LADY MYSTIFY MESMERIZES HER COMPETITION WITH WIN IN GRADE 3 REMINGTON PARK OAKS
There were several indications that Lady Mystify was going to bounce back to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks after a loss by 17 lengths in her previous race.
Consider these factors for the 6-1 outside shot in the seven-horse field of 3-year-old fillies:
- There’s an old saying in horse racing. “I’m not shipping to shine shoes,” and it was obvious trainer Peter Eurton meant business with Lady Mystify. While other national outfits like Steve Asmussen and Brad Cox sent multiple horses to Remington Park’s multitude of stakes races on Sunday, Eurton sent only one. This one – Lady Mystify.
- Jockey Flavien Prat flew in from the West Coast also with only one mount on the stakes-laden card. This one – Lady Mystify.
- And if you’re wondering why she should win after losing by 17 lengths in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar, there was a perfectly good excuse for that. In her three races prior to that stakes, Lady Mystify had won two of three, including a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita Park by 18 lengths. If you delve closely into her past performances for the Torrey Pines, one might notice that she was taken off Lasix, presumably to prep for the Breeders’ Cup, where the pharmaceutical is not allowed, and it affected her performance. Her two wins were with the diuretic Lasix, a legal anti-bleeder medication, and she would be back on it for the Remington Park Oaks.
- She would also be getting Prat back in the saddle, the jock who rode her to the two victories. Florent Geroux was aboard for her poor trip, off Lasix.
All these factors kicked in for the Remington Park Oaks and, sure enough, Eurton had not shipped one horse to shine shoes. She broke well from the gate in the 1-1/16 miles race and sat just back of the two early speed fillies, My Girl Red and Lovely Ride. Those two set all the pace for her as she sat in the garden seat with Prat chilly. When the time was right, Prat asked her to run and she went to the lead after 6 furlongs. She cruised to a three-length victory at generous 6-1 odds. She paid $14 to win, $5 to place, and $2.80 to show across the board.
This daughter of Bernardini, out of the Unbridled’s Song mare J. Quirk, earned $120,000 for owners Ex-Line Border Racing (Ryan Exline), SAF Racing and Richard Hausman of Pasa Robles, Calif., and improved her record to six starts, three wins, one second and one third for $217,520 in her bankroll. It was the first stakes victory of her young career.
“She broke really well for me,” said Prat, “and we had a good trip. I gave her a little breather on the backstretch and that’s why she gave me so much in the stretch. She was very calm before the race, so I felt good.”
Lady Mystify covered the distance in 1:44.13 over the fast main track after chasing fractions of :23.60 after a quarter-mile, :47.29 for the half-mile, 1:11.80 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:37.40 for the mile. She was bred in Kentucky by Scott and Evan Dilworth. She finished ahead of 8-5 second favorite Pauline’s Pearl, who was a head in front of third-place finisher Amendment Nineteen, the post-time even-money favorite.
The remaining order of finish was Bobbin Tail (4th), Lovely Ride (5th), My Girl Red (6th) and Hailey’s Melody (7th).
The Oaks win was the second for Eurton, who shipped Grade 1 winner Champagne Room to win the race in 2017. The rest of the connections of Lady Mystify enjoyed their first Remington Park Oaks victory.
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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