The locals prevailed in most of the stakes races on Oklahoma Derby Day including the biggest upset of the day in the Grade 3, $210,000 Remington Park Oaks with Hits Pricey Legacy taking down Grade 1 winner Juju’s Map.
Juju’s Map, who won the Grade 1, $400,000 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland as a 2-year-old and then ran second to Echo Zulu in the Grade 1, $1.76 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar, could do no better than running third to Hits Pricey Legacy, a multiple stakes winner at the local level.
Owner-breeder-trainer C.R. Trout won his third race on the Oklahoma Derby Day program when his 3-year-old filly by Oklahoma sire Den’s Legacy (Medaglia D’Oro) flew past the front runners, Juju’s Map (1-5 odds) and Free Like a Girl (5-2), the two favorites and both shippers in the race. It was 11-1 longshot Hits Pricey Legacy that got to take home the trophy. She prevailed by two lengths in the end with Free Like a Girl running second, one length up on third-place Juju’s Map.
“The plan was for her to sit behind the speed (the two shippers), but I couldn’t hold her anymore,” said jockey Jose Alvarez. He won aboard both of Trout’s stakes winners on Oklahoma Derby Day. They also combined for a win with Jackpot Baby in the E.L. Gaylord Stakes.
Trout was somewhat taken aback by the huge day his barn was experiencing.
“I don’t have a lot of words to say right now, what this means to our breeding program,” said Trout, who has a farm in Edmond, Okla. “This filly means so much to us. Our crew has done such a great job with these horses. Remington Park has always been my favorite track and it always will be.”
It was the first win for all the connections in the Oaks.
Hits Pricey Legacy, who is out of the Concord Point mare High Price Hit, owned by Trout, has been a monster since she returned to the track from almost a year off. She last raced on Dec. 17, 2021, before making her first start this fall in the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes in the Fillies Division, winning that one by 4-1/2 lengths. She now has won three of her last four starts, losing only in the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes at Remington Park in that Dec. 17 race. She ran third, beaten nine lengths by Optionality. Her third win in this recent skein was a trip to the winner’s circle in the $75,000 Slide Show Stakes for 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred fillies, here on Nov. 12, 2021.
Hits Pricey Legacy paid $24 to win, $7.40 to place and $2.20 to show across the board. The filly earned $130,000 for the victory and improved in her career to seven starts, four wins, two seconds and one third. The win almost doubled her career earnings, taking her from $139,355 to $269,355.
Running time for the winner at 1/1-16th miles on the dirt was 1:45.39 over the fast surface. Hits Pricey Legacy followed early fractions of ;24.46 for the first quarter-mile, :49.13 for the half-mile, 1:14.15 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:38.84 for the mile.
The remaining order of finish was Hannah’s Haven (4th) , Cleopatras Charge (5th), Bionica (6th), Rollin Chrome (7th) and My Friend Amy (8th).Photo by Dustin Orona Photography