Dominant trial winners meet in Oaklahoma-Bred Futurity

It is somewhat fitting that the two fastest qualifiers for Saturday’s $926,500 Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Futurity will start in adjacent stalls in the 350-yard race. From the first stride, they will be the focus of most bettors.

Especially Jess will break from post 2 after winning his career debut by a remarkable 3 3/4 lengths in 17.01 seconds in a time trial on April 2. The following night, Mr Apollo Jess remained unbeaten after two starts with an even faster win in 16.83 seconds, the overall fastest qualifying time among 20 trials. Mr Apollo Jess, who won a maiden special weight race on March 18, starts from post 3 on Saturday.

The runners with the five quickest times from each evening of trials advanced to Saturday’s final, regardless of finishing positions. There are eight trial-race winners and two second-place finishers in the 10-horse final.

Mr Apollo Jess, trained by the red-hot Kelly Heltzel, is likely to be favored in what could be a competitive race. Aside from Especially Jess, who is trained by Trey Wood, trial race winners EM High Country and Reimagine were outstanding in their first starts, both recording times of 17.08 seconds that give them leading chances.

Heltzel won with 8 of his first 13 starters at the Remington Park meeting, which began on March 7. For Saturday’s race, Heltzel also qualified San Lorenzo Tay, a two-length winner in 17.16 seconds on April 2.

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Earlier on Saturday’s program, the 2020 champions Apollitical Gold and Ratification will have their first starts of the year in stakes.

Apollitical Gold, the champion 3-year-old gelding last year, is part of an outstanding field in the $355,800 Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Derby at 400 yards. For a statebred race, the Oklahoma-Bred Derby has drawn a very good field, including Candy Blood, who was second in the $203,950 Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Feb. 13, and HR Princess Jess, who was sixth in the $3 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs last September and fourth in the $1.1 million Golden State Million Futurity at Los Alamitos last November behind Apollitical Gold.

More recently, Apollitical Gold was third in the $1.97 million Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December.

Candy Blood set the fastest qualifying time of 19.76 seconds in the April 1 trials, winning by 1 1/4 lengths. Trained by Monty Arrossa, Candy Blood drew the rail in Saturday’s final.

HR Princess Jess and Apollitical Gold won consecutive trials earlier that evening in 19.84 seconds. Eddie Willis trains HR Princess Jess and Apollitical Gold and has three other qualifiers in a field of 10 with the outsiders Apollitical Bird, Everlong, and MH Apollitical Spy.

Ratification, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2020, will be favored in the $75,000 Easy Date Stakes for fillies and mares at 350 yards. Ratification won the $315,739 Rainbow Oaks and $421,326 All American Oaks at Ruidoso Downs last summer, and has not started since finished a troubled second in a division of the Texas Classic Derby trials at Lone Star Park in November.

The $100,000 Sooner State Stakes for Oklahoma-bred at 400 yards is the leading race of the evening for older horses.

Eagles Fly Higher, winner of the 2020 Sooner State Stakes and two 350-yard stakes in the last month, and Valiant Tiberias, who won the Oklahoma Challenge Championship at 440 yards on March 27, are the top runners in a field of nine.

The 12-race Remington Park program begins at 6 p.m. Central. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.