Page 172 - Speedhorse August 2018

Speedhorse Derby
OLTIGBITTIES
by John Moorehose
After a career spent in allowances and claiming races, Oltigbitties made a spec- tacular debut in stakes competition, winning the $75,300 Speedhorse Derby by 3/4-length at Fair Meadows on July 28.
Owned and trained by Pedro Martinez, Oltigbitties got to the winner’s circle for the fifth time in 10 starts, breaking the three-race win streak of fastest qualifier Hooked On A Win. Oltigbitties has only finished off the board once in an allowance race against older horses.
Going off as an 11-1 underdog at post time, Oltigbitties broke from the six-post and quickly asserted herself as a contender in the Speedhorse Derby, leading by a 1/2-length at the first call.
With jockey Cody Smith in the irons, the filly doubled that separation by the time she
entered the stretch. That proved to be plenty of separa- tion to get her to the finish line first with relative comfort ahead of runner-up Lota Cac.
The 350-yard derby trip took :17.635, posting a 93 speed index.
That was more than a tenth of a second faster than her :17.756 performance in the July 14 Speedhorse Derby trials, which stood her at fourth on the qualifying ladder.
The $28,614 payday nearly doubled the sophomore filly’s lifetime earnings, which now total $58,764. She has only finished out
of the money once thus far in her career.
Oltigbitties made her competitive debut last May, winning her first out, and remained on the allowance and claiming circuit before finally being picked up for a tag in her prior start, a May 25 claiming at Remington Park where she finished third.
Shelley Coldwell Goodnight bred Oltigbitties
out of Love Shack, a 2000 mare whom Goodnight also owns and bred. Love Shack, who qualified for the 2002 Kindergarten Futurity at Delta Downs, has produced 100%
Fair Meadows $75,300 • 350 yards :17.635 • si 93
PYC Paint Your Wagon
Lota PYC
Lotawatah
OLTIGBITTIES, ‘15-f.
Holland Ease
Love Shack
Bugs Fly Away
170 SPEEDHORSE, August 2018
Oltigbittties and Cody Smith score a 3/4-length win in the $75,200 Speedhorse Derby
RACING NEWS
Coady Photography