance money. Sipp maintained his innocence and eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of witness tampering. In 1980, he was caught in a race fixing scheme at Atlantic City Race Course and later turned witness against four jockeys who were indicted on charges related to race fixing in New Jersey. Those charges were later dropped.

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