Tag: Racing

The evening before the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park this fall will not lack for star power. The newest class for the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame will be inducted during the races on Saturday night, Sept. 23.

A group of four horses and one horsemen will be honored in between races on Sept. 23. Following are the first to be added to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred achievements since 2017.

Welder – All-time Wins Leader at Remington Park

The gray sprinter that found his winning form as he grew older under the training of Teri Luneack, became a three-time Remington Park Horse of the Meeting (2018-2020). Welder racked up 16 career wins in Oklahoma City, to set the new standard for local scores. Owned by Clayton Rash's Ra-Max Farms of Claremore, Okla., the gelded Oklahoma-bred son of The Visualiser from the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, amassed more than $1.2 million in earnings with $889,340 of it gained at Remington Park. Welder won 12 of 13 races during his Horse of the Meeting seasons and won at distances from five furlongs to 6-1/5 furlongs in his career here. He set the new Remington Park win mark, in what turned out to be his final victory before retirement, on Aug. 27, 2021. Welder also owns the Remington Park record for most stakes wins with 11.

Shotgun Kowboy – 2015 Oklahoma Derby Winner

Owned, trained and bred in Oklahoma by Hall of Famer C.R. Trout, Shotgun Kowboy became just the second state-bred horse to win the Oklahoma Derby. Prior to 2015, the only other to win the richest race at Remington Park was the legendary Clever Trevor in 1989. A multiple stakes winner at Remington Park, the gelded son of Kodiak Kowboy from the Siphon (Brz) mare Shotgun Jane, left the sprint ranks to win his derby and won 11 of his 15 triumphs between distances of 1 mile 70 yards and 1 1/8 miles. Shotgun Kowboy won the Oklahoma Classics Cup a record four times (2015, 2017-2019). He won 10 times at Remington Park with two seconds and four thirds, finishing off the board only once in 17 Oklahoma City starts. A career earner of more than $1.5 million, Shotgun Kowboy almost reached a million at Remington Park, piling up $982,020. He was retired by Trout at the end of the 2019 campaign.

Slide Show – Nearly Perfect Stakes-winning Filly

A superstar filly in the early years of Remington Park, Slide Show almost completed an undefeated career in Oklahoma City. Owned by Joe Colley and Deanne White, Slide Show burst onto the scene a winning 2-year-old in 1993. Trained by Wade White, the Oklahoma-bred daughter of Slewacide from the Silent Screen broodmare Screen Landing, won 11 consecutive races at Remington Park from 1993 to 1995, including seven stakes races. Among the big-money scores were three Oklahoma Classics events, the Lassie (1993), the Distaff (1994) and a victory over males in the Classics Cup (1995). Slide Show only tasted defeat once at Remington Park, in her 12th and final start here, when she was third in allowance company. The lone defeat took place just three weeks after winning the Classics Cup. Slide Show earned $215,306 in her 12 Remington Park attempts. Overall, she won 12 of 25 career starts with five seconds and two thirds for total earnings of $347,917, competing from 1993-1996.

Darrell Darrell – Versatile Stakes-winning Sprinter from early 1990s

A fan favorite from 1991 to 1996, Darrell Darrell racked up sprint victories against fellow Oklahoma-breds, and in open company. Triumphant at sprint measures from 5-1/2 to 7 furlongs, Darrell Darrell even won a 1,000-yard match race in the “Rumble at Remington” in June 1993 when he defeated EJ Cash Bo, an American Quarter Horse, by one length. Owned by Jean Dillard of Ringling, Okla. and trained during his finest years by Normie Thomas, Jr., Darrell Darrell was by Boca Rio from the King's Bishop mare Harrys Queen. He finished in the money in 25 of 28 Remington Park starts with 12 local victories and local earnings of $328,155, an astronomical amount for the early 1990s. Overall, Darrell Darrell won 19 career races from 47 starts, making more than $540,000.

Danny Caldwell – Owner

A resident of Poteau, Okla. and former high school educator and coach, Caldwell is the all-time leading owner by wins at Remington Park with 421 entering the 2023 season. He went all-in for horse racing as the millennium started, using a business model of claiming horses, finding winning spots to race and elevating them if possible. Many of his claims went on to become stakes winners at Remington Park including Fifth Date and Dont Tell Noobody (Oklahoma Classics Cup winners), Rated R Superstar (two-time Governor's Cup winner) and Eurobond (Oklahoma Classics Sprint), among others.

“In 2001, I was coaching Panama High School in the state softball championships at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, a couple of furlongs from Remington Park,” Caldwell said upon learning of his Hall of Fame inclusion. “I really got going with horse racing right after that. I would have never thought, that just over 20 years later, I would be going into the Hall of Fame at Remington. I am truly honored.”

The 2023 Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park begins Friday, Aug. 18 and continues through Friday, Dec. 15.

Tracked by more than 176,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $325 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

The post Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall Of Fame To Induct Remington’s All-Time Win Leader Welder, Millionaire Shotgun Kowboy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Winchell Thoroughbreds and L and N Racing's 2021 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Echo Zulu made a triumphant return to the site of her first two lifetime victories, defeating an all-graded stakes-winning cast of runners in Wednesday's 32nd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap for fillies and mares traveling six furlongs at Saratoga Race Course.

Echo Zulu, a member of the first crop of sensational stallion Gun Runner, launched her Championship season at the Spa in July 2021 with a 5 1/2-length debut triumph en route to another open-lengths score in the Grade 1 Spinaway. She completed her juvenile campaign with two more much-the-best wins in the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who also conditioned Gun Runner, expressed a strong sense of pride in training Echo Zulu, who carried a field-high 123 pounds.

“Unbelievable amount of gratitude to have her in the barn training with her being a Champion and the value she's established,” said Asmussen, who saddled Street Story [2015] and Forest Music [2005] to Honorable Miss scores. “As fast as she was when she was younger, the older the Gun Runners get, the faster they go, and I think that's another example of it.”

Breaking from the rail in the four-horse field, Echo Zulu flaunted her usual frontrunning tactics under Florent Geroux with five-time graded stakes winning millionaire Frank's Rockette, second in this race last year, looming a close second through a swift opening quarter-mile in 22.02 seconds over the fast main track. Sharp-starting Dr B, winner of last year's Grade 3 Go for Wand at the Big A, tracked a close third with Grade 2 Inside Information winner Maryquitecontrary at the rear of the field.

Junior Alvarado, aboard Frank's Rockette, began asking his charge for more around the far turn through a half in 44.45 with Geroux calling on Echo Zulu nearing the quarter pole. A few nudges was all it took for Echo Zulu to shake clear of her foe, opening up a five-length lead at the stretch call.

Geroux showed Echo Zulu the stick just outside the furlong marker with Dr B launching a late rally. But there was no reeling in Echo Zulu, who crossed the finish line a 7 1/4-length winner in a final time of 1:08.76.

Dr B finished another two lengths ahead of Frank's Rockette with Maryquitecontrary completing the order of finish.

Echo Zulu earned her seventh overall graded stakes triumph, adding to last year's scores in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks and Grade 3 Dogwood at Churchill Downs, en route to a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Keeneland. She entered the Honorable Miss from a triumphant 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Winning Colors on May 29 at Churchill Downs, where she teamed up with Geroux for the first time.

“She's able to go very [fast]. She's able to set up very fast fractions and stay very nicely within herself,” Geroux said. “She's able to get a nice breather at the three eighths and she's just waiting for my cue down the lane. As soon as I push the gas, she responds right away, so automatic. She's just gifted.”

Geroux, who also was the regular rider for Gun Runner, used only one word to describe the 2017 Horse of the Year and leading third-crop sire's talented daughter: Champion.

“It's the difference between good horses and special horses – Champion, and she's one of them,” Geroux said. “I've been lucky to be with some very good horses the past few years, but I can count on one hand the special ones that I've got and she's one of them.”

Asmussen admitted to being concerned with Echo Zulu breaking alertly.

“I was extremely nervous about just getting away from there cleanly,” Asmussen said. “She broke well, very comfortable and very fast. She looked beautiful coming into the stretch. [Her speed] is not new. From her maiden race here, she goes along at a rate that they're not comfortable doing.

“I think it's that simple: she's extremely fast,” Asmussen continued. “She really is. She's doing it quicker than they are, easier than they are in comparison to the other horses she has.”

Asmussen said the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina going seven furlongs on August 26 at Saratoga – a “Win And You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Santa Anita – will likely be Echo Zulu's next start.

Echo Zulu returned $2.80 as the overwhelming favorite and banked $110,000 in victory, which brought her lifetime earnings up to $2,365,375. Her record now stands at 10-8-1-0 with her lone off-the-board finish taking place when fourth in last year's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Bought for $300,000 from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Echo Zulu is out of the multiple black-type producing and graded stakes-winning Menifee mare Letgomyecho – a half-sibling to Grade 1-winner Echo Town and graded stakes winner J Boys Echo. She was bred in Kentucky by Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby.

The Honorable Miss pays tribute to Pen-Y-Bryn Farm's two-time winner of the Fall Highweight against males in 1975-76. She also defeated the boys in the 1975 Gravesend and Toboggan while besting fellow females in the Vagrancy.

Honorable Miss retired with a 62-19-12-9 record and $437,973 in earnings.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the $150,000 Birdstone in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

The post ‘I Can Count On One Hand The Special Ones’: Echo Zulu Dominates Honorable Miss By 7 1/4 Lengths appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tyson, a 4-year-old son of Tapit-Honouring, will tackle 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta and five rivals in Saturday's $175,000 Seagram Cup (G2) at Woodbine.

The Seagram Cup, for 3-year-olds and up, marks the second straight graded engagement for Tyson, trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll.

On July 1, in his most recent effort, he rallied with authority to best talented stablemate Treason in the 1 1/8-mile Dominion Day Stakes, crossing the wire a 1 ¼-length victor in a time of 1:48.32 over the Tapeta.

“He ran against a quality field and probably didn't have the best of trips,” said John Sikura, who co-bred and co-owns Tyson under the Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings Inc. banner, along with Stretch Run Ventures, LLC. “But he finished with authority and beat a very good horse. All of those things are impressive and we're looking forward to this weekend to see if he can repeat that performance.”

Tyson is the first runner out of the winning Smart Strike mare Honouring. A half-sister to Grade 1 winner Streaming and stakes winners Treasuring and Cascading, as well as stakes performers Distracting and Gifting, she is one of five stakes producers out of Better Than Honour daughter Teeming.

Tapit has had great success with the family, including stakes performers by stallion under Tyson's first two dams, including Grade 2 winner Greatest Honour and stakes performers Sweet as Pie and Soaring. Honouring's Tapit half-sister, Modeling, is also the dam of this year's Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo.

“He's a beautifully bred horse from a family cultivated for about 30 years,” started Sikura. “It's a family that means a lot to me and is very rewarding to the farm. It's a very important vehicle for our success.”

Sikura, inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2018, hadn't originally planned to keep the impeccably bred colt, but that changed after the 2020 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale.

“It's very unusual for us to keep a colt. That wasn't the original plan. We offered him as a yearling at what I believe was a very reasonable reserve ($250,000). But he didn't get sold.”

Under the tutelage of Todd Pletcher, Tyson debuted last March at Gulfstream Park. Sent off at 6-1 in the 1 1/16-mile race on the Hallandale oval's main track, he turned back all challenges to notch a hard-earned one-length victory.

The connections, Sikura included, were impressed by the polished effort of Tyson.

“He was great in that first start. He won with authority. He was supposed to be in a race at Turfway, but he was on the also-eligible list and didn't get in. The horse had a little setback after that race, but Todd felt he'd be very successful on the synthetic. So, having had a very fruitful relationship with Josie Carroll for more than 20 years, we decided to send her the horse. She's done a fantastic job with him.”

Tyson won next time out in his first start for Carroll, this May, in his 4-year-old debut. That was followed by a gritty third in the Eclipse Stakes (G2) Presented by Don Julio on June 4.

With the Dominion Day win, the roan is now 3-0-1 from four starts to go along with $145,972 in earnings.

“We'll see if he can establish himself as the best dirt/synthetic older horse in Canada. We'll take one race at a time and if he is that we'll see if he's a horse that can travel and try to win a major graded stakes race outside of Canada. We'll focus on this one first. If he runs his race, I think he'll give a good account of himself.”

Sikura is grateful for his connection to the horse he named after one of boxing's greatest all-time heavyweights.

“I named him Tyson because of my admiration for Mike Tyson. Not his ability as a boxer, but his resiliency, reinvention of himself, and how he turned his life around when he retired from the ring. It's not easy to lose everything and bounce back. I relate to that, having lost my dad so young.”

First post for Saturday's card is 1:05 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$175,000 SEAGRAM CUP STAKES (G2)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Clear Destination – Ryan Munger – Patrick Dixon

2 – Seventysevenstone – Isabelle Wenc – Paul Lepiane

3 – Artie's Storm – David Moran – Paul Buttigieg

4 – Tyson – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll

5 – Carrothers – Sahin Civaci – Martin Drexler

6 – Kingmax (IRE) – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Jorge Delgado

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Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo worked five-eighths in 1:01.23 Wednesday over the Saratoga Race Course main track in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers slated for August 26.

Trained by Jena Antonucci and piloted through the work by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets-winner was caught by NYRA Clockers through splits of 24 1/5 and 36 2/5 before galloping out in 1:14 2/5 and 1:27 flat.

“He was great. It was a beautiful work. Javier was very pleased,” Antonucci said.

It was the third breeze over the main track here for the Arrogate grey.

“He loves it. We're so blessed with him, he doesn't seem to care what's underneath him,” Antonucci said of the Saratoga surface. “He handles it beautifully. Facilities has done a great job of keeping it very consistent and he's thriving off of that.”

Antonucci said Arcangelo has enjoyed breezing on a 10-day schedule as opposed to the more common every seven days routine.

“You have to pay attention to your horse and understand who they are,” Antonucci said. “This horse just needs that space because with his cruising speed and how he trains, he's thrived on more of a 10-day schedule. My job is to listen and stay out of his way.”

Antonucci, who became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, said Arcangelo maintained his weight coming out of the grueling 12-furlong “Test of the Champion” and has thrived at Saratoga.

“He held really good. He's a good doer. He definitely hasn't regressed at all. He's definitely come forward,” Antonucci said. “Everything else is there – my job is to make sure that the happy and full-of-himself horse stays there.”

The $35,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase graduated at third asking in March traveling a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park with Castellano aboard for the first time.

The talented colt stalked a sharp pace of 23.17 seconds and 45.55 set by Jonas' Dream before making a seven-wide bid in the stretch run en route to a 3 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:34.82. The winning effort garnered a then career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

He has improved his Beyer in each start since, taking the nine-furlong Grade 3 Peter Pan [97] by a head over Bishops Bay ahead of his memorable run in the 12-furlong Belmont Stakes [102], overtaking the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes-winner National Treasure at the stretch call and holding off the reigning

Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte to secure a 1 1/2-length score.

Antonucci said Arcangelo, who will breeze twice more before the Travers, should have no trouble with the turnback in distance.

“We were one of the fastest miles at Gulfstream breaking his maiden, so cruising speed is definitely not an issue with him,” Antonucci said.

Out of the Tapit mare Modeling, Arcangelo's third dam is Better Than Honour, who produced two Belmont Stakes winners in Jazil [2006] and Rags to Riches [2007].

The post Travers-Bound Arcangelo Has ‘Definitely Come Forward’ Since Belmont Stakes Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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