Owendale Grinds Out Oklahoma Derby Score

Rupp Racing's Owendale powered home in the final yards of Remington Park's featured $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3), pushing past three others on the outside to score by 1 3/4 lengths. The victory was the fourth of the year for the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief .

Oklahoma Derby Day included eight stakes for the Sept. 29 Remington Park card, which also included the $195,200 Remington Park Oaks (G3) for 3-year-old fillies.

The 1 1/8-mile Derby went off with a field of 10 sophomores. Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) winner Tax was scratched from the race with a fever and, according to trainer Danny Gargan, will train up to his next start in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park.

Leaving the outside post under jockey Florent Geroux, Owendale ran in fifth and then fourth as longshot Sleepy Eyes Todd took the field through fractions of :23.95 and :48.03 for a half-mile. The favored Mucho Gusto and Chess Chief held the second and third positions, respectively.

As the field moved into the turn, these four dug in to battle through the stretch while staying even with one another. It wasn't until the final yards that Geroux was able to coax Owendale ahead of the others to win in a final time of 1:49.29 on a fast track.

The winner returned $6.20, $3.80, and $2.80. Sleepy Eyes Todd fought gallantly at odds of 40-1 to get a neck in front of Chess Chief at the wire. Mucho Gusto had to settle for fourth, another head behind.

"I just couldn't be happier," owner Jim Rupp said. "He's just been getting better and better. All thanks to Brad Cox and (his team). They've just done a great job."

Trained by Cox, Owendale has won every other start this season, beginning with a win in a Jan. 17 allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. He returned a month later to finish off the board in the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) and then won the April 13 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.

Bypassing the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Owendale's connections opted to run him in the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course, where he finished a respectable third behind winner War of Will. He returned to win the Ohio Derby (G3) June 22 and came into the Oklahoma Derby off a fifth-place finish in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1).

"Florent gave him a perfect ride," assistant trainer Ricky Giannini said. "When he started inching up down the backside, I was like, 'He's got plenty of horse. He can get there.' And he got there down the lane. It was perfect."

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Owendale is the fifth runner and first stakes winner for his dam, the unraced Bernardini  mare Aspen Light, who has three other winners to her credit. Owendale was a $200,000 buy at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was purchased from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment by John Wentworth.

Sunday's win brought the colt's record to 5-1-2 from 12 starts and bumped his earnings to $958,725.

Earlier on the card, Phoenix Thoroughbreds and KatieRich Stables' Lady Apple added a third grade 3 win to her résumé Sunday, taking the Remington Park Oaks by a half-length over Gold Standard.

The 1 1/16-mile test for 3-year-old fillies drew a field of four, but it was a two-horse race after the half-mile went in :47.07. Lady Apple and Gold Standard opened 7 3/4 lengths on third-place finisher Classic Fit, with She's Shiney fading another 13 lengths back.

Lady Apple completed the distance in 1:43.65 on a fast track under jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. and gave trainer Steve Asmussen a Remington Park-record six wins on a single card, which was pushed one further in the 10th race when Mt. Brave brought them to seven wins on the day. The pair teamed last year to win the Remington Park Oaks with She's a Julie.

"It's a very good day to do it," Asmussen said of the record. "We are blessed with opportunity."

Lady Apple had three straight wins coming into the May 3 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs, including the Fantasy Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park. The Curlin  filly finished third in the Kentucky Oaks and then won the Iowa Oaks (G3) at Prairie Meadows before finishing eighth in the Aug. 17 Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

"The only two bad races on her form are both at Saratoga. She just doesn't handle the surface, wet or not, because she did handle the slop real well at Oaklawn," Asmussen said. "She's a quality filly. This was a very good win for her today against a nice group of horses. With the Curlins always seeming to get better with age, we sure look forward to the future."

Bred by KatieRich Farms, Lady Apple is the first graded stakes winner for her dam, the Clever Track mare Miss Mary Apples.

Video: Oklahoma Derby (G3)

Video: Remington Park Oaks (G3)