Rowdy Yates Among Top Contenders For Kentucky Derby Points In Springboard Mile

Rowdy Yates, with Richard Eramia up, easily wins the Don McNeill Memorial on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 at Remington Park

Rowdy Yates, a Remington Park two-time stakes winner for trainer Steve Asmussen already, and Jungle Runner are likely to run next in the $400,000 Springboard Mile, the cornerstone race on closing Sunday’s stakes-filled card.

The Springboard Mile carries Kentucky Derby points of 10 for the winner, four for second, two for third and one for fourth place. The race has produced starters in the Kentucky Derby in each of the last two years and three of the last four years. The Springboard headlines a full-program of racing on Sunday, Dec. 15 as the 2019 Remington Park Thoroughbred Season ends.

Rowdy Yates, a 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred colt by Morning Line, out of the Yes It’s True mare Spring Station, has won twice this meet at Remington Park, taking the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile on Oct. 18 and the $75,000 Don McNeill Memorial Stakes on Nov. 15. The latter was at the same mile distance he will run in the Springboard.

Rowdy Yates also has made a splash on the national scene, winning the $100,000 Ellis Park Juvenile on Aug. 18 at seven furlongs, running second in the Grade 3, $125,000 Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs, and also running fifth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile post-time favorite, Dennis’ Moment, in the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Rowdy Yates was a bargain. L and N Racing of Tulsa, Okla., bought him at the 2018 October Fasig-Tipton Sale for $42,000. His pedigree isn’t the kind you’ll find on horses that sell in the millions or even hundred-thousands.

“We had a tip that he was going to be a nice horse at the sale,” one of the owners, Lee Levinson said. “He’s a (sire) Morning Line, out of a nothing mare and people thought we were crazy to give forty-some-thousand for him. We just thought he was good looking and we rolled the dice, hoping to get lucky.”

Rowdy Yates career record is six starts with four wins and one second for a bankroll of $210,898.

Jungle Runner is a colt by Candy Ride (ARG), out of Tapit mare Minx, and carries bluer bloodlines but not quite the resume as his stable-mate from Asmussen’s barn. Still, Jungle Runner appears to be a runner on his way up the ladder as he has gone from winning a maiden special weight race here at Remington Park directly into stakes-company, winning the $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes on Nov. 1. He is owned by Calumet Farm in Kentucky and was bred there by his owners.

Jungle Runner’s record is four races with two wins for $81,165 in earnings. He has had four different jockeys in his four starts.

Trainer Wesley Ward, always a fixture nationally with top 2-year-olds, had one on a plane heading for Remington Park on Tuesday and was expected to arrive early Tuesday afternoon. His name is Maximiliano and he’s a son of Quality Road, out of the Louis Quatorze mare Ben’s Boots. He is owned by Andrew Farm and For the People Racing Stable and was bred in Kentucky by Martha Jane Mulholland.

Maximiliano has had only two starts lifetime, running a distant second in his career debut at Saratoga in upstate New York in September, finishing nine lengths back after carrying the lead halfway through the 5-1/2 furlongs sprint. He came back to win a maiden special weight race at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. by a head, sprinting six furlongs. He was the 9-5 favorite in his victory for jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

Maximiliano has earned $60,600 in his two starts.

Michael Stidham is vanning in one named Embolden. That gray colt is owned by Dare To Dream Stable (Michael Faber) and was bred in Virginia by Nancy L. Terhune & Ernest Frohboese. Embolden is a son of The Factor, out of Lion Hearted mare Silver Heart, and has won two races in five starts, run second twice and third once for earnings of $137,000.

Embolden broke his maiden in August at Colonial Downs in Virginia after running second in his first try at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. He was an easy 10-length winner in his second outing and then won again in the $100,000 Jamestown Stakes at Colonial in his next start by 3-3/4 lengths. That stakes race was restricted to Virginia-breds and he was the 2-5 wagering favorite at post time. Since that win, he has dipped his toe in deeper waters, moving on to Belmont Park and Aqueduct in New York. He ran third in the Grade 3, $150,000 Belmont Futurity on Oct. 6 and then second in the $100,000 Atlantic Beach Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Springboard Mile will anchor a stakes program Sunday afternoon that includes:

– $100,000 Trapeze Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, one mile

– $100,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial, 3 and older, 1 mile-70yards

– $100,000 She’s All In Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and older, 1 mile-70yards

– $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3-year-old Oklahoma-breds, one mile

– $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred fillies, one mile

Entries for the Springboard Mile and the final program of the season will be accepted in the Remington Park racing office tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The final week of the 2019 Remington Park Thoroughbred Season runs Wednesday through Sunday, Dec. 11-15. The first race nightly is at 7pm with the Springboard Mile program Sunday beginning at 3pm. All times are Central.

Tracked by more than 160,000 fans on Facebook and more than 10,100 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $237 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park is the home of the $400,000 Springboard Mile, the richest 2-year-old stakes of the season, on Sunday, Dec. 15. The Springboard Mile is a points race to determine qualifiers for the 2020 Kentucky Derby. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.

READ NEWS SOURCE