WHIZKEY GLASSES SQUEAKS OUT VICTORY IN HERITAGE PLACE DERBY
Whizkey Glasses not only won the Grade 2, $270,100 Heritage Place Derby on Saturday, but put his owners, Dunn Ranch, over the top in the race for top owner of the meet.
Dunn Ranch of Wynnewood, Okla., finished the meet with 13 wins to capture their second consecutive leading owner title at Remington Park. They finished with two more than Josefina Guzman of Dallas who had 11 wins. The Dunn Ranch horses passed the half-million mark in earnings this meet.
When Whizkey Glasses hit the finish a head in front of B Leaving in the derby, Matt Dunn of Dunn Ranch threw his hands up in victory.
“I want to thank the team for this from the grooms to the trainer to the ranch hands,” he said. “A lot goes into this. It’s an honor to accept this award.”
Trainer Monty Arrossa and Remington Park’s leading rider this meet, Francisco Calderon, were responsible for Whizkey Glasses getting to the winner’s circle. This 3-year-old gelding by FDD Dynasty, out of the Shazoom mare Marys Southernpolicy, is proving very difficult to beat. It was his sixth win in his last eight starts. One of those wins came in the $1,112,000 Golden State Million at Los Alamitos in California on Oct. 31, 2021.
The Heritage Place Derby victory and earnings of $113,442 pushed him close to the Millionaire Club. Whizkey Glasses has now won 9-of-13 starts lifetime for a bankroll of $927,813. He is a homebred in Oklahoma for Dunn Ranch and has won six of eight races at the 400-yard distance. His winning time Saturday was :19.896 over a fast track for a speed index of 87. The gelding has won four of five starts in Oklahoma City.
Arrossa also won this race in 2020 with Inaugurator. Dunn Ranch won it in 2019 with Apollitical Pence. It was the first win in the Heritage Place Derby for Calderon. He finished first in the jockeys standings with 39 wins this season, his first title victory here.
“The 1-horse (Akurit) was acting up and it got my horse a little unsettled,” Calderon said of the start. Whizkey Glasses broke from the 2-post position. “The header did a great job of getting us settled down. Three steps out of the gate and we were gone.”
Whizkey Glasses went off 8-5 and was the betting favorite. He returned $5.40 to win, $3.60 to place and $2.40 to show. B Leaving, with second-leading rider Justine Klaiber up, nearly caught the winner, losing by only a head at 12-1 odds. Her horse finished 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Dreamsville (9-5 second favorite) in third.
The remaining order of finish for the Heritage Place Derby was Iza Good Guy (4th), Delight Us All (5th), Cell Bounce (6th), Jess the Leader (7th), Lethal Viper (8th), Apollitical J Streak (9th) and Akurit (10th).
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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