Shotgun Kowboy, Gianna's Dream back for more on Okla. Classics Night

Shotgun Kowboy and Gianna’s Dream will bring notable records into the $1 million Oklahoma Classics program of stakes Friday night at Remington Park.

Shotgun Kowboy will be looking to win the $175,000 Classics Cup for the third time, while Gianna’s Dream is seeking to win her third straight $130,000 Classics Distaff Turf.

The races are among eight divisional stakes for Oklahoma-breds on a 10-race program. Remington will offer a $100,000-guaranteed pool on its late pick four (races 7-10).

Shotgun Kowboy has won three Classics races overall, starting with the Juvenile at 2. He won his first Classics Cup at 3 and his second last year at 5. He is a product of C.R. Trout’s breeding program, which has been prominent in Oklahoma. The horseman, who also owns and trains Shotgun Kowboy, has horses in five races on Oklahoma Classics Night.

“We look forward to this time of year,” he said.

Shotgun Kowboy has accomplished quite a bit since his 5 1/4-length win in last year’s Classics Cup. He became a millionaire last winter at Oaklawn, then in May won the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.

“That was pretty special,” Trout said.

Shotgun Kowboy wired the field and has a good chance to control the pace against four others in the 1 1/16-mile Classics Cup.

“I expect to go to the lead,” Trout said. “That’s his game, and I don’t want to take him out of the way he runs. When he gets on the lead, his old heart gets big.”

Shotgun Kowboy will break from post 5 under David Cabrera.

Tuff Kid, runner-up to Shotgun Kowboy in last year’s Classics Cup, is back. The field is rounded out by Night Strike, Hyper Drive, and Rowdy the Warrior.

Gianna’s Dream has been unbeatable over the Remington turf course, where she is 5 for 5. She won her first Classics Distaff Turf at 3, then repeated last year at 4. Her other wins over the Remington course also came in stakes, the Bob Barry Memorial and Ricks Memorial.

Gianna’s Dream invades from Kentucky for Friday night’s opener at 1 1/16 miles fresh off a three-length win in the Bob Barry on Sept. 30. Corey Lanerie has the mount for trainer Mike Maker. The mare races for Jordan Wycoff and on Friday could surpass career earnings of $500,000.

Griggs runners in peak form

Trainer Veronica Griggs has had a memorable year with Perfect to Please and Pacific Typhoon, who will represent the barn in the $130,000 Turf.

Perfect to Please will be looking for his fourth straight win when he breaks from the rail in the 1 1/16-mile race. He boasts a 6-for-8 record in 2018 and has registered two of his three stakes wins this year at age 8. Perfect to Please’s most recent win came Sept. 30, when he defeated a number of these in the $70,000 Red Earth at Remington. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90, the best last-race number in the field Friday.

Pacific Typhoon finished second in the Red Earth, two lengths behind his stablemate. He has a chance to control the pace in the Turf, which he won last year at 4. Pacific Typhoon is a two-time allowance winner this year, and in one of those victories, he threatened a course record at Lone Star, winning a one-mile race in 1:32.80.

Welder seeks first Sprint

Welder, who won Remington’s biggest prize for sprinters in last month’s $150,000 David M. Vance, will be returning to the Oklahoma-bred ranks for the $130,000 Sprint. The race will be run over the same six-furlong distance as the Vance, a race Welder won in 1:08.60 for a career-high 96 Beyer.

Welder, a seven-time stakes winner, is looking for his first win in the Sprint after running second in each of the past two years at ages 3 and 4. He will break from the rail under David Cabrera, who has the mount for Ra-Max Farms and trainer Theresa Luneack.

◗ Trainer Donnie Von Hemel said before the Barry Memorial that he felt the 7 1/2-furlong distance was a bit less than optimal for Sydney Freeman. She came rolling for second and will pick up a bit more ground Friday in the $145,000 Distaff, which covers one mile and 70 yards and features last year’s winner, Inagoodway.

◗ Fast Breakin Cash could go favored in the $100,000 Juvenile for Trout off a runner-up finish against open company in the $75,000 Kip Deville. The chief threat could be Dance to My Song. The $100,000 Lassie for 2-year-old fillies is led by Tinseltown Flyer.

◗ Lake Ponchatrain invades from the East for the $130,000 Distaff Sprint. She is looking for her fourth consecutive win and comes off a two-turn stakes win at Charles Town.