Southern California racing returns to Santa Anita Park with opening day of the track’s 18 race-day fall meet set for Sept. 30 through Nov. 6. Santa Anita’s fall meet is one of the season’s premier meets, offering prime betting opportunities, big purses, and high-quality racing on both the turf and dirt.
Tag: Racing
Rattle N Roll Picks Up His Third Derby Win, This One In Oklahoma
Trainer Ken McPeek loved watching his 3-year-old colt, Rattle N Roll, win the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Sunday so much that he was already making plans for a return trip to the Sooner State.
“Our owner has been gracious enough to allow us to place this horse in good spots and I thought Oklahoma would be perfect for him,” said McPeek after receiving the Derby trophy. “We may have to find a race here for him as a 4-year-old.”
Mike Mackin of Louisville, Ky., owns Lucky Seven Stable in conjunction with his three brothers and sister and they own this 3-year-old colt. The stable is named for Mackin's parents and five siblings. Hence, seven.
It was more than lucky on Sunday as Rattle N Roll proved his talent with a strong run down the stretch, digging deep to hold off the late charge of Steve Asmussen-trained King Ottoman. Rattle N Roll, as the 7-5 second favorite in the race, finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of King Ottoman (11-1) and the runner-up was 9 1/4 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher Best Actor. The even-money favorite, Best Actor, from trainer Brad Cox's barn, ran third virtually the entire length of the race.
Jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., has won two in a row on Rattle N Roll, a colt by Connect, out of the Johannesburg mare Jazz Tune, and three of his last four. Those victories include a trip to the winner's circle in the $250,000 St. Louis Derby on Aug. 20 at FanDuel Horse Racing, the old Fairmount Park racetrack and in the $200,000 American Derby at Churchill Downs, Mackin's home track.
Rattle N Roll is a grandson Curlin, the two-time Horse of the Year in 2007-08.
“I've ridden him so many times, I've learned his running style,” said Hernandez. “I just let him do his thing and he does it. He's a Grade 1 winner and a Derby winner.”
Hernandez said he wasn't nervous at all as King Ottoman, winner of the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park in May, came rolling up on him and engaged a fight down the stretch.
“My horse threw his ears up; he heard him coming,” said Hernandez. “But, no, I wasn't nervous. All I had to do was become a great passenger.”
It was a perfectly patient race from Hernandez as he let Rattle N Roll drop back to last in the field of eight down the backstretch in this 1 1/8-mile race over the fast main track. Red Knobs and Big Chopper set a swift pace up front in the early going, covering the first quarter-mile in :23.59, ;47.76 for the half-mile and then both began to fade after three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.11. At that point, Rattle N Roll took over, taking the lead at the top of the stretch. From that point on it was just a battle of hearts in a race to the wire in the final eighth of a mile. He hit the mile pole in 1:37.11 and won in a time of 1:49.50.
Rattle N Roll earned $240,000 for the victory and came oh so close to joining the millionaire club for Lucky Seven Stable. The money he earned from the $400,000 purse put him at $998,105 in earnings. He has started 13 times, winning five, running second once and third twice. He was bred in Kentucky by St. Simon Place. They purchased this colt for $210,000 in the Keeneland Yearling Sale in 2020.
“We thought he was beautiful ever since we saw him as a yearling,” McPeek said.
Rattle N Roll paid $4.80 to win, $3 to place and $2.10 to show.
Mackin has said the family wanted to own a sports franchise but that was too far out of reach so they got into the horse racing business and living in Louisville made it a perfect fit.
Live racing at Remington Park continues Wednesday-Saturday, Sept. 28-Oct. 1. First post time is 7:07 p.m. nightly.
Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $301 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 features the top Oklahoma-breds in racing on Oklahoma Classics Night, a million-dollar evening of stakes events on Friday, October 21. Thoroughbred racing continues through December 17 with simulcast racing daily, and a casino that is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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Hits Pricey Legacy Upsets Juju’s Map In Remington Park Oaks
The locals prevailed in most of the stakes races on Oklahoma Derby Day at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., including the biggest upset of the day in the Grade 3, $210,000 Remington Park Oaks with Hits Pricey Legacy taking down Grade 1 winner Juju's Map.
Juju's Map, who won the Grade 1, $400,000 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland as a 2-year-old and then ran second to Echo Zulu in the Grade 1, $1.76 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar, could do no better than running third to Hits Pricey Legacy, a multiple stakes winner at the local level.
Owner-breeder-trainer C.R. Trout won his third race on the Oklahoma Derby Day program when his 3-year-old filly by Oklahoma sire Den's Legacy (Medaglia D'Oro) flew past the front runners, Juju's Map (1-5 odds) and Free Like a Girl (5-2), the two favorites and both shippers in the race. It was 11-1 longshot Hits Pricey Legacy that got to take home the trophy. She prevailed by two lengths in the end with Free Like a Girl running second, one length up on third-place Juju's Map.
“The plan was for her to sit behind the speed (the two shippers), but I couldn't hold her anymore,” said jockey Jose Alvarez. He won aboard both of Trout's stakes winners on Oklahoma Derby Day. They also combined for a win with Jackpot Baby in the E.L. Gaylord Stakes.
Trout was somewhat taken aback by the huge day his barn was experiencing.
“I don't have a lot of words to say right now, what this means to our breeding program,” said Trout, who has a farm in Edmond, Okla. “This filly means so much to us. Our crew has done such a great job with these horses. Remington Park has always been my favorite track and it always will be.”
It was the first win for all the connections in the Oaks.
Hits Pricey Legacy, who is out of the Concord Point mare High Price Hit, owned by Trout, has been a monster since she returned to the track from almost a year off. She last raced on Dec. 17, 2021, before making her first start this fall in the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes in the Fillies Division, winning that one by 4 1/2 lengths. She now has won three of her last four starts, losing only in the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes at Remington Park in that Dec. 17 race. She ran third, beaten nine lengths by Optionality. Her third win in this recent skein was a trip to the winner's circle in the $75,000 Slide Show Stakes for 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred fillies, here on Nov. 12, 2021.
Hits Pricey Legacy paid $24 to win, $7.40 to place and $2.20 to show across the board. The filly earned $130,000 for the victory and improved in her career to seven starts, four wins, two seconds and one third. The win almost doubled her career earnings, taking her from $139,355 to $269,355.
Running time for the winner at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt was 1:45.39 over the fast surface. Hits Pricey Legacy followed early fractions of :24.46 for the first quarter mile, :49.13 for the half-mile, 1:14.15 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:38.84 for the mile.
The remaining order of finish was Hannah's Haven, Cleopatras Charge, Bionica, Rollin Chrome, and My Friend Amy.
Live racing at Remington Park continues next week with a schedule of Wednesday-Saturday. First post time is 7:07 p.m. nightly.
Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $301 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 features the top Oklahoma-breds in racing on Oklahoma Classics Night, a million-dollar evening of stakes events on Friday, October 21. Thoroughbred racing continues through December 17 with simulcast racing daily, and a casino that is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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Lucky Score Rallies From Last To Earn First Stakes Win Woodbine’s Vigil
Lucky Score, under Leo Salles, was full of run late to take Sunday's $180,000 Vigil Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.
A 4-year-old Lookin At Lucky gelding, Lucky Score arrived at the six-furlong main track race for 3-year-olds and up without a stakes score on his stat sheet.
On a rainy afternoon at Woodbine, the Willie Armata trainee netted his milestone victory in impressive fashion.
Rockcrest, breaking from the outside post, crossed over and engaged Warp Ride for the early lead, the duo taking their six rivals through an opening quarter in :22.77 as Lucky Score and Salles were unhurried, sitting last of eight.
It was Rockcrest who then gained the upper hand, holding a half-length advantage over Clayton at the half-mile juncture reached in :44.96. Lucky Score, contesting his second career stakes race, moved up one spot to seventh, but was left with a lot of work to do as the real running started around the turn for home.
Rockcrest, at 15-1, dug in gamely, a length on top at the stretch call, but was soon confronted by Lucky Score, now fourth, and closing fastest of all on the far outside.
At the wire, Lucky Score was a 1 ¼-length winner. Rockcrest was a neck ahead of multiple stakes winner Secret Reserve, who edged Clayton by a nose for third. The final time was 1:08.63.
A claim of foul by the rider of Secret Reserve on the winner was disallowed.
“This is the third time I ride him,” said Salles. “On the second time, I finished second. I was pretty confident this time that we could grab the win. He was perfect. I'm just super happy.”
Owned by Domenic Liscio and Danny Iandoli, it was the gelding's fifth win, along with a pair of seconds and a third, from 12 starts. He was fourth in his only other stakes engagement, the Bold Venture (G3) on August 13.
“I've been involved in horse racing for maybe four or five years,” said Liscio. “The bottom line is I want to thank Leo, but if there's one guy I want to thank the most, it's [trainer] Ralph Biamonte. He picked this horse out, we had him with him, and he did a lot of work as a baby with him. No disrespect to Willie, but wherever Ralph left off, Willie has continued to do a fantastic job.”
Lucky Score, who is out of the Royal Academy mare Miss Matzo, was bred in Ontario by James Everatt, Janeane Everatt, and Arika Everatt-Meeuse.
He paid $14.70.
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