Boyd Morris MemorialPURTY DARN QUICK TURNS TABLES IN WINNING BOYD MORRIS MEMORIAL STAKES
Jockey Ramiro Garcia met Purty Darn Quick when the horse had just been broken. Three years later, the gelding rewarded him with a victory in the $72,500 Boyd Morris Memorial Stakes at Remington Park.
“It’s always awesome to win one with a horse you’ve been riding since he was a 2-year-old,” said Garcia.
The win was one of the big upsets in stakes races on Saturday night, continuing the theme for the night. It was Garcia’s second big score of the evening as he also won the $74,750 Easy Jet Stakes aboard Jess a Rednec Cowboy at 12-1. Garcia had come into Saturday’s races with only seven wins in 129 mounts.
“He broke perfect for me,” said Garcia. “I kept encouraging him and he held on. Thank God he held on tonight.”
Purty Darn Quick, a 5-year-old gelding by Jess Louisiana Blue, out of the PYC Paint Your Wagon mare Now Margaret, went off at 11-1 odds and paid $24.80 to win, $9.80 to place and $5.20 to show. He earned $42,300 from the purse and improved to 23 starts, five wins, five seconds and three thirds for a bankroll of $238,602. He covered 400 yards on a fast track in :19.634 seconds for a 95 speed-index. The winner is owned by Hammes and his son Nick of Holly, Colo.
Purty Darn Quick finished three-quarters of a length ahead of runner-up Apollitical Payoff (4-1), who was another half-length in front of 4-5 post-time wagering favorite Just a Kool Boy, who earlier this meet won the Bob Moore Stakes at Remington Park. Purty Darn Quick turned the tables on the runner-up and sixth-place finisher Nobby Walsh. Both of those horses had beaten him in the $100,000 Sooner State Stakes on April 22 when they ran second and third while Purty Darn Quick was fourth.
It was the first stakes win at Remington Park for the winner. He had not won a stakes race since taking two in a row for 2-year-olds at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa in 2020. Despite that fact, Purty Darn Quick had picked up a paycheck in 12 of his last 13 starts, most of them in stakes company.
“He hit his big race at the right time,” said Hammes. “He has always been pretty consistent his whole life.”
Purty Darn Quick was bred in Oklahoma by Hammes and Tom Bradbury.
This was the first victory in the Boyd Morris Memorial for all the connections of Purty Darn Quick.
The Boyd Morris Memorial is named after the famed Quarter Horse jockey who won the 1964 All American Futurity on Decketta. The Blanchard, Okla. native went on to be a prominent trainer of both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds once his successful riding career ended. He was a mainstay from the beginning at Remington Park prior to his passing in 1998.
Remington Park racing continues Sunday, May 28 at 4pm. The season continues for four more race dates, concluding on June 3.
Tracked by more than 175,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $320 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 2023 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa season through June 3. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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