Oklahoma Derby among options for Colonelsdarktemper

Colonelsdarktemper, the winner of last Saturday’s West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer, came out of the race in good condition and could make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sept. 24, trainer Jinks Fires said.

Fires said he is also considering other races, including the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 23, but his suspicion is that the latter race will prove a far more demanding spot.

Colonelsdarktemper, a 3-year-old son of Colonel John, recorded his first stakes victory in the West Virginia Derby, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest of his eight-race career. Aboard him that day and throughout his career was the veteran rider Jon Court, Fires’s son-in-law.

Winning with Court up is always a little more satisfying for Fires, plus, as he quipped, “It puts another pot of beans on the table.”

Court, second in the Ellis Park standings behind Corey Lanerie, teams up with Fires in four races Friday at Ellis, including the featured third race, a $41,000, first-level allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, riding runaway first-out winner Major Munnings, the 2-1 morning-line favorite.