Mocito Rojo Kicks Off Opening Night Of Remington Thoroughbred Season

Mocito Rojo (5), ridden by Gerard Melancon, wins the $175,000 Governor’s Cup on Opening Night of the 2019 Remington Park Thoroughbred Season. Popularity was second, a half-length behind the winner.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt was on hand for the Opening Night of the Remington Park Thoroughbred Season to present the trophy to the winner of the $175,000 Governor’s Cup. He handed the hardware to Mocito Rojo, a horse that has been hoarding the trophies from three different states.

The Governor’s Cup was the 5-year-old horse’s fourth stakes win in a row, having taken the top purses in the Evangeline Mile in Louisiana, the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, and the Owners Appreciation Cup at Delta Downs, also in Louisiana.

“I love Oklahoma!” Mocito Rojo’s owner Wayne Davis of Plain Dealing, La., exclaimed after in the winner’s circle after receiving the cup from Gov. Stitt. “I have relatives and friends here and I just love Oklahoma.”

It was quite a reunion for horse and jockey in this race, also. Gerard Melancon sat three lengths off the pace of front-runners Popularity and Limation in the first half of the 1-1/8 miles race on the main track, and pounced in the stretch to get up by a half-length over Popularity. Limation finished third.

Melancon had been on this horse only once before in his previous 23 starts and that was when Mocito Rojo won the first race of his life at Delta Downs in a $10,000 maiden claiming race. His current connections of Davis and trainer Shane Wilson had their eyes on him that day and bought him from that maiden race. This son of Mutadda, out of the Orientate mare Blushing Royale, won $105,000 in this Governor’s Cup, adding to his bankroll for lifetime earnings of $649,750. Not a bad investment for $10,000.

“I broke his maiden (for the other connections) and Wayne and Shane claimed him from the race,” said Melancon.

Filemon Rodriguez then became Mocito Rojo’s top rider and when he came up injured, Melancon was asked to do what he did in the horse’s debut. He is now 2-for-2 on the winner. Mocito Rojo, bred in Kentucky by Paul & Andrea Van Doren, has now won 16-of-24 lifetime starts, only six of those in scores came in stakes-company.

“We took our time with him,” said Wilson. “We thought he could win a lot of the starter series races and we let him do that and then his numbers started getting better and we started putting him in stakes races.”

He debuted in December 2016, winning his first race and wasn’t entered in a stakes race until the $80,000 Owners Appreciation Cup at Delta on March 10, 2018 and he ran seventh in that. Now he has it all figured out and has won seven of his last 10 races.

“He just wants to win now,” said Wilson.

Tonight’s Governor’s Cup featured Lookin at Lee, who ran second in the 2017 Kentucky Derby behind Always Dreaming and a winner of $1.3 million in his career; last year’s Governor’s Cup winner, Hence; last year’s runner-up in the Oklahoma Derby, Believe In Royalty; and Limation, the winner of the 2018 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.

Mocito Rojo was sent off at 8-5 odds and paid $5.40 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show. Popularity, the wagering favorite at 3-2 odds, was second, 2-1/2 lengths ahead of Limation in third. Hence, Lookin At Lee and Believe In Royalty completed the order of finish.

Running time for the Governor’s Cup was 1:49.56 seconds over a fast track.

Live racing continues Saturday night at 7 p.m. with nine races carded. The carryover in the Sooner 6ix wager (races 4-9) is $1,105.24. Only a unique ticket in this pick six wager will take down the pool.