Boyd “Jobe” Caster | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rowdy Rascal was full of run Friday night, winning the $75,000 Don C. McNeill Stakes but his owners said that wasn't what he was full of when he was a foal.

“When he was two days old, he was all over his stall and his mother was beside herself,” said owner Theresa Moore of JT Stables of Springdale, Ark. “My dad saw him and said, 'Man, he's a rowdy rascal!' And there you have it.”

Even now, winning the Don McNeill and the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., trainer Boyd “Jobe” Caster says he isn't anywhere near his peak ability because of his rowdiness.

“If he ever takes racing seriously, no telling what he will be able to do,” said Caster. “He is what he is. This is still a game to him. He's so immature. But he should be a nice 3-year-old. He is what he is.”

What he is is a multiple stakes winner and jockey Freddy Manrrique and Caster put him in the category of a possible $400,000 Springboard Mile candidate at the end of the meet, Dec. 17.

“Mr. Caster thinks he is the best 2-year-old at Remington Park,” said Manrrique. “We work hard every morning. I was confident, but he is just a baby. I have to let him know I'm there if he needs me (during the race). He was getting out a little so I had to remind him.”

Rowdy Rascal, a juvenile gelding by Den's Legacy, out of the Affirmatif mare Dancing Diva, earned $45,000 for the victory and is showing the same kind of bloodlines his dam (mother) had.

“We campaigned the mom and she was a champion sprinter in Oklahoma,” said Moore. “We bred her to Den's Legacy to try to get more distance and he's showing it was a good idea.”

Rowdy Rascal covered the one mile in 1:40.38 over the fast track after sitting mid-pack throughout the first half-mile. He came flying on the outside at the top of the lane and gained a one-length lead quickly that turned into three lengths at the wire. He went off as the 7-5 betting favorite and paid $4.80 to win, $3 to place, and $2.40 to show.

Rowdy Rascal improved his record to six starts, three wins, and one second for a bankroll of $132,859. Showing his adolescent side, he didn't win the first race of his career until his fourth attempt, on Sept. 18 this meet at Remington Park. He has won three in a row, including that maiden victory, increasing his speed and endurance with each race. He ran second to Cuatro Madres in a maiden event here on Aug. 28, but Friday night, Rowdy Rascal beat that horse by three lengths. Cuatro Madres (2-1) got up for second, 4-1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Beckett's Luckyday (10-1).

The fractions for the race were :24.10 for the first quarter-mile, :48.97 for the half-mile, 1:14.34 for three-quarters of a mile, and 1:27.17 for seven-eighths of a mile.

The score for Rowdy Rascal gives his connections their first triumph in the Don McNeill Stakes. The race is named in honor of the late Don McNeill. The owner and breeder who was so prominent in Oklahoma-bred racing, represented by many talented horses including top Oklahoma-breds Clever Trevor and Mr. Ross, as well as 2011 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Caleb's Posse. McNeill passed in 2015.

Remington Park racing concludes this week with a Saturday night card of nine races. First post time is 7:07 pm Central.

The post Rowdy Rascal Best In Don C. McNeill Stakes At Remington Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A solid field of 11 has been drawn for the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics OKC Turf, sponsored by the Choctaw Nation, on Friday, Oct. 15 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. If the 5-2 morning line favorite Quality Rocket defends his championship, he will have earned it.

Quality Rocket drew the 11-hole, the far outside post for this race at 1-1/16th miles. He also has been challenged strongly by some in this field.

Trainer Boyd “Jobe” Caster, in the past three years, has turned Quality Rocket, a 7-year-old gelding, into a turf monster, winning last year's Turf and the Red Earth Stakes twice. This son of Backstabber, out of the King of Scat mare Lady Cambridge, has earned $409,006 over his career, winning 11 of 35 starts. The most telling statistic that shows just how Quality Rocket has bloomed as an older horse is that Caster put him into claiming races for a $7,500 tag three times when he was a 4-year-old in 2018 and no one grabbed him. In those three races, he had run second twice and won by 6-3/4 lengths. That win came in only the second time around two turns for Quality Rocket.

Quality Rocket, owned by Jeremy Ball of Shawnee, Okla., won last year's race for Jeremy's father Gerald Ball, who has passed away in the meantime. If Quality Rocket could get the job done again this year, it would be the third win in the Turf for Caster. He also won this race in 2012 with Ridge Road with jockey Lindey Wade up. Garrett Steinberg booted home Quality Rocket last year and Ramon Vazquez gets the call for this year's Turf.

Quality Rocket would have won three Red Earth Stakes races in a row had it not been for a late rush from longshot Timely Reply in 2019 that left him in second, beaten by a neck.

Last year, Quality Rocket held off Half Ours to Keep (4-1) by a head at the wire in the Turf. Half Ours to Keep, a 5-year-old gelded son of Beggarthyneighbor, out of the Purim mare Cusip, is owned by Erin Gaarz of Arlington, Texas, and trained by Karl Broberg. He will be ridden by Stewart Elliott, who is among the top grass riders at Remington every thoroughbred meet. However, Half Ours to Keep is 0-for-10 on the grass with $66,448 banked greensward, but that move last year makes him dangerous. He will break just to Quality Rocket's inside in post 10.

The third choice in the line at 9-2, Quarky, also has to be given a solid shot in here. He ran second to Quality Rocket in this meet's Red Earth Stakes, beaten one length, and actually was sent off as the 9-5 favorite in that race. This 5-year-old gelding by The Factor, out of the Sahm mare Beyond the Reach, is owned by Jerry Namy of Ft. Worth, Texas, and trained by Broberg. He will be ridden by David Cabrera, the three-time defending champion rider here. Cabrera has an easy lead in the jockeys' standings this meet as well.

Quarky is a four-time winner on the lawn with his most recent win on the grass coming at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., when he won an allowance race there on Dec. 11, 2020. He is the second-most experienced on the turf with 23 starts on that surface. Only Pacific Typhoon (15-1) has more starts on the grass with 26, winning eight times. He ran fourth in this race last year, beaten only 1-1/4 lengths.

Another consideration has to be Khola (6-1), a winner of his last two starts on the grass, both times in allowance company. This 4-year-old gelded son of Pollard's Vision, out of the Election Day (IRE) mare Buena Fortuna (MEX), hails from trainer Kari Craddock's barn for owner Craddock Racing of Brookings, S.D. He will be ridden by Leandro Goncalves. It will only be his third start against stakes horses. His best finish in a stakes race was fourth in two tries.

Here's the field from the rail out with horse, jockey, trainer, and odds:

Morhawk, Richard Eramia, Karl Broberg, 20-1
Pacific Typhoon, Lane Luzzi, Austin Gustafson, 15-1
Khola, Leandro Goncalves, Kari Craddock, 6-1
Quarky, David Cabrera, Karl Broberg, 9-2
Sweet Medicine, Luis Quinonez, Francisco Bravo, 8-1
Yip Kip, Ezequiel Lara, Lynn Chleborad, 20-1
Gospel Musketeer, Jose Medina, Steve Williams, 30-1
Tommyhawk, Freddy Manrrique, Randy Swango, 10-1
Georgia Deputy, Jose Alvarez, Joe Petalino, 20-1
Half Ours to Keep, Stewart Elliott, Karl Broberg, 4-1
Quality Rocket, Ramon Vazquez, Boyd “Jobe” Caster, 5-2

The Turf is set as the ninth of 10 races on Oklahoma Classics Night, with an approximate start time of 11:05 pm. The first race on Oct. 15 goes at 7:07 pm. All times are Central.

The post Quality Rocket Seeks A Repeat In OKC Turf At Remington Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post