GOLDEN CURL WINS RICKS MEMORIAL AT REMINGTON PARK
The $75,000 Ricks Memorial was won by Golden Curl on Sunday at Remington Park. The 5-year-old mare scored by a half-length in the 1-1/16 miles turf event.
Owned by George Sharp of Phoenix and trained by Shawn Davis, Golden Curl was ridden to victory by Remington Park’s three-time defending leading jockey, David Cabrera. A daughter of Curlin from the Medaglia d’Oro mare Hailey d’Oro sat right behind the pace set by Klayton’s Kandy until the top of the stretch before dispatching that rival and then holding off a late charge by Valentines Day to triumph. Island Hideaway was third, three-quarters of a length behind the winner. Golden Curl handled the firm going in 1:42.51.
The remaining order of finish was Klayton’s Kandy (4th) Brandons Babe (5th), Zamzam (6th), Good Fight (7th) and Martz’s Mae (8th).
Klayton’s Kandy set the fractions of :24.06 for the first quarter-mile, :48.68 for the half-mile and 1:12.90 for three-quarters of a mile, before giving way early in the stretch.
Golden Curl was the betting favorite at 2-1 odds, paying $6.40 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.80 to show. The win was the fourth from 17 career starts for Golden Curl who made $45,000 to move her career earnings to $201,478. She was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.
Golden Curl provided her connections with their first win in the Ricks Memorial. Trainer Steve Asmussen had won the previous three editions (2018-2020) but saw his streak end tonight when his charge Klayton’s Kandy finished fourth.
The Ricks Memorial is named in honor of the late Ran Ricks, Jr. who was the first owner with horses on the grounds at Remington Park. He was a multiple leading owner during the first eight years in track history before passing in late 1996.
Racing continues next week with a Wednesday-Saturday, Sept. 29-Oct. 2 schedule. First post time is 7:07 p.m. nightly.
Tracked by more than 167,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $272 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 home for the $1,000,000 Oklahoma Classics Night, an evening of stakes racing to celebrate Oklahoma-breds, on Friday, Oct. 15. Simulcast horse racing featured daily, the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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