Wildcat Red goes for more glory in Oklahoma Derby
Wildcat Red’s memorable 3-year-old season is winding down, but he still has battles to fight. His latest comes on Sunday, when he takes on 13 others in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.
Wildcat Red is the probable favorite in a field that includes Tonito M. from California, Edison from Canada, Declan’s Fast Cat from Louisiana, Rebranded from New Mexico, and Charge Now and Away Game from New York.
The Oklahoma Derby is the richest race of the meet and the centerpiece of a program that includes seven stakes worth a cumulative $1 million. Post for the first race is 1:30 p.m. Central.
The card’s biggest races comprise a pick four that has a guaranteed pool of $30,000. The sequence starts in the seventh with the Ladies On the Lawn, and continues with the 1 1/8-mile Oklahoma Derby, the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, and the $150,000 Remington Park Sprint Championship.
Wildcat Red’s season started with the Kentucky Derby preps and has extended through the Saratoga meet. He won the Grade 3 Hutcheson and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at his Gulfstream base in February, and was third in the Haskell at Monmouth and a troubled fifth in the King’s Bishop at Saratoga during the summer. In the middle of his season, he ran 18th in the Kentucky Derby, one start after missing by a neck in the Florida Derby.
“It’s been an amazing year,” said Jose Garoffalo, who trains Wildcat Red for Honors Stable Corp. “The Florida Derby was a great race for him. He ran good in the Haskell. He tried in the King’s Bishop. Except in the Kentucky Derby, where he had a lot of trouble, every race was a big effort. He always tries hard.”
KEY CONTENDERS
Wildcat Red (Last 3 Beyers: 89-96-93)
◗ He exits the King’s Bishop, a seven-furlong race on Aug. 23 in which he hit the gate at the start and ended up fifth.
“We had really bad luck at the start,” Garoffalo said. “He wasn’t in very good position in the gate. He was sideways. He came out very bad, came out last. Despite the problem, he got beat only three lengths and we gave at least five lengths at the start. It would have been a different race, but he came back good and we’re here.”
◗ Wildcat Red, to be ridden by Gulfstream leading rider Edgard Zayas, will break from post 5.
“I think he has to show his speed here,” Garoffalo said.
Charge Now (Last 3 Beyers: 87-90-78)
◗ He enters off consecutive starts at Saratoga, where he was second to V. E. Day in the $100,000 Curlin in July and seventh in the Travers in August.
“The last race was a little bit of a head-scratcher because the winner of the Travers beat us a head in the prep race,” said Bill Mott, who trains Charge Now for WinStar Farm. “He had run such a good race the time before I was the one that pushed to run him in the Travers.”
◗ Charge Now, who will be ridden by Junior Alvarado, is a half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
◗ One reason Charge Now is running in this race is because he faces straight 3-year-olds, Mott said.
Declan’s Fast Cat (Last 3 Beyers: 87-73-77)
◗ He was the runner-up in the Super Derby last out at Louisiana Downs at 88-1.
◗ Declan’s Fast Cat, a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Force Freeze, has never finished worse than fourth.
“He’s always run hard,” said trainer Steve Flint. “He never ran against straight 3-year-olds. The horses that were beating him were optional-claiming horses that had won 10, 12 races. Those were tough, hard-knocking horses. It was like a 15-year-old kid fighting against a grown man.”
◗ Flint also said the addition of blinkers three starts ago has been good for Declan’s Fast Cat.
Tonito M. (Last 3 Beyers: 79-83-85)
◗ He’s back with straight 3-year-olds after running third against older rivals in the Los Alamitos Mile.
◗ He was a Group 1 winner in Puerto Rico in 2013.