Fifth Date tries to show he is still sharp in Remington Park Turf Sprint

The old man looks like the one to catch in Friday night’s $50,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint.

Fifth Date, 11, is the speed from the rail in the five-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up bred in Oklahoma. He is part of an eight-horse field that includes two-time defending race winner Okie Ride and fellow stakes winners Perfect to Please and Chifforobe.

The Remington Park Turf Sprint will share a card with an optional $40,000 claiming race at six furlongs that drew multiple stakes winner Holiday Mischief and 2012 Oklahoma Derby winner Politicallycorrect. The field also includes a pair of Route 66 Stakes winners, with Johnny Whip accounting for a race by that name in July at Fair Meadows and Flat Back in April at Will Rogers Downs.

REMINGTON PARK TURF SPRINT S.

KEY CONTENDERS

Fifth Date (Last 3 Beyers: 71-81-81)

◗ He will be making his second start of the year and his 88th trip to post Friday. Fifth Date is coming off an outstanding 10-year-old season in which he won 5 of 12 starts, including the $30,000 Heavy Stakes over two furlongs at Prairie Meadows.

◗ Fifth Date made his 11-year-old debut in a no-conditions allowance for statebreds Aug. 21 at Remington Park and finished fourth by 1 1/2 lengths in the five-furlong turf sprint. It was the horse’s first start since October, and he dueled through quick fractions of 21.65 seconds for the opening quarter and 44.87 for the half-mile in the race that went in a sharp 57.13.

◗ Ramon Vazquez has the mount on Fifth Date, who has a chance to control the pace with Shellac, a front-runner situated to his outside, cutting back from two turns on Friday.

◗ Fifth Date, who launched his career Aug. 11, 2006, at Remington, has won 24 races and earned $623,605. The horse races for Danny Caldwell and is trained by Federico Villafranco.

Okie Ride (Last 3 Beyers: 87-86-89)

◗ He’s won the last two runnings of the Remington Park Turf Sprint for a perfect 2-for-2 record over the lawn in Oklahoma City. Overall, the horse is an eight-time stakes winner.

◗ Okie Ride will be making his first start since December, when he finished second against open-company rivals in an allowance at Remington.

◗ Luis Quinonez has the mount for the Richter Family Trust and trainer Kenneth Nolen.