Mobile Bay Heads North for Oklahoma Derby

Tigertail Ranch's Mobile Bay, the Louisiana-bred winner of the $400,000 Super Derby (gr. II) at Louisiana Downs Sept. 12, heads north for the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (gr. III) Sept. 27 at Remington Park. The Victor Arceneaux-trained colt is part of a 12-horse field for the nine-furlong race that features locals and shippers from the East and West coasts.



Mobile Bay, by Lone Star Special—Tranquility Bay, by Out of Place, won the Super Derby at the same trip by 2 1/4 lengths under Edgar Prado, who returns to ride at Remington. The colt will be making his first start outside of his native state and just his fourth in open company.



To his right in post 5 will be Desert Dynamo, a Southern California shipper from the barn of Jerry Hollendorfer. Hollendorfer won last year's Oklahoma Derby with Tonito M. Desert Dynamo, by Desert Party, was third in a blanket finish with the good Gimme Da Lute and Fame and Power Aug. 29 in the El Cajon Stakes at Del Mar.



Several runners from the East have made their way to Oklahoma including Souper Colossal, Classy Class, and Tale of Verve.



Live Oak Plantation's Souper Colossal, a $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale purchase has progressed this summer four successive runner-up efforts, the last pair coming in the West Virginia Derby (gr. II) and Smarty Jones Stakes (gr. III) at Parx Racing. Paco Lopez rides the son of War Front  .



Cheyenne Stables' Classy Class will stretch out after a series of seven-furlong races. While a disappointment last time out in the King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course, the son of Discreetly Mine   has some back class with his third-place effort this spring in the Gotham Stakes (gr. III).



Tale of Verve came to national prominence May 16 when he surprisingly ran second to American Pharoah in the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Charles Fipke's homebred son of Tale of Ekati seeks to bounce back after facing the Triple Crown winner—and eventual winner Keen Ice—last time out in the Travers Stakes (gr. I), where he finished eighth, and after off-the-board finishes far back in the West Virginia Derby (gr. II) and Belmont Stakes Presented by DraftKings (gr. I).



Locals to watch include Shotgun Kowboy and Poseidon's Way.



C.R. Trout's Shotgun Kowboy didn't make his 2015 bow until Aug. 29 when he crushed state-bred foes by 11 1/4 lengths. He earned a pair of stakes wins over the local strip last year at 2.



Pin Oak Stable's Poseidon's Way, by Stormy Atlantic  , returned from a long layoff to top Derby runners Hillbilly Royalty and Lucky Player, in a mile allowance race at Remington Aug. 22.