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Number One Dude Dominant In Jim Thorpe At Remington

Number One Dude solidified his dominance as arguably the top Oklahoma-bred in training as he won the $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes by open daylight on Friday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Owner-breeder Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla., said his only concern was the long layoff for his 3-year-old gelded son of American Lion, out of the Macho Uno mare Ebony Uno. Number One Dude had been off since Oct. 15 when he ran second in the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup to multiple-time winner at Remington this meet, Absaroka.

Number One Dude has now won four Oklahoma-bred stakes races at Remington Park and one at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. His overall record improved to 10 starts, six victories, and two seconds for $276,843. He earned $42,000 from this purse.

He was purchased by Westemeir when the owner bought Number One Dude's dam (mom) Ebony Uno and she was in foal with him. Westemeir was trying to figure out how to break the news to his wife Leslie that he had bought not only one horse, but another one yet to come.

“She didn't want me to buy one, let alone two,” Westemeir said. “She's good now.”

Regardless of what the undisclosed purchase price was, it couldn't have been close to what he has earned on the track. Number One Dude broke his maiden at Remington Park as a 2-year-old on Sept. 18, 2020. He won that race by 7 1/2 lengths. He followed that up with victories in the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and the $75,000 Don McNeill Stakes on Oct. 16 and Nov. 13, respectively, last year. The margins of victory in those two were one length and six lengths.

An abscess developed and was found after he was soundly defeated in the $200,000 Springboard Mile to finish the 2020 meet, running eighth, and he was given time off before his next start at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. The layoff showed as he could do no better than fifth, beaten 13 lengths in open allowance 3-year-olds company there on May 9 this spring.

After winning the $55,000 Will Rogers Stakes on May 25 by 5 1/4 lengths, he had a quick trip to Iowa and Prairie Meadows before returning to his home base at Remington Park. Once he got back to Oklahoma City, he became a monster again.

He won the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes by seven lengths on Sept. 10 here and then was the runner-up to Absaroka prior to this race. Number One Dude, a beautiful dark bay, almost black, then had the short vacation.

“I was concerned about the lack of a race since the Classics Cup,” Westemeir said. “I have to give credit to (trainer) Kari (Craddock) and her crew, Jeremy Collier and exercise rider Keith Bilbey, (jockey) Leandro (Goncalves), and everyone else for getting him ready off of works.”

Number One Dude sat just off the shoulder of front-runner Salt Creek Kid all down the backstretch. When the pacesetter began to fade to last, the Craddock charge took over and drew away by seven lengths as the heavy wagering favorite at 2-5 odds.

Tap the Dot was second at 3-1 and You'reobadboy finished third, another half-length behind at 27-1.

Number One Dude showed his tactical speed behind early fractions of :24.76 for the first quarter-mile, :49.69 for the half-mile, 1:14.84 for three-quarters of a mile, and 1:27.51 for seven furlongs, finishing the mile in 1:40.25 over the fast track. He paid $2.80 to win, $2.10 to place, and $2.10 to show.

The Jim Thorpe Stakes is named after the native Oklahoman and Olympic gold-medalist who was considered the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

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Popular Kid Gets First Remington Park Stakes Victory In Jeffrey Hawk Memorial

Popular Kid was racing at Santa Anita as a 7-year-old at the beginning of the year when his new owner George A. Sharp of Phoenix, Ariz., claimed him for $20,000.

The gelded son of Popular, out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemon Supreme, has since won 4 of 10 starts, including the $102,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial Stakes on Friday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. It's rare that a 7-year-old with no promise for breeding and no more conditions to run through in his races is bought out of a claiming race for $20,000.

“Everyone thought I was nuts,” Sharp said. “I sent him straight out to the cowboy (trainer Shawn Davis). Now he's all pro. He just wins races and is going to win more. Jose (Alvarez, jockey) couldn't have ridden him any better.”

Popular Kid earned $60,000 from the purse and improved his record to 62 starts, 15 wins, nine seconds, and five thirds for $598,774. It kept the winner undefeated in three tries over the main track at Remington Park this season, with the other two victories coming in allowance company. His only loss here was on the grass in the $100,000 Remington Green Stakes.

It took Popular Kid five races before he won for Sharp after the Jan. 2 claim on the West Coast. He finally made it to the winner's circle on a muddy track at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on June 7 against optional claiming $35,000 horses. Two races later, he found that Remington Park was turning into the land of milk and honey for him. Alvarez has been aboard for his wins on Sept. 11, Oct. 27, and Friday night, the horse's first stakes win in Oklahoma City.

Popular Kid was sent off at 3-1 odds, the second favorite in the race, and paid $8.80, $4.60, and $3.60 across the board to win, place, and show. The oddest race of all came from runner-up Catdaddy, the longest shot in the six-horse field at 26-1. He broke like a rocket from the gate, ding-donging on the front end with Absaroka, who was stepping into open company after winning the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup against Oklahoma-breds in October. Catdaddy soon backed out of the 1 mile and 70 yards race after dueling early, dropping back to fourth. As they came into the stretch, however, Catdaddy found new life and began passing horses that had already passed him. When all was said and done, he had regained second place, losing by only a length to Popular Kid.

According to Brisnet statistics, it was Popular Kid's eighth win in 16 starts at or near the distance. He covered the distance in 1:43.35 over a fast track. Alvarez was never farther back than third in the early going and then gradually moved past the front-runners, who set early fractions of :24.75 for the quarter-mile, :48.58 for the half-mile, and 1:13.19 for six furlongs. Popular Kid was in front after a mile in 1:39.04.

Trainer Davis couldn't have been happier with his horse, bred in California by Rod and Lorraine Rodriguez. “We hoped he would run that way,” said Davis. “He's 7 years old and just getting better.”

Absaroka (9-2) held on for third, three-quarters of a length behind Catdaddy, and 1-3/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place finisher Trident Hit, the beaten wagering favorite at 3-5 odds. The remaining order of finish was Favorable Outcome (5-1) and Drifting West (12-1).

The Jeffrey Hawk Memorial is named in honor of prominent Remington Park owner and breeder Bryan Hawk's brother who passed away in 2017.

The score with Popular Kid was one of three on the night for Alvarez. He also triumphed with Young Skywalker ($4.80 to win) in the sixth race and Sierra Summer ($32) in the ninth race. Alvarez now has 29 wins on the season, tying him for fifth in the Remington Park standings with Leandro Goncalves. David Cabrera is well on his way to a fourth-consecutive leading rider title with 75 wins.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Nov. 20 with the first race at 7:07 pm Central.

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Trout Wins Another Oklahoma Classics Cup With Absaroka At Remington

Trainer C.R. Trout won the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, powered by TVG, with Absaroka on Friday night, his seventh win of this race in the past nine years.

It helps when you have an Oklahoma-bred millionaire like Shotgun Kowboy win it four times, but Trout has dominated in this spot. Shotgun Kowboy won it in 2015 and 2017-2019. His other winner was Imahit in back-to-back years, 2013 and 2014.

It was Absaroka's third win in a row at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., as he broke like a rocket with his early speed on the rail under jockey David Cabrera, who won this race for the fourth time. The gelding's first two wins of the meet were not against stakes company, however. Still, Absaroka went off the even-money favorite and cruised to a 4-1/4 lengths victory in wire-to-wire fashion. Cabrera also won this race in the saddle of Phantom Trip in 2016 and Shotgun Kowboy's last two wins in the Cup.

Running time for the 1-1/16th miles was 1:43.19 over the fast track. Absaroka, a 5-year-old gelding by Flat Out, from the Brahms mare Wanton Song, made every pole a winning one. He set fractions of :24.10 for the quarter-mile, :48.45 for the half-mile, 1:12.62 for six furlongs, and 1:36.97 for the mile. He was bred by owner Cowboy Stables (Blake Sappington) of Clinton, Okla.

“This horse is so easy to train,” said Trout, who picked up his 14th career Oklahoma Classics win with Absaroka. “He's had a couple of hiccups along the way and I have to give it up to the owner because they gave us the money to straighten him out and we have worked the problems out.”

Cabrera was so grateful for more than Trout putting him on Absaroka.

“I've known C.R. Trout probably the longest of anyone here,” Cabrera said. “He's the first person I knew here when I came (in 2015). I'm so happy he gave me the opportunity on this horse. He went to the lead and I had so much horse left in the end.”

Absaroka paid $4, $2.20, and $2.10 across the board. Number One Dude (6-5) reported in second and was seven lengths ahead of third-place finisher Dont Tell Noobody (5-1), who was the defending champion in this race. The remaining order of finish was United Patriot (4th), Tonaltalitarian (5th), and Great Faces (6th).

Absaroka earned $105,000 with his trip to the winner's circle and improved his record to 17 starts, five wins, four seconds, and one third, almost doubling his lifetime earnings in this race. He now has $214,317 overall.

The Oklahoma Classics is a $1,000,000 series of stakes races devoted to Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Oct. 16 with the first race at 7:07 pm Central.

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Dont Tell Noobody Chasing Repeat In Friday’s Oklahoma Classics Cup

The $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, powered by TVG, drew the defending champ Dont Tell Noobody and five others this morning in the Remington Park racing office. The 4-year-old is searching for a return to his brightest moment as he seeks his first victory this year.

The Classics Cup is the richest race on the $1 million night of stakes races for Oklahoma-breds that is the Oklahoma Classics.

Owned by Remington Park's all-time leading owner Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla., Dont Tell Noobody will make his third start of the current season for trainer Federico Villafranco. A gelding by Cyber Secret from the Cactus Ridge mare Yucca, Dont Tell Noobody has put forth a pair of third-place efforts in September to prep for the Cup. Jockey Ramon Vazquez has the mount who is the third-favorite in the morning-line odds at 5-1.

The morning-line favorite is the youngest horse in the field, 3-year-old Number One Dude, at 3-2 odds. Owned by Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla., and trained by Kari Craddock, Number One Dude is the top stakes winner in the Cup with four black-type wins under his belt. The 3-year-old gelded son of American Lion, out of the Macho Uno mare Ebony Uno, will try to add the Cup to his stakes win earlier this season in the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes at seven furlongs. The Cup is at 1-1/16 miles and will be the longest attempt of 10 career races for Number One Dude who will be ridden by Leandro Goncalves.

Absaroka is the second choice in the morning line at 8-5 odds. Owned by Cowboy Stables of Clinton, Okla. and trained by C.R. Trout, the 5-year-old by Flat Out from the Brahms mare Wanton Song will be ridden by David Cabrera. Absaroka won his second consecutive race of the season here when he scored in an allowance event on Sept. 23 by 4-3/4 lengths going one mile.

Great Faces was the runner-up to Absaroka on Sept. 23, he will attempt the Classics Cup for the first time for trainer Donnie Von Hemel. Owned by Jack Schuyler and Kevin Keiser of Winner, S.D., Great Faces will be ridden by Richard Eramia, and is searching for his first win of the season, and 2021.

The Oklahoma Classics Cup will go as the sixth race of 10 on Friday, Oct. 15, starting approximately at 9:32pm. Here is the field by program and post-position order, with trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:

1. Absaroka: C.R. Trout, David Cabrera, 8-5
2. Dont Tell Noobody: Federico Villafranco, Ramon Vazquez, 5-1
3. Tonaltalitarian: Scott Young, Floyd Wethey, Jr., 20-1
4. United Patriot: Larry Frazee, Jose Alvarez, 20-1
5. Great Faces: Donnie Von Hemel, Richard Eramia, 6-1
6. Number One Dude: Kari Craddock, Leandro Goncalves, 3-2 (morning-line favorite)

The Oklahoma Classics Night begins at 7:07pm. All times are Central.

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