Will’s Secret Headlines Probables For Remington Park Oaks

Will's Secret, a Dallas Stewart-trained filly, headlines a field of likely runners in this year's Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, scheduled as a part of a multi-stakes day that includes the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.

Also on that Sunday, Sept. 26, the all-time winningest horse in Remington Park history, Welder is expected to go for his 28th career win all-time and his 17th victory in Oklahoma City in the $150,000 David M. Vance Stakes.

Will's Secret, a daughter of Will Take Charge, out of the Giant's Causeway mare Girls Secret, began the year by winning the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., for owner Willis Horton Racing. She followed that with a victory in the Grade 3, $300,000 Honeybee Stakes, also at Oaklawn. She raced in the biggest race of the year for 3-year-old fillies in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks on April 30 at Churchill Downs. Will's Secret finished a respectable third behind the top 3-year-old filly in the country – Malathaat. It was the second third-place finish for her behind that monster, also losing in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes.

Will's Secret was bred in Kentucky by her owner. Her lifetime record is 10 starts, three wins and four thirds for $536,300 in earnings. Her trainer, Stewart, has made a name for himself by finishing second in back-to-back Kentucky Derbies with longshots. He ran second to Orb in 2013 with 34-1 shot Golden Soul and then second to California Chrome in 2014 with Commanding Curve at 37-1.

Stewart also was in charge of a string of D. Wayne Lukas world-class runners that included Horse of the Year Lady's Secret, Kentucky Derby winners Winning Colors (1988) and Thunder Gulch (1995).

Also expected to make the trip to Remington Park for the Oaks is Moon Swag, a filly by Malibu Moon, out of the Put It Back mare Yara, trained by Brendan Walsh. Moon Swag's best race this year came in the Grade 3, $200,000 Indiana Oaks at Indiana Grand racetrack. She lost by only a neck in that race, finishing well ahead of Will's Secret.

Moon Swag was bred by Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky and is owned by Brad King, Jim Cone, Scott Bryant and Stan and Suzanne Kirby. She has won two of nine starts with one second and three thirds for $163,400 earned.

Another filly confirmed for the Oaks is Crazy Beautiful, a daughter of Liam's Map, out of an Indian Charlie mare, Indian Burn. She is trained by Kenny McPeek and owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred III. She was bred in Kentucky by Carolyn Vogel. This filly has won two of her last three starts and would come in from Saratoga where she last raced in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. She had won the Grade 2, $200,000 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita and the Grade 3, Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park. She took the Summertime Oaks by 1-3/4 lengths before blowing away a field at Delaware by six lengths. Among McPeek's superstar trainees have been Take Charge Lady, Swiss Skydiver and Harlan's Holiday. He has trained eight horses that have surpassed the $1 million mark in earnings and has conditioned horses that have won $91 million-plus in his career.

Crazy Beautiful has had 11 starts, five wins and three seconds for a bankroll of $709,865. She would be the top earner in the Remington Park Oaks should she enter.

Another with a graded stakes win on her resume expected for the Oaks is My Girl Red. Owned by Erich Brehm of Weatherford, Texas and trained by Steve Asmussen, My Girl Red won the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar as a 2-year-old in 2020.

A daughter of Texas Red from the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Morakami, My Girl Red has been searching for consistency most of 2021. She has just one win, in allowance company at Lone Star Park this summer. She started in a five-furlong sprint over the turf on the opening night of this Remington Park season, finishing last in a field of eight. The Remington Park Oaks would be just the second start on a main track, around two turns, for My Girl Red.

The Oklahoma Derby and Oaks headline a big stakes afternoon on the only Sunday scheduled during the Remington Park season. The total stakes card includes:

Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby
Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks
$150,000 David M. Vance Stakes
$100,000 Remington Green Stakes
$75,000 Ricks Memorial Stakes
$75,000 Kip Deville Stakes
$50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes
$50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes

Remington Park Stakes Coordinator Don Thompson says Keepinmind, Team Merchants, King Fury, Warrant and Fulsome are all possible starters for the Oklahoma Derby.

Racing continues this week with an eight-race card Thursday night and a pair of nine-race cards Friday and Saturday. First post time is 7:07 p.m. each night.

The post Will’s Secret Headlines Probables For Remington Park Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Soothsay Overcomes Bad Start, Rallies Late To Capture Indiana Oaks

Raydelz Stable's homebred Soothsay looked to have little chance of winning Wednesday evening's Grade 3 Indiana Oaks at Indiana Grand after hopping in the air at the start and spotting the field several lengths, but the daughter of Distorted Humor gained ground into the far turn and rallied relentlessly down the stretch under Flavien Prat to put her neck in front at the finish and capture the winner's share of the $200,000 purse in the race for 3-year-old fillies.

Shipped to the Shelbyville, Ind., track from her home base at Santa Anita in Southern California by Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella,  Soothsay rallied past all eight of her rivals in the final half mile, winning by a neck over 40-1 outsider Moon Swag and local rider Deshawn Parker, with another California shipper, Lady Aces, finishing third under Umberto Rispoli, just a head behind the runner-up. They were followed across the wire by Marion Francis, Lovely Ride, 2-1 favorite Will's Secret, Sweet Pearl, Malloy and Li'l Tootsie.

Soothsay, produced from the Bernardini mare, Spellbound – herself a Grade 2 winner for Mandella – was winning for the third time in four starts. She ran the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.36 and paid $8 to win.

Lovely Ride assumed command shortly after the start of the Indiana Oaks under Gabriel Saez. She went the opening quarter mile in :24.71 and the half in :48.88 under pressure from Marion Francis and jockey Florent Geroux. Approaching the far turn, after Lovely Ride clicked off six furlongs 1:12.44, Prat began asking Soothsay to pick it up, and she willingly passed several horses around the final turn.

Heading into the stretch, Moon Swag, who saved ground just behind the top pair for much of the way, swung outside and moved toward the lead, assuming command at the eighth pole. Lovely Ride and Marion Francis fought back briefly, but the danger was coming from the outside as Soothsay was in high gear. The bay filly overtook Moon Swag in deep stretch as Lady Aces rallied alongside the winner late to finish just a head behind the runner-up.

Soothsay won her first two starts, taking a maiden sprint at Santa Anita on Feb. 26, then stretching out to win the G2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 3. That was followed on May 30 by a second-place finish as the 4-5 favorite behind Crazy Beautiful, who came back last week to win the G3 Delaware Oaks.

Soothsay (no. 2) did not get off to a good start in the Indiana Oaks

The post Soothsay Overcomes Bad Start, Rallies Late To Capture Indiana Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights