Wildcat Red headed to Oklahoma Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Wildcat Red, the winner of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 3 Hutcheson here at Gulfstream Park last winter, will head to Remington Park on Wednesday to make his next start in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby on Sept. 28. Wildcat Red recently returned from Saratoga, where he finished fifth, beaten three lengths by The Big Beast, in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop.

“He trained well at Saratoga. He loved it up there, everything went great going into the race, and then he came out sideways, hit the gate at the break, and really lost his best chance,” said trainer Jose Garoffalo. “You just can’t have something like that happen against that quality a field in a Grade 1 race like the King’s Bishop, especially going seven furlongs.”

Garoffalo had several options for Wildcat Red’s next start, including the Indiana Derby, but opted to take his star 3-year-old to Remington.

“I just think the field will probably be smaller, and the race will come up a little easier than the one in Indiana,” said Garoffalo. “Stretching him back out to a mile and one-eighth should not be an issue. The only real concern would be the pace if there was somebody else in there who might push him a little too much early in the race.”

Garoffalo said Wildcat Red will work here Sunday with leading rider Edgard Zayas aboard. Zayas guided Wildcat Red to victories in each of his first two starts and got him across the finish line first in the Juvenile Sprint here last November, only to be disqualified and placed second for causing interference in late stretch.

“Edgard knows this horse well, and we’re going to put him back on again for the Oklahoma Derby,” said Garoffalo.

Valid scores in the slop

All the excitement over the mandatory payouts in the Rainbow 6 and Super Hi 5 here Thursday diverted some of the attention away from a terrific featured race, a $50,000 open allowance captured by Grade 2 winner Valid.

The odds-on favorite, Valid defeated Black Diamond Cat by 1 3/4 lengths, with multiple Grade 3 winner Csaba finishing a tiring third on a sloppy track. Valid was making his first start since returning from Monmouth Park, where he captured the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup and finished third in both the Grade 3 Salvatore Mile and Iselin this summer. Valid was guided to victory Thursday by his regular rider, Orlando Bocachica.

Valid is trained by Marcus Vitali, who said he would have to consult with his owners before picking out a next start for the 4-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro.