Tag: Racing

The Remington Park Oaks (G3) drew a field of eight, with Merlazza pegged as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/8-mile contest Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Oklahoma City racetrack.

A Don Alberto Stable homebred, Merlazza is trained by Brad Cox and will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who teams with Cox-trained Hit Show in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3) one race later on the track's 10-race card.

Merlazza, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, is seeking her first graded stakes win after finishing fifth in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico in May and then fourth in the Indiana Oaks (G3) at Horseshoe Indianapolis in July. She landed her first stakes victory April 22 in the Valley Of The Vapors at Oaklawn Park.

Cox has never won the Remington Park Oaks but Prat scored in 2021 with Lady Mistify.

Ancient Peace, from the barn of trainer Brian Lynch, is the second morning-line favorite at 5-2 odds. Ancient Peace was second in the Summer Oaks (G2) at Santa Anita in June and then finished 10th over the turf in the San Clemente (G2) at Del Mar in July.

The field for the Remington Park Oaks in post-position order, with (jockey, trainer) and morning-line odds:
1. Perfect Wish (Floyd Wethey Jr., Jayde Gelner) 10-1
2. Merlazza (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox) 2-1 (morning-line favorite)
3. Magic Bubbles (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen) 10-1
4. Honor D Lady (Tyler Conner, Saffie Joseph Jr.) 9-2
5. Nomadic Pride (Cristian Torres, Thomas Amoss) 6-1
6. Appropriated Funds (Iram Diego, Jaylan Clary) 8-1
7. Love Tank (David Cabrera, Ray Ashford) 20-1
8. Ancient Peace (Rafael Bejarano, Brian Lynch) 5-2

The post Cox-Trained Merlazza Seeks First Graded Win In Remington Park Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Thirteen 3-year-olds drew into the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3), the headline event of 10 races at Remington Park on a special Sunday, Sept. 24 program that also includes the Remington Park Oaks (G3) and six other stakes. The field is the largest for the Oklahoma Derby since 14 started in the 1 1/8-mile race in 2014. Hit Show has been made the morning-line favorite at 3-1 odds and will leave the gate from the outside post 13. Trained by Brad Cox, Flavien Prat will ride. Cox is seeking his fourth win in the Oklahoma Derby. He won three straight from 2019-2021 with Owendale, Shared Sense, and Warrant, respectively. Prat seeks his first win in the race. Owned and bred by Gary and Mary West of Omaha, Neb., Hit Show won the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct on Feb. 11 before running second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April. He eventually finished fifth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and then fourth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. Hit Show most recently was fifth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes in July at Saratoga in upstate New York. West Virginia Derby (G3) winner Red Route One is the second choice on the morning-line at 7-2 odds. Trained by Steve Asmussen, he will be guided by Joel Rosario. The colt by Gun Runner, owned and bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, was second in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park in February. Red Route One was fourth in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and then eighth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) before scoring in West Virginia. Red Route One competed in the  Dueling Grounds Derby (G3) at Kentucky Downs at 1 5/16 miles over turf on Sept. 3, finishing eighth in his most recent start. Asmussen seeks his second Oklahoma Derby victory, winning previously in 2017 with Untrapped. Rosario has won the race twice before with Pleasant Prince (2010) and Warrant (2021). The field for the Oklahoma Derby in post-position order, with (jockey, trainer) and morning-line odds: 1. Ghost Hero (Floyd Wethey Jr., Jayde Gelner) 20-1 2. Tumbarumba (Rafael Bejarano, Brian Lynch) 6-1 3. Raise Cain (no jockey named, Ben Colebrook) 5-1 4. Cagliostro (Cristian Torres, Cherie DeVaux) 8-1 5. Heroic Move (Harry Hernandez, Robertino Diodoro) 20-1 6. Gunflash (Luis Fuentes, Karl Broberg) 30-1 7. West Coast Cowboy (Tyler Conner, Saffie Joseph Jr.) 8-1 8. Pearl's Earl (Jose Medina, Eric Snodgrass) 99-1 9. How Did He Do That (Stewart Elliott, Steve Asmussen) 20-1 10. Red Route One (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen) 7-2 11. Grove Land (no jockey named, Eoin Harty) 15-1 12. Mor Lana Spirit (Leandro Goncalves, Kari Craddock) 30-1 13. Hit Show (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox) 3-1 (morning-line favorite) The Oklahoma Derby is the 10th and grand finale on the Sept. 24 card with a scheduled post of 7:48 p.m. (CT) The post Cox To Send Out Hit Show In Bid For Fourth Oklahoma Derby Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Thomas Galvin's multiple Louisiana-bred stakes winner Norah G will face nine 3-year-old fillies entered for Saturday night's featured 48th running of the $300,000 Dogwood Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Saturday's “Downs After Dark” program will get underway at 6 p.m. (ET) and the Dogwood, set for seven-furlongs on the main track, will go as Race 10 at 10:42 p.m. The 11-race card will also include the $300,000 Bourbon Trail, $300,000 Harrods Creek, and $175,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes.

Norah G, trained by Patricia West, will make her first start outside Louisiana but will ship to Kentucky with a solid résumé that includes victories in the Louisiana Futurity at Fair Grounds and Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Louisiana Downs. Norah G last competed Aug. 27 at Louisiana Downs on turf where she showed her versatility and easily defeated nine rivals by two lengths going wire to wire in a one-mile allowance-optional claiming event. Jockey Rey Gutierrez will have the call from post No. 8 as the daughter of Fast Anna makes her graded stakes debut.

The Dogwood field features several accomplished fillies including Pea Patch Stakes runner-up Twice as Sweet; Catherine Sophia Stakes runner-up Yesternight; Audubon Oaks runner-up and third-place finisher Flamand and Santa Fe Gold; Valdale Stakes winner B G Warrior; and allowance winner Alexa Lou.

Here is the complete Dogwood field in order of post positions (with jockey and trainer): Yesternight (James Graham, Lindsay Schultz), Metaphysical (Ricardo Santana Jr., Jeff Hiles), Flamand (Mitchell Murrill, Elias Lopez), B G Warrior (Joe Ramos, Ron Kahles), Lady Radler (Jesus Castanon, Mike Campbell), Santa Fe Gold (Francisco Arrieta, Bret Calhoun), Twice as Sweet (Declan Cannon, Brendan Walsh), Norah G (Rey Gutierrez, PatriciaWest), and Alexa Lou (Julien Leparoux, Dallas Stewart).

Also on the card, Gold Square's multiple stakes-placed 3-year-old Slip Mahoney will try to win his first stakes in the Bourbon Trail, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Robert Masiello's ultra-consistent Mount Up, a recent allowance winner at Saratoga, headlines a field of seven 3-year-olds set for the Harrods Creek Stakes, and Richard Bahde's former $50,000 claimer turned Grade 2 winner Taxed heads a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered in the Seneca Overnight Stakes.

The post Norah G Ventures Outside Of Louisiana To Bid For Graded Glory In Dogwood appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Mr. and Mrs. Tsunebumi Yoshihara's Yuugiri overcame a stumble leaving the gate, stalked pacesetter Fire On Time from the inside and tipped out down the stretch to collar the leader inside the final sixteenth and win Saturday's 14th running of the $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) at Churchill Downs by three lengths.

Odds-on 1-4 favorite Wicked Halo never threatened and finished third.

Ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, Yuugiri ran six furlongs over a fast track in 1:09.43.

Yuugiri went to her knees from post position No. 1 when the gates opened and the usual front-runner was forced to track four-time Churchill Downs winner Fire On Time from the inside. After splits of :22.09 and :45.20, Prat took Yuugiri off the rail and angled out for her run down the stretch. After five furlongs in :57.08, Fire On Time began to retreat and Yuugiri cruised right on by for the comfortable win.

“She broke a step slow but was able to relax and really finish well,” Prat said. “She showed a new style today.”

Yuugiri banked the $185,000 first prize and improved her record to six wins, two seconds and one third in 13 starts. Her career earnings total $979,010. The Open Mind was her fourth career stakes triumph.

“We've tried her on a couple different surfaces this year but she's shown success on the dirt,” Brisset said. “Today, after she broke slow, she showed a new dimension relaxing in the pocket. She's an accomplished filly who's won several stakes throughout her career. We're very proud of how she won this race today.”

Yuugiri returned $8.74 for the win.

Wicked Halo finished third, 5¾ lengths behind Fire On Time.

More Than Vows was fourth and was followed by Sharp Hero. Ten Rings was scratched.

Yuugiri is a 4-year-old daughter of Shackleford out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Yuzuru and was bred in Kentucky by her owners.

Saturday's race saluted the late Eugene Klein's Hall of Fame filly Open Mind, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained winner of the 1988 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill Downs who returned to the Louisville track the following spring to win the Kentucky Oaks (G1). The New Jersey-bred filly was an Eclipse Award champion at ages two and three. A winner of 12 races and $1,844,372 in 19 starts, the daughter of Deputy Minister was enshrined in Racing's Hall of Fame in 2011.

The post ‘She Showed A New Dimension’: Relaxed Yuugiri Kicks Clear In Open Mind appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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