EIREANN UNBOTHERED BY OUTSIDE POST POSITION IN ONE-MILE ROUTE FEATURED ALLOWANCE RACE, WINS EASILY UNDER FLOYD WETHEY, JR.

Eireann had never raced in an allowance race after 11 times to the track in her career, but on Saturday night, she did and took advantage of the softer company to win the featured allowance despite drawing the 10-hole in a one-mile event.

Eireann, the 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly by Flat Out, from the Monarchos mare Colombe, had raced in four maiden races to start her career and then seven stakes races. In the softer allowance spot, even from the outside post, going two turns, the class drop was enough for her to overcome the tough draw. Jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr., fired out of the gate with her like a National Football League lineman, and got her in perfect position, sitting in fourth place down the backstretch behind a three-horse speed duel in front of her. She raced three to four paths wide the whole race, but her class showed as they passed the quarter pole, turning for home.

Eireann, trained by Mark Buehrer, who owns this filly with Steve Dupy of Luther, Okla., hit the top of the stretch with the three front-runners – Marquee Lady (on a three-race win streak), Sangria Sunset and Imamidnightspecial. The flashy gray filly dispatched of those three in a hurry and just had to hold off a fast closing 4-5 favorite, So Jordan, as they raced to the finish line. Eireann, the 5-2 second favorite, found enough heart to hold off the closer with quite a bit left in the tank. She won by 1-1/2 lengths and So Jordan passed a tiring Imamidnightspecial to round out the top three. So Jordan was another 2-1/4 lengths ahead of the third-place horse.

It took Eireann four maiden races before she finally could be called a winner at Remington Park on Sept. 29, 2024. Wasting no time worrying about allowance conditions, her connections immediately entered her into her first of seven consecutive stakes races. Her first try was in the $76,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie as a 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly on Oct. 18, 2024, where she ran a respectable third. That gave her the credibility to stay at this class level and she proceeded to win her next two black-type races – The $50,000 Slide Show Stakes at Remington Park, going a route of ground for the first time, stretching out to one mile in the slop on Nov. 8, 2024. She was laid off until March 17 of this year when she came back in the $50,000 Blue Ribbon Stakes at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., and won her first stakes as a 3-year-old in that spot. She also won a $50,000 handicap at WRD later on May 3 there.

On Saturday night, she still qualified for first-level allowance conditions that were for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and older, Oklahoma breds, that had not won a race other than maiden, claiming, starter and state-bred restricted races or non-winners of two lifetime. Obviously, she was not eligible for the last condition, having won four starts in her career, but all three of her stakes victories were against Oklahoma-breds.
Eireann’s level of talent shone through like the bright sun bursting through the clouds and she had won her first allowance race. She paid $7.40 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.20 to show. Her winning time for the mile was 1:40.26. Eireann cut into early fractions of :24.38 for the first quarter-mile, :49.54 for the half, and had joined the fray up front after three-quarters in 1:15.25. By the time seven-eighths of the race had been run, Eireann was in front in 1:27.55.

Eireann was bred by Center Hills Farm and Randy Blair in Pryor, Okla., and she has never been sold at public auction. The filly earned $23,136 from this $39,000 allowance purse and improved lifetime to 12 starts, five wins, two seconds and two thirds for a bankroll of $173,248.

Marquee Lady (5-1) finished fifth to end her three-race winning streak at this meet. Leading rider Ramon Vazquez and Iram Diego were the hot riders Saturday, winning two apiece. The rich got richer on the trainers’ side as well with Steve Asmussen, on his way to his 20th training title trophy at Remington Park, was the only conditioner to win twice.

Live racing continues next week with the new December schedule of four days a week – Wednesdays through Sundays with first post time of 6 p.m. nightly. Closing night is Saturday, Dec. 20, concluding the season with the $300,000 Springboard Mile, the cornerstone race for 2-year-olds.

Remington Park has provided more than $399 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 year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 Springboard Mile, a 2026 Kentucky Derby qualifying points race, takes place Saturday, Dec. 20, the final night of the Thoroughbred Season. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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