Remington Park: Cold Granite Stone rock-solid against Oklahoma-breds

Cold Granite Stone has become increasingly tough to beat in the Oklahoma-bred ranks. His last four wins have come against such competition, among them the $280,000 Remington Park Quarter Horse Derby in April.

Monday, it will be back to the statebred ranks for Cold Granite Stone in the $50,000 Jack Brooks. The race is one of four Oklahoma-bred stakes on the final card of the Remington meet, with the holiday Monday program to start at 1:30 p.m. Central.

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Cold Granite Stone’s dominance against his own kind did not scare away the competition. Even though he beat the best his division had to offer last month when he closed for a neck win in the Remington Park Derby, he will be lining up against nine others in the Jack Brooks.

Cold Granite Stone comes into the race off a third-place finish in a trial race for the Heritage Place Derby. Before that race he had won four straight in a streak dating back to a trial for the Grade 3 Oklahoma-Bred Futurity at Will Rogers Downs in October. Cold Granite Stone proceeded to win the finale in November, then returned to action last month in trials for the Remington Park Derby.

Michelle Hurdle trains Cold Granite Stone, who will break from post 10 under Bryan Ernst.

The 350-yard Jack Brooks is a restricted Grade 3, as is the $50,000 Easy Jet on Monday. The filly Send Me a Candy Tree will meet males in the 350-yard race for 2-year-olds. She was a close-up third to Mighty B Valiant, the nation’s leading 2-year-old, in last month’s $780,000 Remington Park Futurity.

Jacky Martin will ride Send Me a Candy Tree for trainer Clinton Crawford.

Brooks, 69, back in saddle

Jockey Roy Brooks, the 69-year-old jockey who found himself stuck underneath one of his mounts before the start of a race at Remington on April 17, returned to action for the first time since that incident in Friday night’s third race. He finished third in a $10,000 maiden claiming race.

Brooks found himself in a precarious situation on April 17, when his mount unseated him, lost his footing, sat on top of the rider, and was unable to get back up. The starting gate crew and outriders pulled Brooks from underneath the horse.

Brooks was recently part of a winner’s circle presentation to recognize the efforts of the starting gate personnel and outriders. One of the oldest active jockeys in North America, he will be riding in three of the four stakes at Remington on Monday.