MILLIONAIRE WELDER BREEZES HALF-MILE TO PREP FOR FIRST RACE OF SEASON
Welder, the only back-to-back Remington Park Horse of the Meeting in track history, breezed a solid half-mile this morning at his favorite track. The 7-year-old gray is preparing for an allowance event here in early September.
David Cabrera, who has won the last two riding titles in Oklahoma City, was up for the workout. He brought the sprint star down the stretch along the rail, posting a :48.58 time according to official clocker Vicky Grothaus. Welder galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.40. The drill took place after the morning track renovation at 8:40am, under overcast skies with temperatures in the low 70s.
Trained by Teri Luneack for Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., Welder arrived at 7:45am after his usual trip down the Turner Turnpike to handle his business at Remington Park.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Luneack said after the workout. “He looked great in the stretch.”
Her rider concurred.
“Did you see that last eighth (of a mile),” Cabrera exclaimed after getting off. Welder covered the final eighth in 11.58 seconds. His half-mile was the 13th fastest of 39 at the distance on Wednesday morning.
Luneack said Welder, who has won eight races in his last two meets at Remington Park, seven of those stakes, will likely be entered for the Highland Ice allowance race, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 4, as his first start here. He is 11-for-16 in starts at Remington Park for earnings of $657,859. The gelded son of The Visualiser, out of the Tiznow mare Dance Softly, has won 22-of-34 lifetime for earnings of $1,017,018. Not too shabby for a $6,500 purchase as a yearling.
The record number of wins by a Thoroughbred at Remington Park in a career is 15, held by Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy. Welder is four away from tying that mark.
“Honestly, I have no huge expectations for Welder,” Luneack said. “Anything he gives us now is just icing on the cake. For him to be named Oklahoma’s Horse of the Year and Remington’s Horse of the Meet two years in a row is a huge accomplishment. For it to have never been done before speaks to the level of talent he has as a racehorse. I just want him healthy and happy and enjoying what he does best.”
Welder, the eighth Oklahoma-bred millionaire in history, was also named Horse of the Meet at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore this spring after winning the $55,000 Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma Classic Sprint there for the fifth year in a row.
As for possibly losing a step now that he’s another year older, Welder seems to have dispelled that as a myth with the final eighth of his workout this morning.
“I think Welder is better than ever at 7-years-old,” Luneack said. “He is more relaxed and mature. His age sure hasn’t seemed to have slowed him down.”
Tracked by more than 164,000 fans on Facebook and more than 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $246 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 open daily for casino gaming and simulcast horse racing. The 2020 Thoroughbred Season is scheduled for Aug. 21 through Dec. 20. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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