OIL N CANDY WINS FEATURED ALLOWANCE RACE ON TURF IN BLANKET FINISH FOR LEADING TRAINER ASMUSSEN, TOP JOCK ELLIOTT

Seven horses were within a length or so of each other as they hit the finish line together in the featured allowance race on the turf Thursday night at Remington Park. When it was all sorted out, the top trainer, Steve Asmussen, and leading rider Stewart Elliott were the winners with Oil N Candy.

That was no surprise as they both are sprinting away in their respective races for training and riding titles at Remington Park. The surprising thing is that the public let Oil N Candy go off at 5-1 odds, a nice overlay from his 3-1 morning line odds. It was even more shocking because the 3-year-old filly by Candy Ride (ARG), out of the Tiznow mare Echo Warrior, has done nothing but be competitive on the grass all year.

It was Oil N Candy’s second win in her last four starts, all greensward. She broke her maiden with top non-winners at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas on July 1 at the one-mile distance on the lawn. She ran poorly in her next start off a July to September layoff, but came right back with a runner-up finish at Remington Park on Oct. 7 at 7-1/2 furlongs on the turf, the same distance as Thursday night’s race.

Oil N Candy won by a neck over She’s Jersey Tuff (12-1), who was another three-quarters of a length in front of third-place finisher Kolkata (45-1). The other margins were Cinnamon Face (7-2) fourth, a neck behind Kolkata; Olivia’s Race Day (18-1) another neck back in fifth; Ghost Bayou (5-2 second favorite) a head farther back in sixth and the post-time favorite Occurrence (5-2) was seventh, a half-length more behind.

After Thursday night’s races, Asmussen has 36 wins, followed by Karl Broberg (23), Ronnie Cravens III (21), Mindy Willis (18) and Austin Gustafson (16) to round out the training top five. Elliott’s margin is even larger. His win on Oil N Candy was his 62nd of the meet and the closest to him is second-place Lindey Wade (34), Floyd Wethey, Jr. (32), Richard Eramia (30) and Luis Fuentes (27) in the top five.

Oil N Candy paid $13 to win, $7.40 to place and $5.40 to show. She won $20,694 from the $35,000 purse for owner Mike G. Rutherford of Houston, Texas, and improved to nine starts, two wins, four seconds and two thirds for $74,399 in earnings. She was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale in 2021 for $90,000. The filly was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III.

The winning time for Oil N Candy was 1:33.76 over the firm course. After a half mile, she was sitting in seventh. Elliott is one of the most patient riders on the grounds and somehow pounces just at the right time in the stretch of grass races. He has always been among the top turf riders here since he arrived in 2019. The early pace was set by Cinnamon Face and Olivia’s Race Day, who hooked up on the front end in a speed duel. They set interior fractions of :24.01 for the first quarter mile, :48.86 for the half, and 1:14.44 for three-quarters of a mile. The two faded to fourth and fifth but were still in the photo finish.

Remington Park racing continues Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10 & 11, with the first race nightly at 7:07pm. After Sunday off, racing picks up with special Monday and Tuesday afternoon cards on Nov. 13 & 14 beginning at 2:30pm. All times are Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $337 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 to the Springboard Mile, a Kentucky Derby points-qualifying race, on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Parking and admission are always free. 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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