PAINTED TO BE QUICK PULLS OFF MAJOR UPSET IN GRADE 1 AMERICAN PAINT CLASSIC FUTURITY, TRAINER WHITEKILLER RUNS 1-2-3-4-5

Trainer Matt Whitekiller qualified six of the 10 finalists for Sunday’s Grade 1, $161,600 American Paint Classic Futurity. He finished first, second, third, fourth and fifth in the race at Remington Park.

The horse that was least expected to win from his barn, the longest shot in the field at 40-1, Painted to Be Quick, beat all his stablemates to pull off a major upset. It’s not often a horse breaks her maiden in a $161,600 stakes race, but that’s just what this filly did with Bryan Candanosa in the saddle.

The odds-on 3-5 favorite, Wire Transfer, who had won her trial by an eye-popping four lengths, could do no better than fourth in the final. Whitekiller’s other horse in the top five were T Rexie (16-1) and Shadowing PT (6-1) dead-heating for second and Favorite Turnpike (20-1) fifth. It was Whitekiller’s fourth win in this stakes series, while Candanosa and Hawk got their first victory in it.

Whitekiller also won this race three years in a row from 2017-19 with Bully Pulpit, Live Moonshine and Southern Electric.

The winner is a 2-year-old Paint daughter of multiple World Champion Painted Turnpike, out of the CRM Livewire mare Quick to the Wire. CRM Livewire has arguably been the top sire in the Paint game for the past few years.

“It doesn’t get much better than that (pedigree-wise), does it,” said owner Bryan Hawk.

It was one of three wins on the day for Candanosa, who took over in the finals after jockey Francisco Calderon qualified Painted to Be Quick in the trials. The winning jockey said he had been getting on her for works in the morning, however.

“I could tell she was feeling really good (in the mornings),” he said. “I was really excited to ride her. We didn’t get away good from the gate, but she has a lot of heart.”

Painted to Be Quick broke fifth from the gate but soon took over half-way down the lane. She beat T Rexie by a neck and that runner-up was another nose ahead of the third-place finisher. The upset victory caused boxcar payouts of $83.80 to win on a $2 bet, $30.40 to place and $19.60 to show. Combined with stablemate T Rexie at 16-1, the $2 exacta payout was $337.60. The other exacta in the dead-heat with Shadowing PT second at 6-1 was $288.40. The trifecta of 2-1-10 returned $1,617.45 while the 2-10-1 paid $970.60. The 2-1-10-6 superfecta was worth $512.15 on a dime bet and the 2-1-10-6 paid $398.36.

Whitekiller wasn’t surprised that this big longshot proved best from his barn on this day.

“She schooled fast and got a lot of publicity,” said Whitekiller.

Painted to Be Quick won her training race on Feb. 22 with the fastest time of the day, :13.54 at 250 yards for an 82 speed-index, beating all the American Quarter Horse times that day. She finished the 330 yards in the futurity Sunday in a time of :16.988 for an 84 speed-index.

Painted to Be Quick earned $60,648 for the win for Hawk and improved her lifetime running mark to three starts, one win and one second for a bankroll of $62,398. Painted to Be Quick is a homebred for Hawk.

“Her first out was not good in the mud,” said Whitekiller. “But she had a good race in the trials and all of my horses came out of the trials good. I’m really happy for Bryan. That’s a great way to break your maiden.”

Behind Whitekiller’s top five finishers, the finish order was PFR Road Rage (9-1) sixth, Frionas Turnpike (18-1) seventh, WF Jess Candy (6-1) eighth, WL Karma (27-1) ninth and Turnpike Tripping (26-1) 10th.

Live racing continues Monday with a makeup date that starts at 1 p.m.-Central for six races that were canceled due to severe weather on Saturday night in the Oklahoma City area. It’s an all-stakes six-race card that will include the $854,775 Remington Park Futurity.

Remington Park has provided more than $347 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 simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The Remington Park 2024 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season continues through June 1 with the biggest racing program of the season. The Champions Night boasts total purses in excess of $2,000,000, led by the $1,000,000 Heritage Place Futurity. 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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