GRAND YAUPON DIGS IN TO WIN CLEVER TREVOR STAKES AT REMINGTON PARK

For Immediate Release
Sunday, September 27, 2026

The way the wagering went in the $150,000 Clever Trevor Stakes on Sunday at Remington Park, the betting public said it was a two-horse battle between Grand Yaupon and Iamkirk. They were right.

Grand Yaupon, a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Yaupon, out of the Mineshaft mare Media Circus, and Iamkirk, a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Tiz the Law, from the Graydar mare Dream Marie, went at each other tooth and nail before the former dug in at the wire and won by a half-length. Grand Yaupon, with Erik Asmussen riding with a fury, was actually headed at one point by Iamkirk, with Ramon Vazquez up. As Asmussen rode like a man possessed Grand Yaupon responded for the victory.

The winner was bet down to 3-5 odds while Iamkirk got almost equal backing, going off at even-money odds. The next lowest odds in the seven-horse field were 19-1 on third choice, Airship. The top two finishers were well clear of the rest of this bunch. Grand Yaupon was three lengths better than third-place runner Fate of War (23-1), who was another 8-1/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place Airship. The rest of the order of finish was Dear Admiral (27-1) in fifth, Rooster Road (33-1) sixth and Stacy’s Dream (73-1) seventh.

“It was the first time I had ridden Grand Yaupon,” Asmussen said, “but my brother (Keith) had been on him and gave me a good spin on how to ride him and what he likes.”

The race for 2-year-olds sprinting 6-1/2 furlongs was won in a time of 1:17.00 with Grand Yaupon stalking in third, 1-1/4 lengths off Stacy’s Dream, who went :22.26 for the first quarter-mile. Grand Yaupon then took over after a half mile in :45.49 and rode out to victory in 1:10.36 for three-quarters.

Grand Yaupon was bought by Mike McCarty from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2025 for $560,000. The colt is owned by the Estate of Mike McCarty (Austin, Texas) and trained by Steve Asmussen, the No. 1 trainer in North American horse racing history. Grand Yaupon was bred by Thomas and Henry Hinkle and Robert B. Kessinger.

Grand Yaupon paid $3.40 to win, $2.10 to place and show. It was his first stakes win after running second in the $250,000 Juvenile Stakes at seven furlongs in a race at Ellis Park in Kentucky. He broke his maiden at Saratoga in upstate New York on July 25. Keith Asmussen rode him in the runner-up finish in the Juvenile.

The Clever Trevor Stakes is named after the great Oklahoma-bred who was the winner of the first Oklahoma Derby (1989) at Remington Park. Clever Trevor went on to become a millionaire in a career that ended in 1992. The gelding lived to age 30, passing in 2016 at Robin’s Nest Farm in Piedmont, Okla.

Remington Park racing continues next month, Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 1-3. The first race nightly is at 6:30pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $426 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. The 2026 edition of the Oklahoma Classics, the top night of stakes racing for Oklahoma-breds, is set for Friday, Oct. 16 at Remington Park. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. 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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