LEADING JOCKEY STEWART ELLIOTT RECORDS BACK-TO-BACK TRIPLES AT REMINGTON PARK
Remington Park’s leading jockey Stewart Elliott recorded a riding triple for the second night in a row Thursday, by a slight nose-bob.
Elliott’s mount in the final race of the night at about one mile on the firm turf course, Keraunos, was trailing Magna Tap every step of the way to the wire except the last one when the Mindy Willis trainee got his head down for the win. The photo showed Keraunos had beaten Magna Tap by the slimmest of noses. That gave Elliott three wins again as the 59-year-old continues to dominate the race for leading jockey and the Pat Steinberg trophy at the end of the meet. He is doing all this after fracturing a bone in his lower back this past summer.
Last year, Elliott won 74 times and finished a city block ahead of runner-up Lindey Wade, who wound up with 46 trips to the winner’s circle. This year, Elliott has won 62 times. Floyd Wethey, Jr., is in second with 37 wins. Jose Alvarez’s two victories on Thursday night moved him into a tie for fourth with Harry Hernandez at 32 wins apiece.
In the 10th race Thursday night, Elliott used Keraunos’ tactical speed, stalking in third place down the backstretch behind pacesetter E d’Oro and Code Jorgie. Magna Tap was even farther back in fifth. Both horses had only one horse to pass at the top of the stretch and began their ding-donging for the lead after getting by E d’Oro. If the race had been one step shorter, Magna Tap is the winner. That’s how close it was at the finish.
Keraunos, a 5-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding by Excaper, out of the City Zip mare City Thunder, won for the second time this meet, also breaking his maiden here on the grass at about one mile on Sept. 6. He is unbeaten in his two starts at the distance.
Owner Richard P. Chandler of Dallas, Texas, won for the fifth time this meet as he battles to get into the top five of those standings. Several owners have one more win than he does. Keraunos was bred by his owner.
Keraunos was sent off at 6-5 odds as the favorite and paid $4.40 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.10 to show. Magna Tap (5-2 second favorite) held on as the runner-up and was a half-length ahead of third-place finisher E d’Oro (10-1). The winner covered the distance in 1:39.24 and chased early fractions of :24.36 for the first quarter-mile, :49.24 for the half, 1:14.16 for three-quarters and 1:26.65 after seven-eighths.
Elliott’s first two wins of the night came in race two with Cool Memory and the eighth with Kell’s Bells. Both of those wins came for leading trainer Steve Asmussen. Cool Memory, also owned by Asmussen, paid $4.20 to win.
Kell’s Bells is owned by a group that couldn’t sound anymore like someone who would win on Halloween. The conglomerate’s name is Monkey With a Stick of Dynamite, from Fort Worth, Texas. Their 4-year-old colt went off as the even-money favorite and paid $4 to win.
Hernandez had one visit to the winner’s circle with Rollin Chrome ($3.60 to win) in race three. That moved him within one of 1,000 North American wins in his career. He could hit that milestone early Friday night as he has live mounts in both halves of the early daily double with four mounts overall on the nine-race program.
Remington Park racing continues Friday night with a first post time of 6:30 p.m.
Remington Park has provided more than $363 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 simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 2024 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 13 when the $300,000 Springboard Mile tops the final night of the season. The major 2-year-old stakes race of the season, the Springboard awards valuable 2025 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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