NATION’S FOURTH-LEADING TRAINER, BRAD COX, NOMINATES 12 HORSES TO REMINGTON PARK’S SPRINGBOARD MILE ON DEC. 17

A total of 37 horses have been nominated to the $400,000 Springboard Mile on closing night, Saturday, Dec. 17 at Remington Park. The top 2-year-old race of the season is also a qualifying points race for the 2023 edition of the Kentucky Derby

The top five finishers, if not utilizing Lasix, will pull down 10 points, four, three, two and one, respectively, on the Kentucky Derby Points ladder for qualifiers.

Of those 37 nominees, the fourth-leading trainer in the country by money earned, Brad Cox emptied the barn of his juvenile runners, nominating 12 of them to the Springboard.
The nomination list also includes three from the nation’s No. 1 trainer by wins – Steve Asmussen (Echo Again, Money Run, and Vigorish).

The top national stage horses that are probable to race in the Springboard, according to Remington Park Stakes Coordinator Don Thompson, are Practical Move ($74,200 earned for trainer Tim Yakteen), Prove Right ($113,820 earned, trainer James K. Chapman), Giant Mischief ($113,400 earned, Cox), Giroovin ($61,461 earned, trainer Genaro Garcia) and Release McCraken ($102,630 earned, trainer Bret Calhoun).

Practical Move, a colt by Practical Joke, out of the Afleet Alex mare Ack Naughty, has never run worse than third in four races, including a third-place finish in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif., losing by 3-3/4 lengths. His only win thus far came in a maiden race at Santa Anita on Oct. 10, when the horse that crossed the finish line first, Fort Bragg, was disqualified for bumping Practical Move at the start of the mile race. Yakteen is the trainer whose barn accepted the Bob Baffert horses to train during the six-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer’s suspensions in Kentucky and New York.

Prove Right is a son of Triple Crown winner Justify, racing for Chapman on the East Coast and Midwest. The colt is out of the Harlan’s Holiday mare Joe’sgoldenholiday, finished third, beaten 2-1/4 lengths in the Grade 3, $150,000 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct in New York on Nov. 6, going one mile.

Giant Mischief, an Into Mischief colt, out of the Giant Oak mare Vertical Oak, is undefeated after two starts, but has yet to race against stakes company. He broke his maiden for Cox at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Sept. 22 by 1-1/2 lengths and then beat an optional $100,000 allowance/claiming race field by three-quarters of a length at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., stretching out from 5-1/2 furlongs to seven furlongs. The Springboard will be his first stakes race.

Giroovin, a colt by Girvin, out of the Simon Pure mare Purecraziluck, broke his maiden for Garcia at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., by 2-1/4 lengths in his fourth lifetime start.

Release McCraken is a son of McCraken, out of the Indian Charlie mare Conjuress, in Calhoun’s barn. He has won his last two races in a row, one an optional $80,000 allowance/claiming race on Dec. 3 at Fair Grounds in New Orleans by a half-length and the other a win against maiden claiming $150,000 horses at Churchill Downs on Nov. 17. The Fair Grounds win was at 5-1/2 furlongs and the Churchill victory was a six-furlong sprint.

The Springboard probables from the national stage are all Kentucky-breds except Giroovin, who was bred in Florida.

Trainers with stakes winners this meet at Remington Park that will be carrying the local flag in the Springboard are Danny Pish with Campfire Creed (winner of $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes), Jayde Gelner with Ghost Hero ($100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and $75,000 Don McNeill Stakes) and Ray Ashford with Wildatlanticstorm ($100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes). It would be the first Springboard Mile starters for both Gelner and Ashford.

Wildatlanticstorm and Campfire Creed have taken turns beating each other. Campfire Creed, a 2-year-old colt by Jimmy Creed, out of the More than Ready mare Mahbadiha, outlasted Wildatlanticstorm in the Kip Deville at six furlongs on a fast track on Sept. 25 here, winning by 1-3/4 lengths. Wildatlanticstorm is a juvenile colt by Stormy Atlantic, out of the Big Brown mare Imsortaspecial, and when he caught a sloppy track and stretched out to seven furlongs, turned the tables on Campfire Creed, winning by a nose over his local rival.

“I think the track conditions had a little something to do with it,” said Ashford of his big red winner in the Clever Trevor. “That day when we raced in the Kip Deville, not many horses won on the lead and there was a lack of moisture in the track.”

Gelner is the only trainer with a multiple stakes winner here in Ghost Hero. The 2-year-old colt by Shaman Ghost, out of the Super Saver mare Queen Buxley, has won his last two races in a row, breaking his maiden in stakes company, winning the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile on Oct. 21 against Oklahoma-breds by 1-3/4 lengths, going six furlongs. He defeated state-breds again in the Don McNeill by a head on a “good” track at one mile. The Springboard would be the first stakes race against open company for Ghost Hero.

“I think it was a mental thing more than anything (Ghost Hero losing his first two races),” said Gelner. “He ran up to them both times like he would go past them and never would, but he’d gallop out strong. We felt confident he could break his maiden in stakes company.”

Wildatlanticstorm was bred in Iowa, Ghost Hero is an Oklahoma-bred and Campfire Creed a Kentucky-bred.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Dec. 10 with the first event at 7:07pm-Central. There are only five race dates left in the 2022 Thoroughbred season.

Tracked by more than 172,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $311 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 the $400,000 Springboard Mile, our top 2-year-old race on the final night of the season on Saturday, December 17. Remington Park also presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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