Casual | Horse Racing Free Tips

Casual Gets First Stakes Win In She’s All In At Remington

The nation's No. 2 trainer in earnings this year, Steve Asmussen, owns the She's All In Stakes, winning it for the third time in four years at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., this time with Casual.

When Asmussen's fillies win, they leave no doubt that they were the best horse in the race. Casual was virtually in another county when she hit the finish line 5 1/4 lengths in front of the rest of the field in the $100,600 She's All In on Friday night. He also won this race with Magical in 2019 and Clever Serve in 2018. That's three trips to the winner's circle in only eight editions of this event.

Jose Ortiz, the No. 4 rider in the country by earnings, booted home this 4-year-old daughter of Curlin, out of the Mutakddim mare Lady Tak. Asmussen campaigned Curlin, who was a two-time Horse of the Year.

Casual had run fourth in the She's All In last year and had never won a stakes race until she took down the 2021 She's All In. She was close to stakes wins many times this year, running second in the $75,000 Zia Distaff in New Mexico on Nov. 23, the $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes at Remington on Sept. 26, the $100,000 Skipat Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on May 21, and in the $200,000 Spring Fever Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. on Feb. 27.

Casual was at 2-1 odds in the race, but easily defeated the betting favorite Marion Francis who was at 9-5. Marion Francis was another 3 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher My Bets (14-1) in a strung-out field. The remaining order of finish in the She's All In was She's All Wolfe (4th), Content (5th), Paige Anne (6th), Island Hideaway (7th), and Lady Gwen (8th).

Casual's running time against 3-year-olds and older fillies and mares for the 1 mile 70 yards was 1:43.96 over the fast track. The interior fractions were :24.52 for the first quarter-mile, :49.40 for the half-mile, 1:15.19 for three-quarters of a mile, and 1:39.98 for the mile. She was never worse than second in the running of this race and passed front-running Island Hideaway after three-quarters of the race. Island Hideaway faded to seventh.

Casual paid $6.80 to win, $4.00 to place, and $3.00 to show.

Casual earned $60,000 from this purse and improved her lifetime record to 15 starts, four wins, four seconds, and three thirds for $346,225 in her bankroll. It was the first time Jose Ortiz rode her. His brother, Irad, got her up for second in the Zia Distaff.

Casual is owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings (J.G. Sikura), Stretch Run Ventures (Ed McGee), and Windsor Boys Racing (Faheem Hasnain), and was bred in Kentucky by the first two owners.

The She's All In is named after the Oklahoma-bred mare and member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame, who compiled over $1 million in her racing career, scoring 11 times at Remington Park.

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Marion Francis Looks For First Stakes Win In She’s All In Friday At Remington Park

Marion Francis has yet to enjoy the sweet taste of stakes success, but she hails from the barn of the top trainer in the country. The 3-year-old filly ships into Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., and has been established as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the $100,000 She's All In Stakes on the final night of the season, Friday, Dec. 17.

Brad Cox leads all trainers nationally with earnings of $30,932,681 this year. He has yet to win the She's All In Stakes.

Marion Francis has made $222,578 in 2021 and has lifetime earnings of $232,118 despite never winning in black-type company. Her record is 10 starts, three wins, three seconds, and three thirds.

A daughter of Constitution, out of the Two Punch mare Sophie's Destiny, has been stakes-placed twice. She ran third two races back in the $200,000 Plum Pretty Stakes at Parx Racing in Philadelphia on Sept. 25. Cox's filly also got third in the $150,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes at Parx on Aug. 24. She broke her maiden at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., this spring on March 28 as the 6-5 favorite. Her margin of victory was 1-1/4 lengths.

Marion Francis picked up her next win at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. against allowance/optional $75,000 claiming fillies. She won that one by three-quarters of a length on May 28 over a wet fast track. She will be entering the She's All In off her third win, beating optional $100,000 claiming fillies under allowance conditions, at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., by a mere neck on Oct. 21. She's been off almost two months since then but has a series of works to prep for this comeback, three of them at Keeneland and her last on Dec. 5 at Oaklawn where she breezed in :48.40 for a half-mile.

Jockey Florent Geroux has been in the saddle for all three Marion Francis wins and all 10 of her starts. Cox will once again give him a leg up in the She's All In. Marion Francis is owned by Madaket Stables, Kent Spellman, and Wonder Stables. She was bred in Pennsylvania by Blackstone Farm. This filly was last purchased for $150,000 in the Ocala (Fla.) Breeders' Spring Sale for 2-year-olds in Training in 2020.

Marion Francis was made the slight favorite over Casual (2-1) from the barn of the nation's second-leading trainer and the all-time winningest conditioner in history, Steve Asmussen. Casual also is a multiple stakes-placed filly and ran fourth in the 2020 She's All In. Asmussen, who is second behind Cox in a heated battle for top-earning trainer this year at $30,523,870, has won the She's All in twice and will be going for his third victory in the past four years. He won with Magical in 2019 and Clever Serve in 2018. Ricardo Santana, Jr., booted home the 2019 winner while David Cabrera, the track's leading rider the past four years, 2018-2021, was aboard Clever Serve. This year, Asmussen will use the riding services of Jose Ortiz, who is fourth in the country among jockeys in money earned ($23,721,025). He trails only Joel Rosario in first, followed by Jose's brother Irad, and Luis Saez.

Casual is owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings (J.G. Sikura), Stretch Run Ventures (Ed McGee), and Windsor Boys Racing (Faheem Hasnain). The 4-year-old daughter of two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin, is out of the Mutakddim mare Lady Tak. She was bred in Kentucky by the first two owners. She may not yet be a stakes winner, but she has finished second or third in six of her last seven tries against stakes company.

Casual ran second in Oaklawn's $200,000 Spring Fever Stakes on Feb. 27 and third in the Carousel Stakes on April 10, followed by a runner-up finish in the $100,000 Skipat Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on May 15. She continued her run with a third in the $120,000 Shine Again Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Asmussen decided to jump her up into the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap there, where she ran seventh, beaten 11 lengths by champion Gamine on Aug. 28. Her next stop came here at Remington Park where she finished second to Cinnabunny in the $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes on Sept. 26.

Casual was shipped out to Zia Park in Hobbs, New Mexico for her final start before the She's All In. She was a distant second in the $75,000 Zia Distaff there, beaten 5 3/4 lengths on Nov. 23.

The filly carrying the local flag in the She's All In will appropriately be She's All Wolfe, a 4-year-old daughter of the mare whose name is on this stakes race. She's All Wolfe, by Magna Graduate, was bred in Oklahoma by owner Dr. Robert Zoellner. All this filly has done for Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer trainer Donnie Von Hemel is win five of her eight starts at Remington on the main track. She is the 6-1 fourth favorite in the morning line.

She's All Wolfe is the lone Oklahoma-bred in the She's All In and leads in career victories and earnings. The 4-year-old's record is 20 starts, seven wins, five seconds, and a pair of thirds for a bankroll of $390,761. Her wins at Remington Park include the $30,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes for fillies on Sept. 11, 2020, and the $145,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff last year and this year. Richard Eramia gets the return call on She's All Wolfe. Von Hemel has won the She's All In once since its inception in 2014. He sent out Ready to Confess for Pin Oak Stable in 2017.

She's All In reached millionaire status during her racing career, as well as being dominant in the Oklahoma Classics, winning the Distaff in four consecutive years from 2010-2013.

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Here's a look at the She's All In Stakes field from the rail out with post position, horse, jockey, trainer, and odds:

My Bets, Lane Luzzi, Philip Sims, 12-1
Lady Gwen, Carlos Montalvo, Brent Davidson, 20-1
Island Hideaway, Julien Leparoux, Karl Broberg, 12-1
She's All Wolfe, Richard Eramia, Donnie Von Hemel, 6-1
Paige Anne, Sophie Doyle, John Ennis, 5-1
Casual, Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen, 2-1
Marion Francis, Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 9-5
Content, Danny Sorenson, Tina Hurley, 15-1

The She's All In goes as the 10th race on a 13-race card with an approximate post time of 9:25 p.m.

There are four other stakes races on Dec. 17:

Race 8, $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 mile (Oklahoma-breds)

Race 9, $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1 mile (Oklahoma-breds)

Race 11, $100,000 Trapeze Stakes, fillies, 2-year-olds, 1 mile

Race 12, $400,000 Springboard Mile, 2-year-olds, 1 mile

The total closing day card will begin at 5 pm. on Friday, Dec. 17. Prior to the final night, racing will take place Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 15-16 starting at 7:07 pm. All times are Central.

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Super Stock Headlines Asmussen Brigade For Zia Park’s Land Of Enchantment Card

Hall of Famer and North American Thoroughbred racing's all-time leading trainer Steve Asmussen and three-time Eclipse Award winner as the country's outstanding jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., will be well represented at Zia Park on its Tuesday, Nov. 23 Land of Enchantment stakes card. The duo sends out horses in six of the seven stake races, including the odds-on morning line favorite in three of them.

First post for the 10-race card will be 12:00 PM Mountain Time.

Headlining the $250,000 Zia Park Derby is Grade 1 winner Super Stock, winner of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn in April. Super Stock finished 16th in this year's Kentucky Derby and will be making his twelfth straight start in stakes company. Last out, the son of Dialed In checked in third in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) on Sept. 26. Super Stock is the 1-5 morning line favorite in the field of five 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles.

Asmussen also sends out heavy favorites Casual (3-5 morning line) in the $75,000 Zia Park Distaff at six furlongs and multiple stakes winner Tenfold (8-5 morning line) in the $75,000 Zia Park Championship at a mile and one-eighth.

Assmussen will also saddle graded stakes winner Pauline's Pearl (9-5 morning line) in the $200,000 Zia Park Oaks at one mile and one-sixteenth, Optionality (3-1 morning line) in the $50,000 Zia Park Princess at six furlongs and Much Better (4-1 morning line) in the $75,000 Zia Park Sprint at six furlongs.

Ortiz, Jr., who took home his three Eclipse Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020 is currently 2021's leading jockey in North America by wins and will have the mount on all of Asmussen's entrants in his debut at Zia Park.

Asmussen is seeking his first win in both the Zia Park Derby and the Zia Park Oaks.

A contingent from two California based trainers will be formidable in several of the stake events. Peter Miller sends out the morning line favorite Aquitania Arrival in the $50,000 Juvenile, A Paycheque Smile in the Princess and None Above The Law in the Derby. Top California rider and Kentucky Derby winning jockey Flavien Prat is named to ride Miller's three starters. Also in from California will be Lady Mystify from the barn of Peter Eurton. The winner of the Remington Park Oaks (G3) in her last start has been tabbed as the 6-5 morning line favorite with Prat in the irons.

Local hopes in the Zia Park Oaks may rest with the 3-year-old filly Slammed, trained by Zia's leading trainer in 2021 Todd Fincher. Slammed will go into the gate on Tuesday with a resume that includes 6 wins from 7 lifetime starts but has remained in New Mexico-bred events until now. Her last win was an emphatic score in the one-mile New Mexico Cup Championship versus older females on October 31.

2019 Zia Park Derby winner Mr. Money Bags makes his return to Zia Park in the Sprint. Mr. Money Bags has been in the money in 19 of 22 lifetime starts earning over $529,000.

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Yaupon, Jackie’s Warrior Lead List of De Francis Dash Nominees

Defending champion Laki and Grade 1 winners Jackie's Warrior and Yaupon are among 25 accomplished older sprinters nominated to the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 30th running of the six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses, joined by the $100,000 Weather Vane for fillies and mares 3 years old and up, also at six furlongs; $100,000 Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up, and $100,000 Twixt for females 3 and older, both going one mile.

Honoring the late owner of Laurel Park and historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., the De Francis' distinguished roster of past winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster and fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo, and Benny the Bull.

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' 8-year-old gelding Laki rallied to capture last year's De Francis by a nose over Eastern Bay for his first graded-stakes triumph. Trained by Damon Dilodovico, who also won an ungraded De Francis with Immortal Eyes in 2013, Laki has lost four starts since extending his streak to five straight years with a stakes victory in the April 24 Frank Whiteley at Laurel.

Jackie's Warrior and Yaupon both exit Grade 1 triumphs on the Aug. 28 card at Saratoga for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, North America's all-time leading trainer by wins that has a total of four De Francis nominees. J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior captured the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens by a neck one race after Yaupon edged fellow Grade 1 winner and De Francis nominee Firenze Fire in the seven-furlong Forego.

While Jackie's Warrior has never raced in the state, Yaupon is 2-0 in Maryland having won the 2020 Grade 3 Chick Lang and the Lite the Fuse on July 4, both at Pimlico. Asmussen also nominated West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler, a four-time winner in Maryland including the Star de Naskra last out Aug. 21 at Pimlico, and Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's Grade 1-placed Jalen Journey.

Since winning the six-furlong Grade 3 Tom Fool March 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., Michael Dubb's Chateau has run fourth in the Grade 1 Carter, second in the Grade 3 Runhappy at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and most recently third behind Yaupon and Laki in the Lite the Fuse. The 6-year-old gelding is based in New York with trainer Rob Atras.

Multiple stakes winners nominated to the De Francis include Florida-based Double Crown, second to Yaupon in the Chick Lang; Francatelli, third by a head in the Aug. 31 Grade 3 Parx Dash; Just Might, Grade 2 placed on turf and a stakes winner on grass and dirt riding a three-race win streak; My Boy Tate, Threes Over Deuces, and Whereshetoldmetogo. Wondrwherecraigis was a front-running winner of the six-furlong Tale of the Cat Aug. 13 at Saratoga for trainer Brittany Russell.

The Weather Vane, named for the Maryland-bred champion older filly of 1998 that won 17 of 36 career starts and 14 stakes including the 1997 Grade 3 Safely Kept, also attracted 25 nominations. Prominent among them are Hello Beautiful, who earned her sixth career stakes victory in the July 31 Alma North at Pimlico and is 7 for 11 lifetime at Laurel, and four-time stakes winner Chub Wagon, who lost for the first time in nine lifetime starts when second in the Dr. Teresa Garafalo Memorial Aug. 23.

Other Weather Vane nominees include Ain't No Elmers, second in the 2020 Grade 3 Miss Preakness and third in the July 28 Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga; Casual, second to Chub Wagon in the May 15 Skipat at Pimlico; Club Car, third in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie and second in the Grade 3 Chicago this year exiting a stakes win at Mountaineer Park Aug. 7; Garafalo Memorial winner Don't Call Me Mary, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher; and multiple stakes winners Honey I'm Good, Casual's Asmussen-trained stablemate; 2020 Grade 3 TCA winner Inthemidstofbiz; Needs Supervision; and Never Enough Time.

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Most popular among horsemen with 31 nominations was the Polynesian, stretched out beyond a sprint for the first time since returning to the stakes calendar in 2017 following a 17-year absence. Its first 12 runnings, alternating between Laurel, Pimlico, and Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., were contested at 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 miles.

Nominees include 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster, unraced since a fourth in the April 30 Alysheba; West Will Power and Phat Man, respectively 2-3 behind Code of Honor in the Aug. 21 Grade 3 Iselin at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.; June 12 Grade 3 Salvator Mile winner Informative; 2019 Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf winner Mr Dumas; Aug. 27 Robert Hilton Memorial winner Exculpatory; and local multiple stakes winners Alwaysmining and Cordmaker.

The Twixt attracted 30 nominees led by May 2 Grade 2 Ruffian winner Vault and stakes-winning Brad Cox-trained stablemate Dreamalildreamofu, second in the May 14 Grade 3 Allaire du Pont at Pimlico; Off Topic, third in the 2019 Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks; Chilean Group 2 winner Cheetara; and stakes winners Artful Splatter, Josie, Kiss the Girl, Malibu Beauty, Miss Leslie, Mrs. Orb, Needs Supervision, Saracosa, and Trolley Ride.

Laurel Park's 59-day fall meet is scheduled to run Thursday, Sept. 9 through Friday, Dec. 31.

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