Page 127 - April 2016

Oklahoma Derby-G3
QUEEN WASHITA
by Michael Cusortelli
Queen Washita outran her 11-1 odds to win the $280,000 Oklahoma Derby-G3 at Remington Park on March 26
Ridden by Manuel Gutierrez and aided by a 15-mph tail wind, Queen Washita covered 350 yards in :17.095, a clocking which gave the brown filly a lifetime-best 101 speed index. The $112,000 winner’s share of the Oklahoma Derby purse pushed Queen Washita’s bankroll to $256,690. Adrian Huitron saddled Queen Washita for owner Jorge Aguilera of Houston, Texas.
Queen Washita made her sophomore debut with a second-place finish, a neck behind VF Red Surprise, in the seventh of eight Oklahoma Derby trials on March 13. The tenth-fastest qualifier, the filly was bred by Andrew T. Smith of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Queen Washita’s dam, Queens Magnolia, is a winning homebred 10-year-old with 100% money earners from two starters. Queen Washita is her top money earner and only stakes winner. A well-traveled filly, Queen Washita has won four of her 10 starts while racing in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. While her career took a while to get started, she finished third in the 350-yard Ruidoso Futurity-G1 trial on May 23, 2015.
Queen Washita broke her maiden with a 1/2-length victory at odds of 7-1 in a 400-yard Dash For Cash Futurity-G1 trial at Lone Star Park
on Sept 26. The filly didn’t qualify for the $448,112 final, but she did become stakes placed for the first time when, she ran third, 1/2-length behind winner Satcha Wagoneer, in
the Oct 10, $49,835 Dash For Cash Juvenile Invitational at Lone Star Park.
The decision by Aguilera
and Huitron to ship Queen
Washita to Louisiana proved
to be a lucrative one for the
filly’s connections. Racing at
Evangeline Downs during that track’s 46-night fall meet, Queen Washita scored a wire-to-wire, 2 1/4-length win in a 400-yard Evangeline Downs Futurity trial on Nov 27. She fol-
lowed that dominating performance up with a convincing, though not quite as dominating, 1-length score as the fastest qualifier in the Dec 19, $257,650 Evangeline Downs Futurity final.
“I want to thank the owner for giving us the opportunity to train this filly,” said Huitron after Queen Washita’s second career stakes win. “We got her back at the Lone Star meet and she ran well in her Dash For Cash (Futurity trial). We decided to ship her out to Louisiana and Evangeline, and she won out there, so she did well.”
“We gave her a little layoff to prepare her
for the Oklahoma Derby,” added the trainer, referring to Queen Washita’s three-month break between the Evangeline Downs Futurity and her Oklahoma Derby trial. “She barely qualified, but today she proved she is a queen.”
Double A Ranch’s She Looks Racy (First Down Dash-Miss Racy Jess), the fastest qualifier and 3-2 favorite in the full field of 10, finished second, a neck behind Queen Washita.
Yordanis Amaro rode the multiple graded stakes placed sorrel filly for trainer Kelli Martin.
Jess A Sweetie (Apollitical Jess-One
Sweet Dash), an 18-1 longshot, ran third to complete a $1 trifecta payoff of $392.80. Trey Wood prepped and Ricky Ramirez rode the Arizona-bred filly for owner Johnny Trotter of Hereford, Texas.
VF Red Surprise (First Prize Stanley-Red Temptress), Big Lew (Corona Cartel-Executive Looks), Tee Chic (Jumpn Chic-First Down Tee), Card Games (Apollitical Jess-Stellar Shay), Little Man Rockin (Rock Solid Jess-The Queens Ransom), Ice On Fire V (Corona Cartel-Sixy Chamisa), & Apollitical Streak (Apollitical Jess- Royally Streak) completed the order of finish.
Remington Park $280,000 • 350 yards :17.095 • si 101
Separatist
Inseperable
A Delightful Legacy
QUEEN WASHITA, ‘13-f.
Jess Louisiana Blue
Queens Magnolia
Meet The Queen
Queen Washita and Manuel Gutierrez receive every call in the $280,000 Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby
SPEEDHORSE, April 2016 125
RACING NEWS
Dustin Orona Photography