The unbeaten Lemonesse makes her much anticipated stakes debut Sunday in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks. She’s come to hand over the last few months and will take on horses coming off races in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.
The Remington Park Oaks, at 1 1/16 miles, shares a card with seven other stakes, including the Oklahoma Derby. There is a special first post of 3 p.m. Central.
Lemonesse has zipped through her conditions, winning a maiden race at six furlongs in May at Oaklawn Park, an entry-level allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs in June at Lone Star Park, and a non-winners of three lifetime allowance at a mile Aug. 24 at her base of Remington.
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“She’s done nothing wrong to this stage,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It’s kind of funny, you clear a fence and we give you a higher fence.”
Lemonesse faces some significant rivals in Alpine Princess, who won the Untapable in December at Fair Grounds; Wonder Ride, the third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga who enters off a third-place finish in the Cathryn Sophia at Parx Racing; and Candy Gray, who was stakes-placed last out at Gulfstream Park. Miss Code West was Remington’s horse of the meet last year and is 5 for 5 on the main track in Oklahoma City.
Lemonesse will attempt to give Asmussen his fifth win in the Remington Park Oaks. She owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure, an 84, and is bred for stakes success as a daughter of Gun Runner and the Grade 3-placed Tapit mare Taxable.
“She’s another Winchell homebred that just gets better with competition and has found more every time we’ve led her over there,” Asmussen said.
“The last couple of years we’ve been very fortunate to have a couple of nice Gun Runner fillies that came on with time – that just weren’t real big physically as 2-year-olds. We’ve learned to wait and let them continue to physically develop and they’ve gotten a lot better with age.”
Stewart Elliott has the mount from post 4.
Alpine Princess is making her first start since March, when she was third in the Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park.
“We gave her a break,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She freshened up nicely.
“She’s a really good work horse, always has been. She gave us the confidence to take her to Saratoga at the age of 2. She broke her maiden up there. She’s a stakes winner. She’s accomplished a lot to this point.”
Candy Gray is moving back to dirt off a runner-up finish in the Miss Gracie at a mile on turf Aug. 3 at Gulfstream.
“We want to get back on the dirt, two turns,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “I feel like she’s always been a dirt horse. It was just the timing never really worked out to do two turns on the dirt. This is her first time going two turns on the dirt.
“We’re kind of excited to see how she runs. Hopefully she runs well. She is a filly that we think quite a bit about so, hopefully, Sunday is her coming out party.”
Joseph won last year’s Remington Park Oaks with Honor D Lady.
Remington Green
Unload, who won the Governor’s Cup on opening night at Remington Park, will take his talents to turf for the $75,000 Remington Green.
The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up drew a cast of nine.
Unload won at the distance in the Governor’s Cup and was second at the same trip when he made his stakes debut in July in the Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows. He is a 4-year-old son of Gun Runner and is from the female family of champion Untapable and multiple Grade 1 winner Paddy O’Prado.
“He’s a horse that in his older age has gotten to a new level,” Asmussen said. “From starting out the year as a [first-level allowance horse] to now second in a graded stakes and a stakes win. He’s gotten better with time, as expected with his pedigree.”
Asmussen said Unload’s pedigree also supports him on turf Sunday.
“There’s some very nice turf horses in the bottom half of his pedigree,” he said. “I think that he obviously excels at a little more distance and I think this is a perfect spot to put him on the grass.”
Elliott has the mount from post 6.
Lorenz is a Group 3 winner who invades from Gulfstream. He was up for a head win in an overnight handicap at a mile on turf Sept. 7.
“It looks like a mile and an eighth will be right up his alley,” Joseph said. “I think that distance should be perfect for him.”
Drayden Van Dyke has the mount from post 2.
Ricks Memorial
In the counterpart for fillies and mares, the $75,000 Ricks Memorial at 1 1/16 miles on turf, Dana’s Beauty should get good support after missing by a head last out in the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Mile at Ellis Park.
The race has become a key one, with winner Walkathon coming back to take the Grade 3 Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs and the fifth-place finisher, Safeen, returning to win the One Dreamer at Kentucky Downs.
Ramon Vazquez has the mount on Dana’s Beauty for trainer Mike Maker.
David M. Vance
Jaxon Traveler will be looking for his second straight win at the Remington meet in the $100,000 David M. Vance.
The six furlong-race for 3-year-olds and up drew stakes winners U.S. Army, Competitive Idea, and Run Classic. Gunflash, another starter, is a half-brother to past Vance winner Flash of Mischief.
“Very competitive race,” said Asmussen, who trains Jaxon Traveler. “Run Classic is capable of very fast races, but so is Jaxon.
“Jaxon, as accomplished as he is – he’s right on the verge of $1 million in earnings – we really would love to see him get that done Sunday.”
Jaxon Traveler has won seven stakes in his career. Elliott has the mount from the rail for West Point Thoroughbreds.
Run Classic starts from post 5 in the field of six. He is coming off a runner-up finish to the graded stakes-bound Comedy Town in the Smile Sprint at Gulfstream.
Kip Deville
Three Echoes and Ring Seeker give Asmussen a strong hand in the $75,000 Kip Deville, a six-furlong race for 2-year-olds.
The horses bring opposing running styles to the table.
“I don’t expect them to get in each other’s way at all,” Asmussen said.
Ring Seeker wired his rivals when winning back-to-back restricted stakes at Lone Star. Three Echoes has used stalking tactics in his races, among his efforts a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga.
◗ Cafe Au Lait, who is a 2-year-old half-sister to Unload, seeks her first stakes win $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial.
◗ The stakes action begins in the third race with the $50,000 Flashy Lady, a sprint for fillies and mares led by stakes winners Palacein, Closing Act, and Perfect Wish.
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