Rated R Superstar rallies wide to win Governor's Cup
Rated R Superstar came rolling down the center of the track to catch favorite Plainsman and win the $175,000 Governor’s Cup by a neck during Friday night’s season opener at Remington Park. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back in third to Trident Hit.
The Governor’s Cup was a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.
Rated R Superstar ($9.40) had one horse beat early as Hunka Burning Love set fractions of 23.61 seconds for the opening quarter and 47.17 for the half-mile. Plainsman was in close pursuit and took over through six furlongs in 1:11.18, as Rated R Superstar advanced on the final turn. The eventual winner swung six wide into the stretch and went on to cover the distance on a fast track in 1:50.30.
Ramon Vazquez was aboard Rated R Superstar for trainer Federico Villafranco.
Danny Caldwell owns Rated R Superstar, a horse he claimed for $50,000 in January at Oaklawn Park with the hope of being competitive in stakes around the Midwest. Rated R Superstar is an 8-year-old gelding by Kodiak Kowboy and he has now won 9 of 55 starts for earnings of $1,173,014.
He came into the Governor's Cup off a third-place finish to Knicks Go in the Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows.
Caldwell and Vazquez are multiple title winners at Remington.
Racing resumes Saturday night to close out the opening weekend. Remington will then race next Friday and Saturday before moving into its traditional Wednesday-through-Saturday night schedule starting Sept. 1.