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El Pando’s Clever Trevor Victory Brings Clary First Remington Stakes Win

Trainer Jaylan Clary is carrying on her late father Mike Neatherlin's legacy by shining like a thousand diamonds in her rookie meet at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Clary's El Pando stayed undefeated and unchallenged, winning the $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes in the colt's second start by open daylight. The 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Outwork, from the Speightstown mare Queen Negwer, had broken his maiden just as impressively by 8-3/4 lengths on Sept. 15.

Neatherlin, a strong presence as a trainer in the Southwest since the 1990s, passed away this September at 65 years of age from COVID-19 complications. As a conditioner, he had, at one point, co-owned and trained Kip Deville, the all-time winningest Oklahoma-bred racehorse in history. Kip Deville, who was a champion horse, retired with $3,325,489 in his bankroll and won the 2007 Breeders' Cup Mile at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Now, Neatherlin's daughter may have a horse that ends up pretty special as well and her father had a little something to do with it.

“My dad bought El Pando when he was a yearling (for $10,000 from the Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale in 2020),” said Clary, of Brock, Texas. “We put him back in the Texas Thoroughbred Association 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and then Dad said, 'We're not going to sell him.'”

Neatherlin knew he was special and Clary's disappointment for not selling the colt has quickly changed to joy as El Pando may have punched his ticket to the $400,000 Springboard Mile on Dec. 17 at Remington Park.

“We're certainly looking for something bigger,” said Clary. “He rose to the occasion tonight and exceeded all expectations.”

Remington's three-time leading rider David Cabrera could not hold his excitement in after the race, especially for Clary and her dad's decision to keep the horse.

“Thank you, Mr. Mike!” Cabrera shouted as he pointed to the sky.

Clary has started her training career with 16 starters this meet, winning four, running second four times, and once third. Her horses have earned $164,135. Not bad for a fledgling conditioner.

El Pando's victory was a strong one, hitting the wire 3-3/4 lengths in front as the 9-5 second wagering favorite in the field of nine juveniles. Two longshots closed the gap in the seven-furlong race as Revenir (34-1) and Kentucky Bourbon (34-1) picked up the pieces in the final strides to run second and third, respectively. Revenir finished two lengths ahead of Kentucky Bourbon. The 6-5 betting favorite Concept checked in fourth, another 3-1/4 lengths back.

Clary owns and trains El Pando, who earned $60,000 for the win Friday night, increasing his earnings to $79,545.

El Pando covered the seven-eighths of a mile in 1:24.13 over a fast track, sitting fourth most of the way before making his move in the stretch.

“I wanted to see how he handled the dirt in the face and he was a pro,” said Cabrera. “Pulling out wide, he handled it all.”

It was the third win in the Clever Trevor Stakes for Cabrera. He also made trips to the winner's circle with U.S. Officer in 2016 and Redatory in 2017. This was Clary's first stakes victory at Remington Park. She had run second in the $130,000 David Vance Stakes on Sept. 26 with Mr. Money Bags.

El Pando showed his talent, doing all the running on his own before Cabrera finally tapped him when he drew clear with about 70 yards to go. The early fractions, set first buy Malibu Thunder and then Concept, were honest with the first quarter-mile in :22.11, the half-mile in :45.23, and six furlongs in 1:10.67.

The colt's name means sagging in Spanish and Clary said he got his name because of his swayback.

Neatherlin finished his career with combined on-track Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse earnings surpassing $2.7 million. He saddled a combined 186 winning racehorses. Clary is well on her way to paying strong tribute to her father's memory with a tremendous start to her own career.

The Clever Trevor Stakes is named after the legendary Oklahoma-bred millionaire who won the inaugural Oklahoma Derby in 1989 along with multiple graded stakes events in his career, while accumulating over a million dollars in earnings. A statue of Clever Trevor stands in the middle of the Remington Park paddock walking ring.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Oct. 30 with nine races. The first will be underway 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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Cabrera Continues To Dominate Jockey Standings At Remington Park

Remington Park's three-time defending riding champion David Cabrera continues to reign dominantly at this Oklahoma City, Okla., track, winning four of the nine races on Saturday night.

Cabrera padded his lead in this year's standings to 25 wins to Stewart Elliott's 14. His four wins Saturday came with four different trainers – Karl Broberg, Ron Moquett, Austin Gustafson, and Danny Pish. Cabrera took both halves of the early Daily Double with Broberg-trained Tiz Showbiz (6-1 odds, $14.40 to win) in the first race and with Moquett's Pure Courage (8-5, $5.40) in the second. The $2 Daily Double paid $65. Cabrera rode Gustafson's first-time starter Steels All In (3-1, $8), hitting the line first in race five, as he did with Pish's Give It Everything (6-5, $4.60) in the eighth.

If that's not enough to solidify his riding prowess to fans, Cabrera, with all eight of his mounts Saturday, ran either first or second. The only race he didn't run first or second was the seventh race and he didn't have a mount in that race. He finished as the runner-up in the third, fourth, sixth, and ninth races.

It would have been five wins Saturday had Cabrera not been caught by a nose in the sixth race aboard Dont Float the Ice. Cabrera's mount had the lead the entire race except at the wire.

Cabrera, with his 25 victories, leads Elliott in second, 14; Leandro Goncalves, 12; Richard Eramia, 11; and Alfredo Triana, Jr. rounding out the top five. Elliott did his best to keep pace, winning two races on the Saturday program.

The trainers' race also is a tight one this meet with perennial winner Steve Asmussen scoring 11 wins thus far, followed by Broberg and Kari Craddock tied for second with eight each. Scott Young has seven and then tied for fifth are Danny Pish and Austin Gustafson with six victories each.

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Jose Santos Revolutionizing Jockey Agent’s Role

Jose Santos became famous for winning races as a jockey. His son wants to become famous for winning races as a jockey agent.

The winning formula for Jose “Joe” Santos Jr. is to try and revolutionize the profession through strength in numbers, eventually creating a corporate-like business model.

Santos, 26, represents five riders at four tracks. The bulky roster briefly reached six earlier this year and included two for most of the Oaklawn meet in David Cabrera, its second-leading rider in 2018 who is headed toward another runner-up finish in 2021, and Ken Tohill, a veteran approaching 4,000 career victories. Tohill won nine races in Hot Springs before recently departing for Prairie Meadows in Iowa. Santos also books mounts for Miguel Mena and Albin Jimenez at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Reylu Gutierrez at Lone Star Park in Texas and Freddy Manrrique at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma.

“I would say it's abnormal to have a jockey on four or five different circuits,” Santos said.

Under Arkansas rules, agents can represent as many as two journeymen and one apprentice rider during the Oaklawn meeting. Some Oaklawn-based agents do have riders in multiple jurisdictions, with Bobby Dean, for example, representing two-time local champion Terry Thompson and newcomer Elvin Gonzalez this year in Hot Springs and Glenn Corbett at Turf Paradise in Arizona.

But five riders in four states?

“My deal is I worked at Turf Paradise for 15 years,” said Dean, an agent since the fall of 1997. “I mean, I know everybody. I had Glenn Corbett all those years. It's not like I'm down there with a kid somebody might not know. I'm down there with a guy that's been there, so I'm barely skirting the line. (Santos) is sharp enough to do it. But I'm old school. I'm still here early. I guess as the long as the jocks keep going for it, it will be good.”

Santos, whose father retired with more than 4,000 victories and was a 2007 inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, said he has been eying a mass-representation/multi-jurisdiction concept for some time, adding COVID-19 restrictions “kind of forced it,” with everything moving online last spring.

“I wanted to start an agency, myself,” Santos said. “The only way to do that is to prove that is I can do it on my own at first. Once I get enough traction and business going, I think it's been heading in the right direction, we can expand it from there and get some people hired on eventually.”

Santos began his career as an agent in December 2013, initially representing Aldo Canchano, then Didiel Osorio in February 2014. Santos had Cabrera, Israel Rodriguez and apprentice Luis Fuentes to open the 2019 Oaklawn meeting before landing the nationally prominent Mena that spring. Santos essentially flew solo with Mena for approximately a year before adding Declan Carroll in April 2020, reuniting with Cabrera in May 2020, picking up Jimenez in November, Gutierrez and Tohill around New Year's Day and Manrrique for the Will Rogers meet that began in late March. Santos and Mena rekindled their business relationship in April. Santos no longer represents Tohill and Carroll, leaving the agent to juggle just five riders in late April.

“Santos, he's sharp,” Dean said. “If anybody can handle it, it's Santos.”

Santos spent much of early 2020 in Hot Springs (his girlfriend, youthful stakes-winning owner Carson McCord, is a resident), but agents were unable to beat the backside at tracks like Oaklawn, and later Churchill Downs, because of COVID-19 restrictions that barred them from the barn area. The racing office became off limits, too. Armed with a computer, condition books and cell phone, Santos began conducting business from home, entering by phone and watching post position draws through Zoom conference calls, again related to COVID-19 restrictions.

“This is kind of been a goal for a while,” said Santos, who also has represented Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Tyler Baze. “Just didn't know how to make it work. I kind of always thought the only way that it was going to be able to work was to hire other people on, do the charting, and have them do all the ground work. Like I said, with COVID happening, it worked out to where I was able to do it.”

So far, so good.

Santos' riding roster has collected more than 120 victories and $5 million in purse money this year. Agents normally receive around 25 to 30 percent of a jockey's total earnings.

“You work hard when you're young to not have to when you're older, right?” Santos said. “Ultimately, the goal would be to own an agency at some point in my life and have other agents work for me and just get a percent off of that, based off tying up the connections, to where I don't have to do any of this bookwork anymore. But that's years, years, years down the line.”

Santos was profiled by Fox Sports recently.

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