Remington Park: Montana Native by a nose in Oaks

OKLAHOMA CITY – Montana Native, one race removed from a run-in with Princess of Sylmar, won a tight photo over Gold Medal Dancer in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday. Marathon Lady, the 4-5 favorite, finished fourth in the race, which was one of six stakes on a card featuring the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.

Montana Native ($7) came into the Remington Park Oaks off a fifth-place finish behind Princess of Sylmar in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga on Aug. 17. On Sunday, she moved to the lead soon after the start of the 1 1/16-mile stakes and into the first turn was joined by Gold Medal Dancer.

The fillies raced together through fractions of 46.93 seconds for the half-mile and 1:11.09 for six furlongs. Marathon Lady made a run at the pair three wide around the final turn, but Montana Native and Gold Medal Dancer continued on in tandem, with Montana Native, along the rail, winning by a nose in 1:43.68.

“She was push-button,” said Terry Thompson, aboard Montana Native for trainer Ken McPeek. “I was able to sit pretty much to the head of the lane. [Gold Medal Dancer] was on me all the way. It was just a horse race from the eighth pole home. We were fortunate to get the head bob.”

Thompson has won the Remington Park Oaks three times. His other winners were Payton d’Oro in 2009 and No Such Word in 2010.

Montana Native earned $120,000 for the win, her second in a stakes in her last three starts. She won the $100,000 Broom Dance at Saratoga on July 24. Montana Native has won 4 of 12 starts and $276,198. She is owned by Ghostzapper Racing.

Montana Native is a daughter of Yes It’s True who was bred in Kentucky by Westana Ranches.

Marathon Lady was the favorite after a pair of Grade 1 placings in New York.

Stakes double for Asmussen, Santana

Trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. had a stakes double Sunday when they teamed up to win the $100,000 Remington Green with Daddy Nose Best and the $75,000 Kip Deville with Aarons Orient.

Daddy Nose Best ($4) picked up his second turf stakes win of the Remington season in the Green, closing with a flourish for a 3 1/2-length win over stablemate Caberneigh. One start prior, Daddy Nose Best won the $75,000 DeBartolo Memorial.

Daddy Nose Best trailed early in the 1 1/16-mile Green, as No Spin took the field through fractions of 23.76 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.08 for the half-mile, and 1:11.83 for six furlongs. Daddy Nose Best came into the stretch five wide, then pulled away to cover the distance on firm ground in 1:41.39.

Daddy Nose Best has won 7 of 21 starts, including last year’s Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby and El Camino Real Derby. He races for Bob and Cathy Zollars. The son of Scat Daddy was bred in Kentucky by the Patricia Ann Elia Trust.

Aarons Orient ($4.20) was always in command of the Kip Deville for 2-year-olds, winning wire-to-wire one start after a maiden special weight win at Saratoga. Aarons Orient set fractions of 22 seconds for the opening quarter, 45.30 for the half-mile, and went on to cover six furlongs in 1:09.89. He won by 3 3/4 lengths over Rivers Run Deep, who in his last start won a maiden special weight at Del Mar.

Santana rode Aarons Orient for Marc Wexler. The horse earned $45,000 for the win, his second from three starts. He is a son of Orientate and was bred in Kentucky by Ashleigh Stud Farm, Frank Ramos, and Jackie Ramos.

The Kip Deville was the first leg of the local 2-year-old series that concludes with the $250,000 Springboard Mile in December.