Rowdy Yates The Morning-Line Favorite In Friday’s Oklahoma Classics Cup

For the second year in a row, Deal Driven, a stakes winner at Parx in Philadelphia is shipping in from the East Coast to try his wares in the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup on Friday, Oct. 16 at Remington Park.

In 2019, now-retired millionaire Shotgun Kowboy, a four-time winner of the Oklahoma Classics Cup, easily put Deal Driven away. This year, Deal Driven has been made the second choice in the morning-line at 5-2 odds, behind only Rowdy Yates who is the 2-1 favorite. Remington Park odds-maker Jerry Shottenkirk established the latter at the top of the line, based off his multiple stakes wins at this Oklahoma City track. Rowdy Yates won the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile last year and then followed that with a victory in the Don McNeill Stakes here.

Rowdy Yates, a 3-year-old colt by Morning Line, out of the Yes It's True mare Spring Station, is the top earner in the field with $346,556 in his bankroll, just barely more than Deal Driven at $342,896. Deal Driven, a 6-year-old gelded son of the hottest sire in the country this year – Into Mischief – comes from the Tiznow mare Tiz Merry. Deal Driven won the $60,000 Parx Hall of Fame Handicap on Sept. 14, 2019.

Deal Driven could do no better than fifth in the Classics Cup last year, beaten 20-1/4 lengths by Shotgun Kowboy, who holds the record for winning the race four times. Shotgun Kowboy took the trophy in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019, for owner-trainer C.R. Trout of Edmond. Shotgun Kowboy also is one of two horses to have won this race three years in a row. The other was Mr. Ross from 1999-2001. Zee Oh Six won three times but not in consecutive years.

Fifteen-time Remington Park top trainer Steve Asmussen, and the country's top conditioner by money earned, campaigns Rowdy Yates. That colt, owned by L and N Racing of Tulsa, Okla., is coming off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3, $200,000 Oklahoma Derby here on Sept. 27 at 1-1/8th miles. Deal Driven last raced Sept. 10 at Laurel, running second in an allowance-optional $50,000 claiming race at seven furlongs. The Oklahoma Classics Cup is raced at 1-1/16th miles. Jockey Stewart Elliott gets the call on Rowdy Yates, while Ramon Vazquez is aboard Deal Driven for trainer Robert Mosco and owner Troy Johnson and Charles Lo of Vacaville, Calif.

Trout will try to keep his winning streak alive in the cup with Fast Breakin Cash at 5-1 odds. His resume is blackened with excellent efforts in stakes-company, running second in the $75,000 Kip Deville and $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile in 2018, and the $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes in 2019. All those races were over the Remington Park surface. Fast Breaking Cash finished third behind two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year, Welder, in last year's $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint.

Here's a look at Classics Cup field of eight, from the rail out with jockey, trainer and morning-line odds:

1)    Dont Tell Noobody: Sophie Doyle, Federico Villafranco, 15-1

2)    Georgia Deputy: Ezequiel Lara, Joe Petalino, 20-1

3)    United Patriot: Lori Biehler, Michael Biehler, 10-1

4)    Rowdy Yates: Stewart Elliott, Steve Asmussen, 2-1

5)    Fast Breakin Cash: Luis Quinonez, C.R. Trout, 5-1

6)    Dak Da Man: Lane Luzzi, Kari Craddock, 6-1

7)    Kwik: David Cabrera, Karl Broberg, 10-1

8)    Deal Driven: Ramon Vazquez, Robert Mosco, 5-2

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Oct. 10, with nine races underway at 7:07pm-Central.

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Galilean Emerges From Stretch Duel, Inquiry With California Flag Win

Trainer John Sadler's classy Galilean cut back in distance, added blinkers and survived a stewards inquiry to prevail in Sunday's $100,000 California Flag Handicap at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.  Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, the 4-year-old colt by Uncle Mo was up to nip Ultimate Bango by a head while getting 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:02.13.

Away alertly from his outside post, Galilean tracked pacesetter Mikes Tiznow and Ricardo Gonzalez into and around the far turn and was one length off of him a quarter mile out.  As Mikes Tiznow began to shorten stride, Galilean drifted inward some, causing Gonzalez to steady at the sixteenth pole and from there, Galilean was able to outrun Ultimate Bango late.

“Unfortunately, my horse didn't want to switch leads and he was hanging in the whole way,” said Rispoli, who had ridden him for the first time at Del Mar on Aug. 23.  “I was obligated to just ride it with him and to try to make him as straight as I can, but he's a huge horse.  I got (the win) because he was the (best) horse in the race.”

Fifth to world-class turf miler Mo Forza in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap on turf Aug. 23, Galilean was off as the 3-2 favorite in a field of five California-bred or sired 3-year-olds and up and paid $5.00, $3.00 and $2.20.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Denise Barker, William Sandbrook, John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, Galilean, who is out of the El Prado mare Fresia, notched his sixth win, all stakes, in his 12th career start.  With the winner's share of $60,000, he now has earnings of $577,098.

“He's a really good horse,” said Sadler who took over training duties five starts back on Feb. 29, 2020.  “This is the third stakes we've won with him. … He's got so much class.  We changed things up today, running short, but we added blinkers and as you saw, he's got a ton of natural speed. Long range, it's exciting because these Uncle Mo's are becoming great stud prospects and that's very encouraging for him.

“We're excited about the new turf chute here at Santa Anita and we'll look at running him in a stake going six and a half (furlongs) this winter.  We'll probably stick with the state-bred program, there's just so much money there.”

Ultimate Bango, who was also adding blinkers in his first start for Mark Glatt, tracked Galilean to the far turn, kept inside of Mikes Tiznow through the stretch drive while making the lead inside the furlong pole, but couldn't keep the winner safe late.  Off at 9-2 with Abel Cedillo, Ultimate Bango paid $5.00 and $3.20 while finishing 1 1/4 lengths in front of Rookie Mistake.

Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Rookie Mistake finished well at 9-1 and paid $4.60 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.71, 45.09 and 56.29.

Named for the Hi Card Ranch-bred winner of the 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, the California Flag is for eligible California-bred or sired 3-year-olds and up and is part of the lucrative Golden State Series, which is sponsored by the CTBA.

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Salute With Honor Complete Weekend Stakes Sweep For Husbands, Casse At Woodbine

Jockey Patrick Husbands and trainer Mark Casse completed a sweep of the Thanksgiving weekend stakes events at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, as Salute With Honor won the Grade 3, $125,000 Durham Cup in front-end fashion on Sunday.

Salute With Honor was followed by a hard-closing Skywire and Rafael Hernandez to complete a Casse exacta in the 1-1/16-mile main track test for horses three years old and up.

The Husbands-Casse duo also clicked in Saturday's $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes with Canadian-bred 2-year-old Master Spy.

In Sunday's graded stakes feature, Salute With Honor took command from the quick-leaving Inventing Blame into the first turn approaching the :23.43 quarter mark and clocked a half-mile in :47.36 and three-quarters in 1:11.78 en route to victory.

Skywire, who raced inside near the back of the seven-horse field, maneuvered outside on the final turn and came tearing home to finish second, one length behind his triumphant stablemate. Timeskip closed from last to nab the show honours for conditioner Rene Kierans ahead of another Casse trainee, Pioneer Man. Roaring Forties, Armistice Day and Inventing Blame completed the order of finish.

Salute With Honor was not far off Freitag's track record (1:42.16) as he posted a final time of 1:42.35.

First-time stakes winner Salute With Honor ($6, $3.20, $2.90) was the slight 2-1 favorite over Skywire ($3.10, $2.50), who won the Grade 2 Eclipse on July 4 over the same course and distance, and they combined here for a 3-1 exacta worth $19.10.

“He's a horse that likes to be forwardly-placed,” noted Husbands of the six-year-old chestnut son of To Honor and Serve. “I don't touch him, he just does what he's gotta do. I just be the pilot and relax on his back, and when I asked him, he gave me all he can give me.”

The Live Oak Plantation homebred gelding earned his seventh career win and has banked nearly $360,000 from 19 starts. Salute With Honor has now won two races in a row at Woodbine and sports a five-for-seven record here lifetime.

Husbands has won back-to-back editions of the Durham Cup on two occasions. He first accomplished the feat with the Casse pupil Delegation and the Josie Carroll-conditioned James Street in 2012-2013. Last year, he guided The Great Day to victory for trainer Arnaud Delacour. The veteran jockey and four-time winner Casse earned their first Durham Cup titles together in 2009 courtesy of Pool Play.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Thursday at Woodbine, with post time for the nine-race program set for 2:15 p.m. A reminder that the new Friday post time of 4:35 p.m. goes into effect this week and Racing Night Live returns on TSN with coverage from Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park from 7-9 p.m. ET.

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