Cool Arrow Wins Springboard Mile on Stakes-Filled Closing Day Card at Remington

Cool Arrow (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Cool Arrow (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

Cool Arrow was saddled with the outside post position in a field of 12 for Sunday’s $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park. Jockey Luis Saez hustled him away from the starting gate and fired the colt to the lead, one he would never relinquish in the marquee race on closing day of the Thoroughbred meet at the Oklahoma City track.

Cool Arrow won the top 2-year-old race of the season by 3-1/2 lengths, gaining the front and then setting such soft fractions that made it extremely difficult to run him down.

“He had a good break and had a comfortable lead,” Saez confirmed. “When he came to the stretch he took off. He moved very easy. When I felt some pressure at about a half-mile, I let him go a little bit and he took off.”

Owned by Brad Grady of Covington, Texas and trained by Joe Sharp, Cool Arrow managed an opening quarter-mile in :24.68 seconds, a half-mile in :49.79, three-quarters of a mile in 1:14.54 and then crossed the finish in 1:38.72 over the fast track. A 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt, Cool Arrow adds the Springboard Mile to his previous score this season in the $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes.

“The Kip Deville was the first step in the right direction for him,” Sharp noted. “The patience has paid off from Brad (Grady, owner) and the crew. We are grateful of Luis to get him there. He did a great job to get a good position early and make the best out of a bad post position. Good horses will overcome that stuff.”

Cool Arrow was well clear of his rivals early in the stretch and was able to easily stay away from any that would rally. Totality moved up the rail to finish second while U S Officer was another head behind for third.

The wagering favorite at 8-5 odds, Cool Arrow paid $5.20 to win, $3.40 to place and $3.40 to show. Totality returned $5.20 to place and $4.40 to show. U S Officer paid $7.20 to show.

Cool Arrow is a colt by Into Mischief from the Mr Purple mare Phoenicia and was bred in Kentucky by Allen Poindexter. The Springboard Mile is his third win from six starts, and second victory at Remington Park. The winners’ share of $180,000 moves his overall earnings to $282,835. His triumph gives all of his connections their first win in the Springboard Mile.

Miss Mo Kelly (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Miss Mo Kelly (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

After a string of six races without a win, Miss Mo Kelly enjoyed the luck of the Irish when her poor luck of sweeping five-wide at the top of the stretch still did not prevent her from winning her first-ever stakes race at 27-1 odds as she scored the $100,000 She’s All In Handicap.

Winning jockey Belen Quinonez wore the silks appointed with five green shamrocks for owner Dundalk 5 LLC of Florence, Ky. aboard Miss Mo Kelly who is trained by Paul Holthus. The pre-race instructions to Quinonez were simple to follow.

“Paul told me to warm her up good and try to stay in the race and go from there,” said Quinonez. “It was no pressure, coming out of the 1-hole, I just let her run into the first turn. Down the backside, I was trying to stay in the middle of the race and at the three-eighths pole, I knew I had some horse and knew I had to start looking for a place to run. I knew she kind of liked to come out around horses so that’s what I was trying to do. She did it all, I just held on.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Congrats, out of the Siphon (Brz) mare Saratoga Drive, Miss Mo Kelly had been routinely falling short of winning with late runs. Actually, she had not won since an allowance race victory at Oaklawn Park in March of this year. Nevertheless, Holthus was optimistic about his chances with his runner.

“We were really looking to get some black-type on this filly and hoping she would run a good race today. She’s one of those kind that needs a good pace in front of her and when she gets that pace, she runs a good race and I think she got it today.”

Miss Mo Kelly covered the race distance of 1 mile-70 yards in 1:42.65 over a fast track. She earned $60,000 for the win and pushed her lifetime earnings to $216,841.

Miss Mo Kelly paid $57.80 to win, $18.60 to place and $6.80 to show, winning by two lengths. Chronologic’sghost also swept wide in the run for the money and finished second to pay $8.40 to place and $5.60 to show. More Than Most was wide in both turns and was one-paced to the wire to finish third and pay $4.40 to show.

The She’s All In is named after the talented Oklahoma-bred mare who won and regularly competed in graded stakes events as well as dominating the Oklahoma Classics Distaff for four straight years (2010-2013), all while accumulating over $1 million in career earnings.

Perfect Wife (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Perfect Wife (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

Perfect Wife went to the front and improved her position to win the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes for two-year-old fillies, going one mile.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Perfect Wife was sent off as the second choice in the wagering at 5-2 odds. Jockey Corey Lanerie assumed the lead a few strides out of the starting gate and was never challenged, winning by a comfortable 5-length margin.

“The hardest part about this race was staying on her in the post parade with the wind,” Lanerie said after his easy triumph with Perfect Wife, who like all others throughout the card at Remington Park, dealt with strong northerly winds above 20mph.

“We didn’t want a slow pace to develop in front of us and us not be on it so we let her break really good and just rode her where I found her. She was on the front end, really comfortable, slowed down for me and listened to me when I told her it was time to go, she just took off.”

Lanerie rated the filly on the lead with a tepid opening quarter-mile of :23.58, followed by a half mile in :47.74; three-quarters of a mile. The daughter of Majesticperfection, out of the Street Sense mare Crozat, covered the one mile in 1:38.37 over the fast track.

Owned by Fern Circle Stables, of Lexington, Ky., Perfect Wife made $60,000 for the win, which increased her lifetime earnings to $99,000.

Perfect Wife paid $7.40 to win, $3.80 to place and $2.40 to show. Torrent, the betting favorite at 8-5 odds, chased the leader throughout but made no threat while finishing second to pay $3.40 to place and $3.20 to show. Gris Gris made a mild rally at the rail to finish third and pay $2.60 to show.

Hailstorm Slew (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Hailstorm Slew (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

Owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla. had the betting favorite in the $50,000 Useeit Stakes, poised to stay undefeated. However, down the stretch it was another one of his charges that made the winning move.

Euro K Shotgun was bidding to finish her first season of racing at Remington Park, a perfect five-for-five but it was not to be. Her stablemate, Hailstorm Slew had the right stuff as she rolled past her rivals to take the lead late in the stretch before winning by one length under Israel Ocampo.

Hailstorm Slew was eighth in the field of 10 for the first half-mile of the one-mile race. She then kicked it into gear coming off the final turn with a wide move down the stretch. The pace-setting Showtime Sis faded at the top of the stretch with the win left up for grabs at that point. Hailstorm Slew had the best finish in crossing the line in 1:38.42 over the fast track. Chaparella was second with Another Bond Girl third, 5-3/4 lengths behind the winner.

Away at 12-1 odds, Hailstorm Slew paid $27.60 to win, $12 to place and $7.80 to show. Chaparella paid $7.60 to place and $5 to show. Another Bond Girl retuned $4.40 to show. Euro K Shotgun was the beaten wagering favorite at 8-5 odds, finishing a tiring sixth while never seriously threatening to take control.

A 3-year-old filly by Munnings from the Successful Appeal mare Successful Slew, Hailstorm Slew won her third career race and first of the Remington Park season in the Useeit Stakes. The winner’s share of $30,000 moves her career earnings to $104,513.

The Useeit Stakes is named after the early 1900s racing mare owned by Oklahomans Al and Rosa Hoots who went on to produce 1924 Kentucky Derby winner Black Gold.

Hyper Drive (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
Hyper Drive (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

The $50,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes was the final race of the Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park. The event for Oklahoma-bred 3-year-olds on Sunday night went to Hyper Drive who ran away from his competition to win by four-lengths.

Owned by Henry Thilmony of Minneapolis, Minn. and trained by Randy Oberlander, Hyper Drive was ridden by Lindey Wade. Near the back of the 12-horse field as the group moved along the backstretch, Hyper Drive was 10th with a half-mile left in the one-mile race and was still eighth as the field left the final turn to the stretch.

Hyper Drive rolled wide into the stretch and pulled clear easily over the final furlong, crossing the finish line in 1:38.65 over the fast track. Tuff Kid, the wagering favorite at 5-2 odds, was second while Pacific Typhoon finished third, 5-3/4 lengths behind the winner.

Away at 4-1 odds in the betting, Hyper Drive paid $10.20 to win, $4.60 to place and $4 to show. Tuff Kid returned $3.60 to place and $3 to show. Pacific Typhoon paid $23.80 to show.

The win in the Jim Thorpe Stakes, named after the great Oklahoma Olympian and multi-professional sports star of the early 1900s, was the second stakes win of the season for Hyper Drive. The gelding won the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes for colts and geldings on Sept. 16. A son of Don’t Get Mad from the Blushing John mare Plenty Sweet, Hyper Drive has now won four races from 13 lifetime attempts.

Bred in Oklahoma by Tracy Strachan, Hyper Drive made $30,000 for the Jim Thorpe Stakes triumph to run his overall money to $110,502.

(from Remington Park news release)