Include Betty will be flying late in Remington Oaks
Brereton Jones gets a kick out of Include Betty’s closing kick. It’s what she used to win the Grade 1 Mother Goose in June, and it’s what she’ll call upon Sunday when she takes on six other 3-year-old fillies in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks.
“She’s such a neat filly,” said Jones. “You see her out there falling so far behind, then all of the sudden she says, ‘Okay, now it’s time for me to go,’ and she grits her teeth.”
Include Betty is half of an unforgettable team of 3-year-old fillies Jones has on the track. The former governor of Kentucky also owns Lovely Maria, the winner of the Kentucky Oaks and Ashland. Jones races Include Betty in partnership with Timothy Thorton.
“We feel very blessed to be in this position,” Jones said. “It’s not the kind of thing that happens very often.”
Remington Park Oaks, Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Include Betty (Last 3 Beyers: 86-89-85)
◗ In the Mother Goose, she closed from 13 lengths back for a 3 1/4-length win June 27 at Belmont. The race marked a career pinnacle for Include Betty.
“It meant that she did have the quality that we thought she had,” Jones said. “She made us all very happy.”
◗ Include Betty will be cutting back to the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Mother Goose off a fifth-place finish in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama on Aug. 22 at Saratoga.
“Tom Proctor is her trainer, and Tom thought that this was a good move,” Jones said. “It looked like a good place for her to take another shot.”
◗ Drayden Van Dyke has the mount from post 5.
Paige (Last 3 Beyers: 74-78-54)
◗ The third-place finisher in last year’s Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland, she will be returning to the main track following a fifth-place finish in the $206,000 Indiana Grand on Sept. 9.
“The race was on the turf, and she got stuck wide on both turns,” said Donnie Von Hemel, who trains Paige for Jim Wells and Cheyenne Stables. “It’s hard to win a turf race when you get hung wide on both turns. She’s been good on the dirt and the turf, and she’s certainly a filly that, if she has a good trip, can win a race like this.”
◗ Joe Bravo has the mount from post 2.
Sweet Opportunity (Last 3 Beyers: 74-74-78)
◗ A close fourth in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks, she will be returning to the main track following a fourth in a turf allowance against older rivals Aug. 26.
“She’s a little better on the dirt,” said Von Hemel.