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Morning Twilight Stays Undefeated With Oklahoma Classics Lassie Win

Just nine days after breaking her maiden status in a hard-fought effort, Morning Twilight made things look easier in winning her second start, the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie, sponsored by Coors Light, on Friday, Oct. 15 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Owned by the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Edwin Barker, and Titletown Racing Stables, Morning Twilight was bred in Oklahoma by Joe Merrick of Sayre. The filly was a $310,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders' 2-year-old in training sale this year. Trained by racing's all-time leading winner Steve Asmussen, Morning Twilight was confidently ridden by Stewart Elliott.

When Morning Twilight won her first career race to break her maiden status on Oct. 6 at Remington Park, she scored a six-furlong event by one length. In the Lassie, the 2-year-old filly by Morning Line from the Medaglia d'Oro mare Sweet Golden Carol won by a widening 7-1/2 lengths.

After stalking the early pace set by Bring It On Baby, Morning Twilight made her move coming off the lone turn of the six-furlong event. The pair rolled to the top of the stretch together before Morning Twilight had enough of her company and kicked forward to an open lead, finishing in 1:11.20 over the fast track. Hits Pricey Legacy made a wide move down the stretch to gain second while Circle Back Girl (50-1 odds) came up the rail and just missed getting into the exacta, settling for third a head behind the runner-up.

Bring It On Baby set the opening fractions of :22.30 for a quarter-mile and then :45.70 for the half-mile. She would fade to finish fourth, beaten 9-3/4 lengths.

Morning Twilight was at 6-1 in the wagering and paid $15 to win, $5.80 to place and $4.20 to show. Hits Pricey Legacy paid $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show as the beaten wagering favorite at 1-2 odds. Circle Back Girl returned $9.80 to show.

The remaining order of finish in the Lassie was Smokin' Okie (5th), Lil' Jimmi Sue (6th), Tiptoe Henny (7th), Boujee Britt (8th), Take Me Serious (9th), Freccia d'Argento (10th), and Presley's Artwork (11th).

The Lassie win was the first for the owners of Morning Twilight. It was the second Lassie win for Asmussen and his fourth overall win in the Oklahoma Classics series. Jockey Stewart Elliott won his first Oklahoma Classics race.

The Oklahoma Classics is a million-dollar night of stakes racing, featuring the top Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Oct. 16 with the first race at 7:07 pm-central.

The post Morning Twilight Stays Undefeated With Oklahoma Classics Lassie Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Half-Sisters, Stablemates Face Off In Friday Night’s Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf

Alternative Slew has won the Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf the past two years in a row. This year, however, her half-sister Run Slewpy Run is the 3-1 morning line favorite on Friday night's Oklahoma Classics Night at Remington Park.

Oklahoma Classics Night includes eight stakes races worth more than $1 million for the top Oklahoma-breds in the game. The first race of the evening is at 7:07pm.

Both Run Slewpy Run and Alternative Slew are from the barn of trainer Jesse Oberlander and both have the same mother (dam), Imadancingslew. Alternative Slew is the second favorite at 7-2 odds and probably would be the favorite as the two-time defending champion, but the 5-year-old mare has had only one race since Dec. 12.

“She almost put her eye out in her stall and almost lost the eye,” Oberlander said of Alternative Slew. “It got infected and we had to give her some time off. She's fine now and we were able to save her eye.”

Her half-sister, Run Slewpy Run, has had three races this meet, including a 2-for-2 run on the turf. This 3-year-old filly by Den's Legacy with Imadancingslew by Evansville Slew won an allowance on the grass to open the meet at 7-1/2 furlongs on Sept. 2 and then followed that with her first stakes win at the same distance greensward, the $70,000 Bob Barry Memorial Stakes on Sept. 24. In between those wins, she ran second in the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes on the dirt Sept. 10.

Alternative Slew's sire is Alternation.

“These two are amazing,” said Oberlander of his filly and mare. “And their little half-brother is running in the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile, Dancing Devil.”

Alternative Slew won this race last year on Oct. 16 by 1-3/4 lengths as the 3-5 favorite with Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey Luis Quinonez up. He retains the mount this year. Quinonez moved into second place on the all-time winningest jockey list at Remington Park this meet, passing Don Pettinger. She also won the 2019 edition by 4-1/4 lengths as the even-money favorite. Iram Diego rode her to victory that night. Her half-sister, Run Slewpy Run's two wins on the lawn have been at 7-1/2 furlongs while this race is set for 1-1/16th miles. It will be interesting to see who has the advantage down the stretch.

Mike Jones of Bristow, Okla., owns both horses and is also the breeder.

Another mare that can't be overlooked is Country Daisy, the third horse on the morning-line odds at 9-2, at the rail in post-position one. She ran second to Run Slewpy Run in the Bob Barry Memorial, beaten three lengths as the 2-1 favorite. She beat Alternative Slew in an allowance race on the grass Sept. 1 by five lengths at 7-1/2 furlongs, but that was also Alternative Slew's first race back after more than eight months off.

The National Weather Service is calling for a clear but cool evening Friday night with the high in Oklahoma City reaching 64 degrees. There is no rain in the forecast. Temperatures should be dropping into the 50s during the races.

Here's the field from the rail out with horse, jockey, trainer and odds:

Country Daisy, Leandro Goncalves, Ray Ashford, 9-2
Twilight Curfew, David Cabrera, Ronnie Cravens III, 6-1
Courtly, Ezequiel Lara, Lynn Chleborad, 5-1
Leather and Lace, Lindey Wade, Ronnie Cravens III, 20-1
Hawaiian Typhoon, Lane Luzzi, Austin Gustafson, 8-1
Tic Toc Toccet, Jose Medina, Steve Williams, 15-1
Run Slewpy Run, Luis Quinonez, Jesse Oberlander, 3-1
Tiztheboss, Chad Lindsay, Miguel Silva, 12-1
Alternative Slew, Stewart Elliott, Jesse Oberlander, 7-2

The Distaff Turf is the fourth race of the night with an approximate off time of 8:34pm. All times are Central.

The other stakes events comprising the Oklahoma Classics include:

Race 2 – $145,000 Distaff, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 mile-70 yards

Race 3 – $130,000 Sprint, 3-year-olds and up, 6 furlongs

**Welder, the all-time winningest horse at Remington Park with 16 wins here, will be making the final start of his career in the Sprint. His connections, Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., and trainer Teri Luneack have indicated he will, after retirement, train to be the farm's pony horse, returning to the racetrack to accompany Ra-Max's racehorses in the post parade and to the gate.

Race 5 – $100,000 Lassie, 2-year-old fillies, 6 furlongs

Race 6 – $175,000 Classics Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/16 miles

Race 7 – $100,000 Juvenile, 2-year-old colts and geldings, 6 furlongs

Race 8 – $130,000 Distaff Sprint, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 6 furlongs

Race 9 – $130,000 Turf Classic, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/16 miles (turf)

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Quality Rocket Seeks A Repeat In OKC Turf At Remington Park

A solid field of 11 has been drawn for the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics OKC Turf, sponsored by the Choctaw Nation, on Friday, Oct. 15 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. If the 5-2 morning line favorite Quality Rocket defends his championship, he will have earned it.

Quality Rocket drew the 11-hole, the far outside post for this race at 1-1/16th miles. He also has been challenged strongly by some in this field.

Trainer Boyd “Jobe” Caster, in the past three years, has turned Quality Rocket, a 7-year-old gelding, into a turf monster, winning last year's Turf and the Red Earth Stakes twice. This son of Backstabber, out of the King of Scat mare Lady Cambridge, has earned $409,006 over his career, winning 11 of 35 starts. The most telling statistic that shows just how Quality Rocket has bloomed as an older horse is that Caster put him into claiming races for a $7,500 tag three times when he was a 4-year-old in 2018 and no one grabbed him. In those three races, he had run second twice and won by 6-3/4 lengths. That win came in only the second time around two turns for Quality Rocket.

Quality Rocket, owned by Jeremy Ball of Shawnee, Okla., won last year's race for Jeremy's father Gerald Ball, who has passed away in the meantime. If Quality Rocket could get the job done again this year, it would be the third win in the Turf for Caster. He also won this race in 2012 with Ridge Road with jockey Lindey Wade up. Garrett Steinberg booted home Quality Rocket last year and Ramon Vazquez gets the call for this year's Turf.

Quality Rocket would have won three Red Earth Stakes races in a row had it not been for a late rush from longshot Timely Reply in 2019 that left him in second, beaten by a neck.

Last year, Quality Rocket held off Half Ours to Keep (4-1) by a head at the wire in the Turf. Half Ours to Keep, a 5-year-old gelded son of Beggarthyneighbor, out of the Purim mare Cusip, is owned by Erin Gaarz of Arlington, Texas, and trained by Karl Broberg. He will be ridden by Stewart Elliott, who is among the top grass riders at Remington every thoroughbred meet. However, Half Ours to Keep is 0-for-10 on the grass with $66,448 banked greensward, but that move last year makes him dangerous. He will break just to Quality Rocket's inside in post 10.

The third choice in the line at 9-2, Quarky, also has to be given a solid shot in here. He ran second to Quality Rocket in this meet's Red Earth Stakes, beaten one length, and actually was sent off as the 9-5 favorite in that race. This 5-year-old gelding by The Factor, out of the Sahm mare Beyond the Reach, is owned by Jerry Namy of Ft. Worth, Texas, and trained by Broberg. He will be ridden by David Cabrera, the three-time defending champion rider here. Cabrera has an easy lead in the jockeys' standings this meet as well.

Quarky is a four-time winner on the lawn with his most recent win on the grass coming at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., when he won an allowance race there on Dec. 11, 2020. He is the second-most experienced on the turf with 23 starts on that surface. Only Pacific Typhoon (15-1) has more starts on the grass with 26, winning eight times. He ran fourth in this race last year, beaten only 1-1/4 lengths.

Another consideration has to be Khola (6-1), a winner of his last two starts on the grass, both times in allowance company. This 4-year-old gelded son of Pollard's Vision, out of the Election Day (IRE) mare Buena Fortuna (MEX), hails from trainer Kari Craddock's barn for owner Craddock Racing of Brookings, S.D. He will be ridden by Leandro Goncalves. It will only be his third start against stakes horses. His best finish in a stakes race was fourth in two tries.

Here's the field from the rail out with horse, jockey, trainer, and odds:

Morhawk, Richard Eramia, Karl Broberg, 20-1
Pacific Typhoon, Lane Luzzi, Austin Gustafson, 15-1
Khola, Leandro Goncalves, Kari Craddock, 6-1
Quarky, David Cabrera, Karl Broberg, 9-2
Sweet Medicine, Luis Quinonez, Francisco Bravo, 8-1
Yip Kip, Ezequiel Lara, Lynn Chleborad, 20-1
Gospel Musketeer, Jose Medina, Steve Williams, 30-1
Tommyhawk, Freddy Manrrique, Randy Swango, 10-1
Georgia Deputy, Jose Alvarez, Joe Petalino, 20-1
Half Ours to Keep, Stewart Elliott, Karl Broberg, 4-1
Quality Rocket, Ramon Vazquez, Boyd “Jobe” Caster, 5-2

The Turf is set as the ninth of 10 races on Oklahoma Classics Night, with an approximate start time of 11:05 pm. The first race on Oct. 15 goes at 7:07 pm. All times are Central.

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Welder Goes For One More Record Before Calling It A Career

Remington Park's all-time winningest horse, Welder, will be trying to wrap up his career in racing with another record to add to his lengthy record book.

Owner Clayton Rash of Claremore, Okla., and trainer Teri Luneack have indicated that when this millionaire Oklahoma-bred 8-year-old gelding goes to post on Friday, Oct. 15 in the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint, sponsored by The Kaw Nation, that it will likely be his final race. The sprint is all part of the night of Oklahoma-bred stars competing in divisional stakes events for $1 million-plus in purse money at the Oklahoma City, Okla., track.

If Welder, a gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, wins Friday night it will be his fourth consecutive victory in the Sprint, and it would tie for most wins in this stakes race with Okie Ride and Highland Ice. Highland Ice won four in a row from 1996-1999. Okie Ride won in 2011 and 2012, missed two years, and then returned to the winner's circle in 2015 and 2016.

Welder has won 16 races at Remington Park, more than any other horse since 1988 when the track opened. He was purchased from Mighty Acres Farms in Pryor, Okla., for $6,750 as a yearling and has earned $1,250,731. His record is 43 starts, 27 wins, five seconds, and six thirds. At Remington Park, he has won 16 of 22 times for $876,712.

“I really like his draw (outside 8-post),” said Luneack. “I would like Welder to be remembered as the working man's horse. He made his million the hard way.”

Among other records Welder, the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the race, has set in his career here are:

The only horse to win Remington Park Horse of the Meet more than once. He has received awards as Horse of the Meet in 2018, 2019, and 2020

Three-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year in those same years

Set track record at Remington for 6 furlongs in 1:08.13 in the David M. Vance Stakes on Sept. 29, 2019

Holds record here for most stakes wins in a row – 11. He won two Remington Park Turf Sprints (one on a muddy main track), four wins in the Silver Goblin Stakes, three wins in the Oklahoma Classics Sprint, and two wins in the David M. Vance Stakes.

This year's edition of the Sprint drew eight horses and every horse in the race has been beaten by Welder at least once. Welder was bred in Oklahoma by Center Hills Farm. Mighty Acres is a subsidiary for them.

Mesa Moon (9-2) has been made the second favorite in the race. He is a non-stakes winner and finished behind fourth morning-line favorite Shannon C (6-1) in the Remington Park Turf Sprint last time out. Mesa Moon's record on the dirt is similar to Shannon C's, however. Mesa Moon has won three of six on the main track for $104,543 earned while Shannon C is two of six on dirt with $104,338 banked. The third choice in the morning line is Fast Breakin Cash (5-1) who has made $201,593 on the main track.

Shannon C, a two-time stakes winner, is the second-highest earner in the field with $290,766 banked in 26 starts. Mesa Moon has won $133,345 in 10 starts and Fast Breakin Cash has won $219,849 in 20 tries.

The field for the Sprint from the rail out with horse, jockey, trainer, and odds are:

Fast Breakin Cash, Ramon Vazquez, C.R. Trout, 5-1
No Lak of Speed, Luis Quinonez, Jesse Oberlander, 10-1
Euromantic, Alfredo Triana, Jr., Victor Hanson, 8-1
Shannon C, Leandro Goncalves, Scott Young, 6-1
Fly to the Bank, Carlos Montalvo, James Helzer, 15-1
D Toz, Lane Luzzi, Danny Pish, 20-1
Mesa Moon, Floyd Wethey, Jr., Scott Young, 9-2
Welder, David Cabrera, Teri Luneack, 6-5

The Classics Sprint is the third race of 10 on Oct. 15 with an approximate start time of 8:05 pm. The big night of state-bred stakes events is underway at 7:07 pm. All times are Central.

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