OVERWISH A STRONG POSSIBILITY TO RUN IN REMINGTON PARK OAKS FOR TRAINER BRITTANY RUSSELL
Overwish, a daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, appears to be a strong possibility to race in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, Sept. 29. The Remington Park Oaks is the richest stakes on the Oklahoma Derby Day undercard.
Overwish, a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred filly, out of the A.P. Indy mare Vaulcluse, is trained by trainer Brittany Russell, who has made a name for herself nationally while based out of Maryland. Russell, through Sept. 18, is 13th in the nation for wins this year with 97 and ranks 20th for horses’ earnings at $5,185,647. Russell had her best training year of her young career getting 177 winners from 687 starters with earnings of $7,999,367 in 2023. The top horse she has had as a multiple graded stakes winning trainer is Post Time. That colt won eight of his first nine races and is 9-for-13 overall with just under $1 million in earnings with $997,910. Five of his trips to the winner’s circle have come in stakes races.
Overwish has been out only twice in her career for owner Repole Stable, but she was an impressive winner at first asking, drawing away by 6-1/4 lengths in a maiden race at Laurel Racecourse in Maryland on July 21 as the even-money wagering favorite. Russell brought her back at Colonial Downs in Virginia on Aug. 15 with allowance-optional claiming horses at one mile and finished second as the 6-5 favorite. The filly is has earned $42,200. Repole arguably has the top 3-year-old in the country and front-runner for the Eclipse Award in that category with Fierceness, winner of the grade 1 Travers Stakes this summer. The colt had previously won the Florida Derby and Jim Dandy Stakes.
Bred by Gainesway Thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Overwish was purchased for $675,000 in the 2022 Keeneland Yearling Sale.
Russell made history in her fourth full season of training last year at 34 years old by being the first female to finish atop the training standings in Maryland. It knocked Claudio Gonzalez out of the top spot where he had resided since 2017. She finished the year with 118 victories at Laurel and Pimlico. Only training since 2018, Russell already has five seasonal training titles under her belt.
The Remington Park Oaks and the entire Oklahoma Derby Day program will be drawn this Saturday in the Remington Park racing office.
WORKOUTS – Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Ninth Island, who will be a first-time starter when she enters an official race, worked a bullet (fastest time of the day), covering five-eighths of a mile for trainer Bret Calhoun in a time of :59.72, handily over a fast track. The 2-year-old gray-roan filly by Constitution, out of the Factor mare Viva Vegas, was the only horse of 16 that tried five furlongs to break the one-minute mark. She was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbred. Constitution is currently No. 5 among top sires in North America. One of Constitution’s top runners this year is Catching Freedom, who came from last to first, winning the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, while on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring.
Standings through Sept. 18
Jockeys
Stewart Elliott (30 wins)
Floyd Wethey, Jr. (17)
Trainers
Steve Asmussen (12)
Dick Cappellucci and J.R. Caldwell (8)
Owners
Bryan Hawk (9)
Dick Cappellucci (7)
Tonight is night 18 of the Remington Park season features nine races, with two over the turf. Track is fast, Turf is firm. First race is 6:30pm-Central.
Remington Park has provided more than $357 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 2024 Thoroughbred Season continues through Dec. 13. The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby takes place on Sunday, Sept. 29. 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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