CHIEF CICATRIZ POUNCES IN STRETCH TO TAKE DAVID M. VANCE SPRINT
For the first time since 2017, a horse other than Welder won the $60,000 David M. Vance Stakes on Oklahoma Derby Day, this time Chief Cicatriz was to the finish first on Sunday.
Welder won the Remington Park Turf Sprint Stakes on Friday night and scratched out of the David M. Vance, allowing a new shooter to take over that throne. Chief Cicatriz made the two-time Oklahoma Horse of the Year proud, running a very Welder-like time of 1:08.52 for the six furlongs under jockey Luis Quinonez. Welder holds the track record at six furlongs with a time of 1:08.13 in last year’s Vance.
Chief Cicatriz, off at 7-2 odds, for owner Roy Gene Evans of Dallas, Texas, and trainer Shawn Davis, sat mid-pack in the early going as Share the Upside (5-2 odds) set a hot early pace of :22.03 seconds for a quarter-mile, :44.39 for the half-mile and :56.34 for five-eighths of a mile, before fading to last in the six-horse field. The favorite, Hunka Burning Love (9-5) ran next-to-last.
Davis boasted 24 percent winners in non-graded stakes wins in 55 starts this year. Chief Cicatriz was still fourth at the top of the stretch and then pounced on the three horses in front of him to draw off by two lengths. This 7-year-old gelded son of Munnings, out of the Grand Slam mare Super Buggy, earned $36,000 from the $60,000 purse. He improved his record to 24 starts, 15 wins, two seconds and one third for $563,295 lifetime in earnings.
Seven Nation Army (7-1) was the last horse Chief Cicatriz passed and wound up second, one length ahead of third-place finisher Mr Money Bags (4-1). Chief Cicatriz paid $9, $4.20 and $3.20 across the board. It was his fifth win in his last nine starts, also winning the Ft. Bliss Stakes and the KLAQ Stakes at Sunland Park in New Mexico, the Zia Sprint Stakes, also in New Mexico, and the Luke Kruytbosch Stakes at Turf Paradise in Arizona.
Live racing continues next week with a Thursday-Saturday schedule, Oct 1-3, underway at 7:07pm-Central.
Tracked by more than 164,000 fans on Facebook and 10,500 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $248 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 is open daily for casino gaming and simulcast horse racing. The 2020 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 20. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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