TOP OLDER QUARTER HORSES INVITED TO GRADE 1 $320,000 DEBBIE SCHAUF REMINGTON PARK CHAMPIONSHIP
The final day of the Remington Park spring season always features the biggest race of the meet for 2-year-old Quarter Horses in the Grade 1, $1,314,980 Heritage Place Futurity, but don’t sleep on some of the top older horses in the country converging on Oklahoma City on Saturday, May 29.
Horses that have been invited to race in the Grade 1, $320,000 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship include:
Apocalyptical Jess, an All American Futurity winner
Danjer, the 2020 AQHA Champion Aged Horse and a horse that lost to Apocalyptical Jess by a neck in the 2019 Ruidoso Derby
Apollitical Pence, a winner of arguably the top race for older horses in the country every year, the Champion of Champions in 2019
Jess My Hocks, a horse that beat that Champion Aged Horse at Remington Park this year in the Leo Stakes
Mi Amor Secreto, a multiple stakes winner that finished a head behind Danjer in the $252,000 Challenge Championship at the Downs at Albuquerque last fall
Midday News, the winner of the SLM Big Daddy Stakes at Remington this year and in the past had won trials for the All American Futurity and All American Derby
Perrys Double Down, the winner of the $393,000 Texas Classic Derby last fall at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas
Valiant Tiberias, a horse on a three-stakes win streak, two at Remington Park and one at Lone Star Park
The list of 11 nominations for the race also includes Apollitical Papa, who won trials for the Ruidoso and Rainbow Derbies last year; Hooked on Jordan, a winner of the $118,000 Blue River Derby at Indiana Grand two years ago, and JK Wildcat Red, a winner of 7-of-34 races, but still looking for his first stakes win.
Apocalyptical Jess, a 5-year-old gelding by Apollitical Jess, out of the Holland Ease mare Cassandra Crest, won the Grade 1, $3 million All American Futurity in 2018 and followed that up in 2019 with wins in the $320,000 Remington Park Derby and the $959,000 Ruidoso Derby at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. He is the top money earner invited with a lifetime bankroll of $2,210,505 (Lifetime record: 18-8-3-1. Trainer: Trey Wood. Owner: Bill T. Robbins).
Danjer, a 5-year-old, lost by a neck to Apocalyptical Jess in the 2019 Ruidoso Derby. He was the American Quarter Horse Association Champion Aged Horse and Aged Gelding for 2019. He has earned $872,718 (Lifetime record: 20-10-5-3. Trainer: Dean Frey. Owner: Dean Frey, Downtime Enterprises and Billy Smith).
Apollitical Pence, a 5-year-old gelding, won the $600,000 Champion of Champions last winter at Los Alamitos in California and has won five-of-eight at Remington Park, including the $368,000 Heritage Place Derby. Among other Champion of Champions winners are such legends as Refrigerator (three years in a row), SLM Big Daddy (twice), Tailor Fit (twice), and Dash For Cash (twice). He has earned $1,055,191 (Lifetime record: 24-10-4-5. Trainer: Monty Arrossa. Owner: Dunn Ranch).
Jess My Hocks, a 4-year-old gelding, won the Leo Stakes on May 1 here, beating Danjer and Mi Amor Secreto. He has earned $260,193 (Lifetime record: 14-8-0-3. Trainer: Michelle Hurdle. Owner: Tom and Kathleen McNally).
Mi Amor Secreto’s last stakes win came in the $72,000 Championship Challenge on March 29, 2020 at Remington. He is a 6-year-old gelding and has earned $604,344. (Lifetime record: 26-5-10-2. Trainer: Fidencio Jimenez. Owner: Carol Ann Mays).
Midday News, 5-year-old gelding, won at Remington on March 9, 2021 and won an All American Derby trial on Aug. 18, 2019, qualifying for the $1.5 million finals, finishing seventh, but being moved up to sixth through a disqualification. He has earned $257,367. (Lifetime record: 17-4-3-5. Trainer: Michael Joiner. Owner: Linda Joiner, Pat Smith, Izora Southway, Holly King and Kelly Allen).
Perrys Double Down, a 4-year-old gelding, has not raced in 2021 yet, but his last race of 2020 was a victory in the $393,000 Texas Classic Derby at Lone Star. He has earned $248,254. (Lifetime record: 12-3-2-5. Trainer: John Stinebaugh. Owner: Stinebaugh Equine Enterprises).
Valiant Tiberias, a 5-year-old gelding, has won three stakes races in a row – the $200,000 Refrigerator Stakes at Lone Star on Oct. 25, 2020, the $66,000 Championship Challenge and $100,000 Sooner State Stakes, both of those at Remington. He has earned $661,593. (Lifetime record: 21-10-3-3. Trainer: Marco Chavez-Gutierrez. Owner: Sergio Holguin, Clifton Nielsen and Felix Rodriguez).
The post-position draw for the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship, and the other eight stakes races for Saturday, May 29, the “Night of Champions,” will take place in the racing office on Wednesday morning, May 26. The evening features six Grade 1 events and total purses of more than $2.7 million, making it the richest night or racing ever conducted in Oklahoma.
Remington Park racing continues Thursday-Saturday, May 27-29, for the final weekend of the season. The first race is at 6pm on Thursday and Friday, with a special early start time of 5pm on Saturday. All times are Central.
Tracked by more than 167,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $261 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 $1.3 million Heritage Place Futurity on the “Night of Champions,” Saturday, May 29, the final evening of the American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season. The casino is always open. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
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