POPS FIRST LADY WINS SECOND STAKES OF REMINGTON PARK MEET, TAKING GRADE 1 JUNOS REQUEST

Pops First Lady proved Saturday that her win in the Easy Date Stakes in April was no fluke when she backed that up with a victory in the Grade 1, $108,620 Junos Request Stakes on Saturday, May 28 at Remington Park.

The race was for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and older, going 400 yards. The 4-year-old daughter of Apollitical Jess, out of the Shazoom mare Shazooms Pop, finished the meet with those back-to-back stakes wins at 350 yards and 400 yards, respectively. Both trips to the winner’s circle for trainer Duke Shults, the mare had jockey Bryan Candanosa at the helm. She won for owner Ruse Ranch (Leila Cantu) of Laredo, Texas. It was the first victory for all connections in this race.

Pops First Lady broke mid-pack, but took control midway down the stretch and pulled away at the end by one full length. She was the 4-5 odds-on choice by the public and paid $3.60 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Valiant Stars (5-2 second favorite) ran second, a head in front of third-place finisher Glamazon (11-1).

The remaining order of finish in the Junos Request Stakes was Cat Daddys Lil Girl (4th), Kool and Fabulous (5th) and Sin Sational Kisser (6th).

Pops First Lady earned $64,446 to run her record to 13 starts, five wins, four seconds and one third for earnings of $237,249. She was purchased for $30,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale in 2019. Pops First Lady was bred in Texas by Gary Kurz and Double M Racing.

Her only loss at Remington Park this meet was a fourth place finish in the Decketta Stakes on March 19, losing by three-quarters of a length.

The Junos Request Stakes is for fillies and mares, 3 and older. The race is named for multiple Remington Park seasonal champion Junos Request who won the 1992 Remington Park Championship in a year where she was eventually voted the American Quarter Horse Association’s Champion Aged Mare.

Tracked by more than 170,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $290 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 features simulcast horse racing daily and the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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