LONGSHOT JESS A REDNEC COWBOY PULLS OFF UPSET IN EASY JET STAKES
The favorites looked solid on paper but it was 12-1 longshot Jess a Rednec Cowboy that pulled off the upset in Saturday’s $74,750 Easy Jet Stakes at Remington Park.
Hamlyn (even-money favorite), JT Im That Boy (5-2) and Follies Rave (5-1) were the only horses in the field of nine under 10-1 odds in the Easy Jet Stakes, but the best they could do was run fifth, second and third, respectively in this race as Jess a Rednec Cowboy turned on the jets in the final 100 yards to accelerate to the wire as the winner.
Trainer Jason Olmstead had two horses entered in the race, the winner and Hamlyn but his barn has been so red hot that it didn’t matter who the public thought was the best horse, the horse that was considered a second-call horse wound up winning the race. Jockey Edwin Escobedo was aboard Hamlyn, the heavy favorite, but Olmstead’s second rider aboard Jess a Rednec Cowboy, Ramiro Garcia, said sometimes that doesn’t matter.
“I worked this horse on the ranch and I knew he was really good,” said Garcia from the winner’s circle. “Everyone in the barn thought he had a chance. In Jason’s barn, the second- and third-call horses always have a chance. He broke really good for me and then found another gear.”
The win gave owner Brenda Reiswig of Bismarck, N.D., her 11th of the meet and put her into first place in a tightly-fought owners’ race. She broke out of a tie with Tom Maher in that battle. They were tied at 10 apiece going into the night.
Jess a Rednec Cowboy, a 2-year-old gelded son of Flying Cowboy 123, out of the Valiant Hero mare Valiant Red Vixen, won for the second time in three starts. He broke his maiden at first asking in the Remington Park Futurity trials on April 7 here and then ran fourth in the Remington Park Juvenile Stakes in his follow-up try.
The winner covered the 350 yards on a fast track in :17.674 seconds for an 89 speed-index. He was racing among 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred American Quarter Horses over a fast track. After three races, he has two wins and earnings of $60,472. He took home $42,450 from Saturday’s purse for Reiswig, who also bred the horse in Oklahoma.
Jess a Rednec Cowboy provided all of his connections their first victory in the Easy Jet Stakes.
The Easy Jet Stakes is for Oklahoma-bred 3-year-olds and is named in honor of the great Oklahoma-bred and 1969 American Quarter Horse Association World Champion. Bred, owned and trained by Hall of Famer Walter Merrick of Sayre, Okla., Easy Jet was also the winner of the 1969 All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs, N.M. After a stellar racing career, he became one of the sports prominent sires, until his passing in 1992.
Remington Park racing continues Sunday, May 28 at 4pm. The season continues for four more race dates, concluding on June 3.
Tracked by more than 175,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $320 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 features the 2023 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa season through June 3. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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