October, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Oklahoma Classics: Four Previous Winners Among Nine Entered In Classics Cup

The 30th edition of the Oklahoma Classics, the million-dollar night of stakes racing for the top Oklahoma-breds, is Friday, Oct. 21 at Remington Park. The richest event, the $175,000 Classics Cup, powered by FanDuel TV, has a field of nine and could be a wide-open affair.

Past Cup winners Dont Tell Noobody (2020) and Absaroka (2021) will test the 1-1/16 miles with others who have won Classics stakes events. Number One Dude, second in the Cup last year, won the Juvenile in 2020. Cowboy Mischief, winner of the Turf in 2019, tries the Cup this year. However, it is a horse returning to the main track surface that has a slight edge in the morning-line odds for the main event of the night.

That's Something finished second behind Number One Dude in the Red Earth Stakes here on Sept. 23, beaten just a neck in the race for Oklahoma-breds going 7-1/2 furlongs. While he handled the turf well, he moves back to the main track where 16 of his 18 career attempts have taken place, including three of his four lifetime wins. Owned, trained and bred in Oklahoma by Lynn Chleborad, That's Something has enjoyed nothing but wins or seconds since April. He has been tabbed the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Cup while Number One Dude and Absaroka share the second morning-line spot, each with odds of 3-1.

“Really a tough race for making a morning line,” said Remington Park odds-maker Jerry Shottenkirk. “That's Something has won three of his last five and is two photo finishes away from having five straight Ws. He was pretty powerful on dirt two races back and just missed last time against Number One Dude on the turf. This race is back on the main track and those two should finish right together again. Defending champ Absaroka, despite being fifth last out, can be right there.”

Absaroka has only had one start this season, finishing fifth in an open-company allowance on Sept. 7. However, that was the first start for the 6-year-old since Dec. 17, 2021. Trainer C.R. Trout is confident the gelding by Flat Out will show up on Classics night.

“I like Absaroka,” said Trout of Edmond, Okla. “He's training well. We gave him a bunch of time off this summer. (In his opener), we had him fit but not quite tight enough to run.”

Number One Dude was second to Absaroka in the Cup last year and rallied to gain the close victory in the Red Earth Stakes in his first attempt over turf a few weeks ago. This will be just his fifth start of the year for owner Terry Westemeir and trainer Kari Craddock. He sandwiched two Oklahoma-bred company stakes wins in 2021, around his second in the Cup, scoring in the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes (colts and geldings division) and the Jim Thorpe Stakes.

The talent is deep for the Cup as past winner Dont Tell Noobody is 10-1 in the morning-line odds. The 5-year-old won the biggest race of the night in 2020 but has no victories since that effort. He was recently claimed back to the barn of Federico Villafranco for owner Danny Caldwell who campaigned him to the Cup win in 2020.

Cowboy Mischief finished fourth behind Number One Dude, That's Something and Tommyhawk in the Red Earth Stakes in September. Trained by Kenny Nolen for owner Kelly Thiesing, Cowboy Mischief will be making just his second start of the year and is 12-1 in the morning line. He has finished in the top three in eight of his nine attempts over the Remington Park main track in his career with three of his five lifetime wins on that surface.

The Classics Cup is set as the ninth of 10 races on Friday. The first race is 7:07pm while the Cup leaves the gate at 11:05pm. All times are Central. Here is the field by post position and program number, with trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:

Beckett's Luckyday: Pat Swan, Alfredo Triana, Jr., 8-1
Cherokee Legacy: Scott Young, Floyd Wethey, Jr. 15-1
Number One Dude: Kari Craddock, Leandro Goncalves, 3-1
Frigerator: Sue Hunt, Stewart Elliott, 20-1
Absaroka: C.R. Trout, David Cabrera, 3-1
That's Something: Lynn Chleborad, Luis Quinonez, 5-2 (morning-line favorite)
Dont Tell Noobody: Federico Villafranco, Weston Hamilton, 10-1
Cowboy Mischief: Kenny Nolen, Richard Eramia, 12-1
Cruisin Cue: Carlos Padilla, Gerardo Mora, 10-1

Total purses for Oklahoma Classics night reach $1,120,000 with seven other stakes events and two solid starter allowance stakes.

Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $304 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 top Oklahoma-breds in racing on Oklahoma Classics Night, a million-dollar evening of stakes events on Friday, October 21. 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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Thoroughbred Makeover: Buckeye Warrior, Union Charm Tie For TAA High Point Award

Over 55 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) graduates competed in the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover October 12-15, 2022. This year, the RRP special awards—including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Graduate High Point Award—were presented Friday night, following the conclusion of preliminary competition. As such, Buckeye Warrior ridden by Holly Zecchin and Union Charm ridden by Alyssa Kelly tied for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Graduate High Point Award.

“It was wonderful to cheer on so many graduates of TAA-accredited aftercare organizations at the Makeover and in the Finale this year,” said TAA Office Manager, Catherine Flowers. “The success of TAA grads in the Makeover is a testament to the dedication of our accredited organizations in rehabbing, retraining, and rehoming off-track Thoroughbreds into new, well-matched homes. It is our pleasure to present the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Graduate High Point Award to not just one, but two deserving horses and trainers, and we congratulate all the TAA Graduates and their trainers for their impressive efforts in the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover.”

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Graduate High Point Award comes with a TAA swag bag and $1,000 cash prize to be split between the winning trainers and TAA-accredited organizations from which the horse transitioned.

Ohio-homebred Buckeye Warrior ran 18 times for owner Robert Reeves and trainer Mark Thomas. After four seasons on the track, the son of Majestic Warrior retired with a record of 2-0-4 and earnings of $43,819. Buckeye Warrior spent just 3 months at TAA-accredited New Vocations before being adopted by Holly Zecchin. At the Thoroughbred Makeover, their first-place preliminary ranking resulted in tying for the TAA High Point award, and on Saturday, October 15 Buckeye Warrior and Zecchin proved top of their class in the Dressage finale.

Bred in Kentucky by Castlepark Farm, John Karakourtis, and AF Thoroughbreds, Union Charm made seven careers starts in New York and Maryland, never breaking his maiden. The half-brother to stakes winner Charming Vixen was retired after three starts under owner/trainer Horacio De Paz to TAA-accredited MidAtlantic Horse Rescue by way of Beyond the Wire. After seven months at the aftercare organization, Union Charm was adopted by Eileen Johnson. On behalf of Johnson, Alyssa Kelly competed with Union Charm in Show Hunters and Show Jumpers at the Thoroughbred Makeover, earning the fifth and first-place positions after the preliminary round in show Hunters and Jumpers, respectively.

Of the 55 TAA graduates who competed in the Thoroughbred Makeover, 11 placed in the top five of their divisions, qualifying for the finale. TAA grads' finale results are as follows:

Competitive Trail: 1st Hieronymous & Isabel Wells (CANTER Kentucky)

Dressage: 1st Buckeye Warrior & Holly Zecchin (New Vocations); 4th Bokeelia Island & Kelly Sulik (Thoroughbred Athletes)

Freestyle: 2nd Evaluator & Colleen Nolan (New Vocations); 5th Stonecatcher & Raechel Ramsey (New Vocations)

Polo: 5th Buffalo Dancer & Benjamin Lynch (New Vocations)

Ranch Work: 4th Change of Fortune & Nathan Bradley (CANTER Kentucky); 5th Stonecatcher & Raechel Ramsey (New Vocations)

Show Hunters: 3rd Union Charm & Alyssa Kelly (MidAtlantic Horse Rescue)

Show Jumpers: 3rd Union Charm & Alyssa Kelly (MidAtlantic Horse Rescue); 4th Nothin Really & Clare Mansmann (MidAtlantic Horse Rescue)

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Blue Stripe Among Four Supplements to Fasig November

Grade I winner Blue Stripe (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}) is among four supplements to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. They will be catalogued as hips 313-316.

Finest Work (Outwork) (Hip 313): A 4-year-old stakes winner, she is out of a half-sister to GISW Burning Roma and to the dam of champion Finest City. Offered as a racing/broodmare prospect by Paramount Sales, agent.
Weanling filly by Vekoma o/o Honey Trap (Hip 314): Filly is a half-sister to recent GII Jessamine S. winner Delight (Mendelssohn). Consigned by Stuart Morris, agent.
A G Indy (Take Charge Indy) (Hip 315): A 5-year-old stakes winner, she is from the immediate family of champions Rubiano and Summer Bird and leading sire Tapit. Offered as a racing/broodmare prospect by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.
Blue Stripe (Hip 316): The 5-year-old won the GI Clement L. Hirsch H. at Del Mar in August. Blue Stripe was also a Group 1 winner in her native Argentina. She is a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize). Offered as a racing/broodmare prospect by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. She is pointing to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

These entries may now be viewed online and will also be available in the equineline sales catalogue app. Print versions of all supplemental entries will be available on-site at Fasig-Tipton at sale time. Fasig-Tipton will continue to accept approved supplemental entries through the Breeders' Cup.

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Shadwell To Announce Details On Baaeed’s Stud Career This Week

Shadwell will announce details relating to Baaeed (GB)'s stud career later this week, according to the owner-breeder's racing manager Angus Gold, who also revealed that Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire) will be joining their roster ahead of the next year's breeding season.

However, Baaeed's brother Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), whose career hung in the balance after he suffered an injury when winning the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, returned to training with Owen Burrows on Monday and is expected to make a return to the track in 2023.

A decision over what fee Baaeed will stand for in his debut season at stud has yet to be decided upon with Gold insisting that the six-time Group 1 winner is no less of an exciting stallion prospect despite losing his unbeaten record when fourth on his final start in the G1 Champion S. at Ascot on Saturday.

Gold said, “I'm not a huge fan of making excuses for horses. I saw William [Haggas] saying that, when a horse gets beaten, it is usually because they haven't run fast enough. My own personal feeling is that the ground blunted his speed.

“People have their own ideas, it's what this game is about, lots of opinions. People will say that he was positioned too far back. I can't have that. He moved up beautifully coming to the bend and Jim [Crowley, jockey] pulled him out.

“On the top of the ground, I'd have expected him to quicken, like he normally does. This horse has a turn of foot. That's his potent weapon. But it just wasn't there at all. He just plugged away very gamely.”

He added, “Some other people will say that he didn't stay. Well, with the greatest respect in the world, you only have to look at York to knock that theory on the head. Visually, York was by far and away his most impressive run. So, I refuse to subscribe to that theory.”

The fact that Baaeed could not better stablemate My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) (third at 22-1) when suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) in Saturday's swansong suggests to Gold that the horse who drew comparisons to his sire Sea The Stars and even Frankel (GB) did not show his true colours at Ascot.

He explained, “William knows where they are in terms of talent and, the fact Baaeed couldn't get past him [My Prospero] tells you everything you need to know. That's not trying to be rude about My Prospero in any way.

“With a horse who can quicken like Baaeed can, there's not many who can do it on the top of the ground at that level and be as effective on the other extreme. It puts into perspective how fantastic Frankel was–he was able to overcome that horrible ground but our horse couldn't do it.”

He added, “While it was disappointing he didn't go out unbeaten, he's no lesser horse in my eyes anyway. We're just thrilled to get him back in one piece and hopefully he'll be going to stud.”

Details of that second career at stud are being ironed out chiefly between Sheikha Hissa al Maktoum and Derrinstown Stud's Stephen Collins and an announcement can be expected by the end of the week.

Gold said, “We'll be announcing plans in the next few days and we're all hugely excited about his stud career. I am not involved in the stud side but I have had a lot of enquiries from about 10 weeks back.

“Lots of people, some serious breeders, are very keen to use the horse. He's the new kid on the block so, hopefully, if we price him right, he will appeal for a considerable time to come.

“There's always a new horse around so that's where we've got to be careful. If we can set the fee correctly so that breeders can use this horse happily, they will use him not just next year, but going forward.

“To be honest, we're still discussing and obviously Sheikha Hissa and her family are involved in those talks, as is Stephen Collins [manager at Derrinstown Stud] in Ireland and several people here. We want to get it right and, for the horse's sake, it's important that we do.”

Minzaal, the highest-rated son of Mehmas (Ire), went out in a blaze of glory after it emerged that he fractured his knee when rocketing to a breakthrough Group 1 victory in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last month. Details about his planned career at stud will also be made public soon.

Gold said, “Again, it's still being discussed but the one thing I do know is Sheikha Hissa has said that we will definitely be holding onto the horse. He will be standing at one of our studs in either England or Ireland and hopefully we will have a decision to announce in the near future.”

On Hukum, he added, “Hukum went back into training yesterday [Monday]. Sheikha Hissa is very keen to keep him in training next year, obviously he will be an older horse, but he just hit his top form when unfortunately undone by an injury.

“We looked after him at the stud after that and, touch wood, he has healed really well.

“Sheikha Hissa is particularly fond of this horse and was keen to see him race on next year. He has gone back to Owen Burrows and, all being well, will be back on the track next year.”

Shadwell ended a two-year drought at the British yearling sales in style by snapping up 10 youngsters at Book 1 and Book 2 this month as Sheikha Hissa marked her first trip to Park Paddocks.

The world-famous operation is reported to have a juvenile team in the mid-50s to look forward to next term. However, it's a colt in the current crop of juveniles, Naqeeb (Ire), a Nathaniel (Ire) half-brother to Baaeed, who is drumming up interest ahead of an intended debut in the coming weeks.

Gold said, “Aghareed (Kingmambo) [the dam of Baaeed and Hukum] is 13 now. She has a Nathaniel 2-year-old, who is a nice type of horse, a bigger, longer and scopier horse to Baaeed, as you'd probably expect.

“Hopefully William will get this horse out in the next two or three weeks. She has a very nice Night Of Thunder (Ire) yearling colt who is a late May foal so I doubt he'll be particularly early or precocious but he's a nice type of horse.

“Unfortunately the mare was barren to New Bay (GB) this year but she is back in foal to Sea The Stars now. Touch wood, there is still a lot to look forward to with her.”

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