Oklahoma-bred Shotgun Kowboy Wins Clever Trevor Stakes

Shotgun Kowboy wins the Clever Trevor Stakes (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Shotgun Kowboy wins the Clever Trevor Stakes (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

The $106,000 Clever Trevor Stakes featured a rematch of the winner and third-place finishers from the Kip Deville Stakes in September at Remington Park. Bayerd scored in the initial 2-year-old stakes race of the season with Shotgun Kowboy a solid third. Friday night, Shotgun Kowboy flipped the result, rallying past Bayerd in the stretch to win by a length.

Bayerd broke well and battled the lone filly in the race, the speedy Strawberry Baby for the first half-mile, covering a quarter-mile in :23.17 seconds then a half-mile in :45.84. Bayerd took the lead at the top of the stretch but had to deal with the rolling move of Shotgun Kowboy at that point.

Ridden by Luis Quinonez, Shotgun Kowboy was allowed to wait near the back of the field of eight before making his move coming off the lone turn.

“He broke good and I felt like they were going to go fast so I got behind them,” Quinonez explained. “I was able to put the horse where he was relaxed and when I asked him down the lane, he really came home. I got to the outside and it worked out for the best.”

Shotgun Kowboy moved five wide coming off the turn and had full momentum as he approached Bayerd with a furlong to go. Under a vigorous hand-ride from Quinonez, Shotgun Kowboy took the lead just inside a sixteenth of a mile to go, winning by a length while never getting the whip. He crossed the finish in 1:23.48 over the fast track.

Owned, trained and bred in Oklahoma by C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla., Shotgun Kowboy enjoyed a longer race and extra seasoning to aid his effort over Bayerd. The Kip Deville Stakes was a six-furlong affair while the Clever Trevor was at seven furlongs. Shotgun Kowboy had also defeated state-breds in easily winning the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile in October while Bayerd was making his first attempt since winning the Kip Deville Stakes.

Away at even-money in the betting, Shotgun Kowboy paid $4 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Bayerd was the 4-5 wagering favorite and returned $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Dream It Do It rallied down the middle of the stretch for third, four lengths behind the runner-up, paying $4.80 to show.

The victory was the third from four career starts, all this season at Remington Park. A gelding by Kodiak Kowboy from the Siphon (Brz) mare Shotgun Jane, Shotgun Kowboy earned $66,000 for his Clever Trevor triumph. His overall bankroll is now $146,701.

The third and final race in the Remington Park series of stakes races for 2-year-olds is the $250,000 Springboard Mile on Dec. 14, the final day of the season. Trout confirmed that race is the next target for Shotgun Kowboy.