Z Rockstar Favored in Oklahoma Classics Cup

The Classics Cup contender with the most career wins at 11 overall is Robert Zoellner's homebred Z Rockstar. Tabbed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite by Remington oddsmaker Rick Lee, Z Rockstar won the Sept. 27 prep race for the Classics Cup. In that one-mile allowance event, the 5-year-old Rockport Harbor gelding defeated both Imahit (2nd) and Evansville Storm (3rd).

 

Z Rockstar will bid to help fill the void left in the Zoellner operation by the retirement of She's All In, who had won four straight Classics events with a four-year dominance of the Distaff. 

 

Z Rockstar is trained by Donnie Von Hemel, the all-time Oklahoma Classics leader in wins with 25. The gray gelding will be ridden by Luis Quinonez, a 13-time Classics winning jockey, from post 3. He carries co-highweight of 123 pounds, an assignment he shares with Evansville Storm.

 

That rival, Sassy S Stables' homebred 6-year-old gelding by Evansville Slew, makes his fourth Classics Cup run. He was third in the 2011 edition, seventh in 2012, and fifth last year for trainer Tyrone Shaw. Terry Thompson gets the mount from the inside on the 7-2 shot.

 

The Sept. 27 runner-up finish to Z Rockstar was the best performance of the season to date from Imahit, a 5-year-old Whywhywhy gelding owned, bred, and trained by C.R. Trout. After finishing eighth in a Jan 20 allowance event, he was taken to the sidelines and returned Sept. 1 with a third before missing the Classics Cup prep by 1 1/2 lengths. Jareth Loveberry rides from the 4 hole.

 

The top earner in the Classics Cup is Ted's Folly with $452,280 in total money. Now trained by Boyd Caster, Ted's Folly was the 2011 Remington Park horse of the meet when he won six consecutive races including the Classics Juvenile. Ted's Folly topped that campaign by winning the Springboard Mile, the richest 2-year-old stakes race on the local schedule. He was second to Imahit in the 2013 Classics Cup by 1 1/4 lengths with a late closing run. A 5-year-old by Wild Tale, he must rebound from a seventh in a starter allowance on Sept. 4. Jose Medina rides from post 6.

 

A few new foes are in the Classics Cup mix this season with 3-year-old Ibaka joining the fray off his seventh-place finish in the Sept. 28 Oklahoma Derby (gr. III). The Uncle Abbie gelding gets the services of Lindey Wade for trainer Bret Calhoun from post 2 and will bid to start another winning streak. He had a five-race skein end with his performance in the Derby. 

 

The Cup will serve as the finale on the Classics Night program that starts at 7 p.m. local time. The rest of the evening's races include the $130,000 Distaff Sprint, $130,000 Distaff Turf, $100,000 Juvenile, $100,000 Lassie, $130,000 Sprint, $145,000 Distaff, and the $130,000 Turf.

 

The annual event features an Oklahoma Classics Primetime Pick Four that includes a $30,000 minimum wagering pool guarantee from races 7-10.