MR MICHEL WINS LEO STAKES, OVERCOMING TROUBLE AT GATE, GIVING JOCKEY JUAN PULIDO HIS THIRD FOUR-BAGGER OF MEET

It’s tough enough to win the Grade 1, $100,000 Leo Stakes at Remington Park every year, but to stumble coming out of the gate and still passing all the horses in front of you is almost unbelievable. That’s exactly what Mr Michel did on Saturday afternoon.

This year’s Leo Stakes had stakes winners top to bottom in this field of 10, many of them graded stakes winners. Mr Michel, a 6-year-old Indiana-bred gelded son of Kiss My Hocks, out of the Likenothingyoueversaw mare Lovemelikethat, was tardy at the break, giving most of the field a head start, but recovered and began passing horses at the 400-yard distance like they were standing still. In the end, he passed them all to get the victory in the Leo, a major prep stakes for the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship on Saturday, May 31. That is the toughest race for older horses every spring here and arguably one of the toughest in the nation.

“We got into some trouble coming out of the gate but at the distance, he finally started picking it up around 71 yards,” said Remington Park leading rider Juan Pulido, who won for the fourth time Saturday. It was the third time this meet Pulido has had a four-bagger on one card. No other jockey has done it once this meet. “He is an amazing horse. He really fit this race.”

Trainer Cristian Alcala reiterated Pulido’s assessment of the race. Alcala also won four races Saturday, all with Pulido in the saddle.

“This was a super-tough race compared to the 550-yard race (the SLM Big Daddy Stakes this horse won at Remington Park on March 9),” Alcala said. “His problem has always been breaking badly and he did it again. After about 20 yards, I got scared and I said, ‘hopefully, he can still get there.’ “

Alcala said he is hoping Mr Michel will run in the Remington Park Championship next.

Mr Michel was sent off as the 4-5 favorite by the betting public and paid $3.80 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.20 to show. He stopped the timer in :19.311 seconds on the fast track, earning a speed index of 104. This was the third stakes win in a row for the hard-charging gelding, owned by Alberto Valadez of Addison, Ill. He won the $113,000 Indiana Championship Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Oct. 26, 2024. That was his final race of last year. Alcala laid him off from then until the SLM Big Daddy and he won that race by three-quarters of a length. David Alvarez, Jr., was up for that victory here and Pulido rode him for the first time in the Leo.

Mr Michel earned $57,000 for the victory and improved his career marks to 27 starts, 15 wins, five seconds and one third for a bankroll of $618,300. He was purchased from the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana Speed Sale in 2020 for $17,500; quite a bargain. Mr Michel is two-for-two at Remington Park, and 6-for-13 at this distance.

Shakers No Secret (2-1 second betting favorite), and a winner of three of his last four starts prior to the Leo, including two Grade 1 stakes, checked in second, beaten a half-length by the favorite. It was tight for second as Shakers No Secret and third-place finisher Unrelentless (16-1), another Grade 1 winner, were noses apart at the wire. Behind the top three were AB Boogie (11-1) fourth, Hes a Jet One (17-1) fifth, RGs Gold Wagon (15-1) sixth, Cardiac Cowboy (26-1) seventh, Shy Kisser (22-1) eighth, Nothin Like You (18-1) ninth and Mystic Paint (43-1) 10th.

The Leo Stakes is named in honor of one of Quarter Horse racing’s foundation sires. Leo, an AQHA Hall of Fame member, stood the bulk of his long stallion career in Perry, Okla., where a life-size statue commemorates him to this day. Leo was owned for the final decades of his life by Bud Warren.

Remington Park racing continues Sunday, May 4, with the first of 10 set for 4pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $377 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 year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 American Quarter Horse Season, features the $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity on May 31, the final night of this meet. 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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