The 2011 Remington Park Thoroughbred meet wraps up Dec. 10 with a nine-race program headlined by the $300,000 Springboard Mile Stakes for 2-year-olds.
The race, which has a probable post time of 10:14 p.m. CST, drew a field of 12 including the lone Oklahoma-bred horse in the race, Ted's Folly, a winner of five consecutive races at Remington.
Owned by Steve Martin and trained by Wilson Brown, the Wild Tale gelding won the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile in October, followed by a score in the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes in November. Both events were at six furlongs, the longest distance attempted to date by Ted’s Folly.
Undefeated at Remington, overall he has won five of seven starts and earned $141,979. Ted’s Folly, who was bred by Harmony Stable, delivered a five-furlong workout on Dec. 2, clocking 1:01 1/5. He will be ridden by Jose Angel Medina.
Seeker, the fourth-place finisher in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint (gr. II) Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs, is the likely favorite and will run as a coupled entry with Basalt. A homebred of Winchell Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen, Seeker has been training well at Remington since Nov. 28 in preparation for the Springboard.
A Kentucky-bred colt by Hard Spun, Seeker worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Nov. 28 and then followed that with a sharp half-mile drill in :49 2/5 on Dec. 5.
Seeker broke his maiden in his second start at Saratoga this summer, then finished third in the Nashua (gr. II) at Belmont Park in October before his fourth-place run in the Breeders’ Cup. Through four career starts, Seeker is 1-0-2 with earnings of $80,000.
Like Ted’s Folly, Seeker has never attempted a distance beyond six furlongs. He will be ridden by Corey Nakatani.
Basalt, another Winchell homebred by Giant's Causeway, broke his maiden at second asking Nov. 18 at Remington. Luis Quinonez has the call.
Asmussen’s third entrant is Pleasant Closing, winner of a $25,000 maiden claimer Nov. 11 at Remington. The Maggi Moss owned son of Closing Argument scored by four lengths in his third try.
Trainer Tim Ice has sent No Spin to Oklahoma City for the Springboard. No Spin, by Johannesburg, ran fourth in the Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III) in September and then was sixth in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont in October.
No Spin comes into the Springboard off a victory in the Royal Glint Stakes at Hawthorne on Oct. 29. He has been training at Remington, posting a solid four-furlong breeze in :49 seconds on Dec. 4. Owned by Leonard Blach and Ray Willis, No Spin has won two of five career starts while earning $62,430.
Blach was part owner of Kentucky Derby-winning longshot Mine That Bird in 2009. Ice trained Summer Bird to victory in the 2009 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
$300,000 Springboard Mile (Race 9, 10:14 p.m.), 2YO, 1 Mile (Dirt) PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer 1. Reckless Jerry (KY), S Laviolette, 120, K P Smith
2. Pee H Dee (KY), B McNeil, 120, C Richard
3. Flashy Kid (IN), S O Madrid, 120, J D Arias
4. Seeker (KY), C S Nakatani, 120, S M Asmussen
5. Basalt (KY), L S Quinonez, 120, S M Asmussen
6. Fire Alarm (KY), M C Berry, 120, W B Calhoun
7. Mr Bluegrass Music (KY), C Landeros, 120, R D Jackson
8. Alternative (KY), B Quinonez, 120, J Petalino
9. Strong Resolve (KY), L Wade, 120, D K Von Hemel
10. Ted's Folly (OK), J A Medina, 120, W L Brown
11. Pleasant Closing (KY), A Birzer, 120, S M Asmussen
12. No Spin (KY), C R Rosier, 120, T A Ice
Coupled Entries: Seeker, Basalt
