REMINGTON PARK SPRINGBOARD MILE STAR SENOR BUSCADOR ATTEMPTS BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC
Senor Buscador, the 10th richest racehorse in North American history and the winner of Remington Park’s 2020 Springboard Mile, will compete in this country’s top money race Saturday in the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar near San Diego.
The Classic at these World Championships will go as race No. 8 on the Breeders’ Cup card Saturday at approximately 4:41 p.m. Oklahoma time.
The 6-year-old Kentucky bred horse by Mineshaft, out of the Desert God mare Rose’s Desert, is owned by Peacock Family Racing, trained by Todd Fincher, and will be ridden by Joel Rosario. Senor Buscador won the Springboard Mile, Remington Park’s cornerstone race for 2-year-olds yearly, by 5-3/4 lengths in December 2020. No one knew then what a great racehorse he would eventually become.
Senor Buscador’s record is 21 starts, seven wins, two seconds and three thirds for earnings of $12,731,427. One of his victories came in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 24 this year. That boosted him into the top 10 for all-time earnings for a North American horse, according to Equibase statistics.
Senor Buscador will break from the No. 5 post position in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at 30-1 morning line odds. His longshot status may be a result of his only winning one race this year in five starts. If he should happen to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, his earnings would rise to $16,331,427. That would put him as the No. 4 all-time winningest horse in history behind only Arrogate ($17,422,600), Thunder Snow ($16,511,476) and Ushba Tesoro (16,414,520). Ushba Tesoro is also a part of Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Senor Buscador’s lifetime bankroll might have already put him into the top five had it not been for some setbacks as a 3-year-old. Senor Buscador actually beat Ushba Tesoro (12-1 for the BC Classic) in the Saudi Cup. Ushba Tesoro got his revenge in the $12 million Dubai World Cup, running second while Senor Buscador checked in third.
This will be Senor Buscador’s second time to race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He also competed in the 2023 edition, with a seventh-place finish against the best horses in the world. He also ran in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, running eighth in those World Championships.
Honor D Lady in BC Distaff
Honor D Lady, winner of the Grade 2, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks in 2023, will make her Breeders’ Cup appearance in the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Distaff on Saturday in race six at approximately 3:21pm-Central.
Honor D Lady won the last graded edition of the RP Oaks, scoring by 2-1/2 lengths in the 1-1/16 miles race. Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., she is 30-1 in the morning-line for the Distaff.
Honor D Lady has racked up two graded stakes wins this year as a 4-year-old, taking the Grade 3, $150,000 Royal Delta at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. in February and then the Grade 2, $500,000 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park in July.
A Kentucky-bred filly by Honor Code from the Blame mare Complicated, Honor D Lady has a record of 14 starts, five wins, three seconds and three thirds for career earnings of $725,942. She will be ridden in the Distaff by Tyler Gaffalione.
Oklahoma Derby Grad also in BC Classic
Tumbarumba, who came within two noses of winning last year’s Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park, finishing third behind How Did He Do That and Red Route One, will compete Saturday in the Grade 1 $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, the final race of this year’s World Championships (race 12, approximately 7:25 p.m. Oklahoma time).
Tumbarumba, a 4-year-old gelded Louisiana-bred son of Oscar Performance, out of the Street Sense mare Naïve Enough, is owned by Wathnan Racing and trained by Brian Lynch. The 30-1 morning line longshot will break from post seven under jockey Luis Saez. Tumbarumba’s record is 16 starts, five wins, six seconds and two thirds for a bankroll of $598,190. He has run no worse than second in any of his five starts this year, winning the Grade 3 Fred Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., on Jan. 27, 2024. Since that race he has been the runner-up by a nose, a neck, a length and 1-1/2 lengths. Three of those four second-place finishes were in graded stakes company at Gulfstream or Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Tumbarumba has run first or second in 11-of-14 starts on the dirt. He won the Ellis Park Derby in 2023 at this mile distance. He was purchased for a mere $30,000 from the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale. Lynch has also trained Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Oscar Performance in 2016. Tumbarumba is a son of that BC winner.
Hernandez on Brink of Milestone
Jockey Harry Hernandez is now just one win away from his 1,000 career victory in North America. He rode Rollin Chrome ($3.60 to win) to victory in the third race on Halloween at Remington Park.
Hernandez is named on three horses on the Friday night Remington Park card. He will ride R Doc (5-2 morning-line favorite) in the opener, Good Liquor (4-1) in race five and morning-line favorite Lady Jae (3-1) in the ninth and final on the program.
Hernandez moved to the United States from his native Puerto Rico in 2015.
Alvarez Reaches 800
When Ringside ($33.60) came in first in the ninth race on Halloween at Remington Park, it provided jockey Jose Alvarez with his 800th career victory, according to Equibase statistics.
Alvarez started his riding career in 2010. He has won more than 100 races in each of the past two years. Currently, Alvarez has 89 wins in 2024. He has won 32 races this season at Remington Park and is fourth in the jockey standings.
The 43rd night of racing features nine races with the ninth over the turf. The track is fast, the turf is firm. The first race is underway at 6:30pm-Central.
Remington Park has provided more than $363 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 when the $300,000 Springboard Mile tops the final night of the season. The major 2-year-old stakes race of the season, the Springboard awards valuable 2025 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. 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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