OKLAHOMA DERBY and REMINGTON PARK OAKS UPDATES ON POSSIBLE CONTENDERS

The lone graded stakes events on the Remington Park calendar are fast approaching as the Oklahoma Derby and Remington Park Oaks take place on Sept. 24.

The entries for the two Grade 3 events will take place on Saturday morning, Sept. 16. Here is an update on possible contenders for both races.

Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby, 1-1/8 miles

Hit Show
The 3-year-old son of Candy Ride (ARG), out of the Tapit mare Actress, worked five furlongs at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on Sunday, Sept. 10, posting a bullet breeze in 59.40 over a fast track. The move was the best of 24 at the distance.

Trained by Brad Cox, who won three consecutive Oklahoma Derbies (2019-2021), Hit Show won the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct in New York on Feb. 11 before finishing second beaten only a nose to Lord Miles in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 8. He then finished fifth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6 and fourth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 10 in Elmont, N.Y. He recently was fifth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga in upstate New York.

Hit Show is owned by Gary and Mary West.

Cagliostro
The recent runner-up in Grade 3, $300,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx in Philadelphia. This son of Upstart is trained by Cherie DeVaux. Record – seven starts, one win, three seconds and one third, $167,828. The colt had a five furlong bullet-breeze on Monday, Sept. 11 at Keeneland in 1:00.20 over a fast track, the fastest of six at the distance.

Ghost Hero
The two-time stakes winner at Remington Park against Oklahoma-breds as a 2-year-old last year in the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and the Don McNeill Stakes, was nominated to the Oklahoma Derby after a sharp third-place effort in the $350,000 Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town in West Virginia. Trainer Jayde Gelner will instead point Ghost Hero to the Red Earth Stakes on Friday, Sept. 23, versus Oklahoma-breds at 7-1/2 furlongs over the turf.

Heroic Move
Already on the grounds at Remington Park, trainer Robertino Diodoro is pointing the colt by Quality Road from the Smart Strike mare Family Tree to the Oklahoma Derby. He worked on Saturday, Sept. 9 here while going four furlongs in :51.28 handily over a fast track.

Heroic Move was third in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows on July 8 before a second-place run in the Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia in Winnipeg, Canada on Aug. 7.

Diodoro won the Oklahoma Derby in 2013 with Broadway Empire.

West Coast Cowboy
A son of West Coast, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., would send this horse to the Oklahoma Derby without a win in stakes company. He did run second to Red Route One in the West Virginia Derby.

West Coast Cowboy worked Sunday, Sept. 10 at Saratoga, breezing four furlongs in :47.83 over a fast track, posting the second-fastest time at the distance that morning.

West Coast Cowboy has seven starts, two wins, one second and one third for a bankroll of $194,290.

Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, 1-1/16 miles
Many 3-year-old fillies are still considering the Remington Park Oaks, the top undercard stakes on Oklahoma Derby Day.

Love Tank
Trainer Ray Ashford is looking at both the Oaks and the Ran Ricks Memorial on the turf for Love Tank, a daughter of Kitten’s Joy from the Fahim (GB) mare Perichole (Brz).

Love Tank was second in the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks in New Mexico in March and was fourth in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows in July. She made her seventh career turf attempt, racing in allowance company on opening night of the Remington Park season, Aug. 18, finishing fifth in that 7-1/2 furlong event. She has one second over turf to her credit. Her career earnings of $133,851 come from 13 lifetime starts with two wins and three seconds.

Perfect Wish
Gelner believes Perfect Wish is on go for the Remington Park Oaks, where she would attempt to continue her three-race winning streak. The daughter of Midshipman from the Tale of the Cat mare Can You Talk broke her maiden at 5-1/2 furlongs at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas on May 28. She then beat allowance rivals in her next start there, going one mile while leading nearly every step. On July 21, Perfect Wish traveled to Prairie Meadows where she won the restricted Iowa Stallion Filly Stakes, pulling clear by 7-3/4 lengths.

Taxed
Trainer Randy Morse considers Taxed as possible for the Remington Park Oaks. She is currently stabled at Churchill Downs after finishing fifth in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.

Taxed has been in-the-money in many big stakes events this year, including:
– Second in the $200,000 Martha Washington at Oaklawn in January
– Second in the Grade 3, $600,000 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn in April
– Winning the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico in May
– Second in the Grade 3, $200,000 Indiana Oaks at Horseshoe Indianapolis in July

Through 10 career starts Taxed has two wins and three seconds for earnings of $422,444.

Remington Park racing continues Wednesday through Saturday, Sept. 13-16 this week. The first race nightly is 7:07pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $328 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 Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby and the Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, Sept. 24, 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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