OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – June 3, 2023 – If the race is called the Oaks at Remington Park, one had better not ignore trainer Shawna Manriquez and her entry in the race. Mrs KVN proved that Saturday, pulling off the surprise at 31-1 odds in the $270,300 Heritage Place Oaks.
Earlier in the meet Manriquez won the Remington Park Oaks with Kool N Foxy. That was no surprise, however, as Kool N Foxy was the 3-1 morning line favorite in that event for Oklahoma-bred in April.
Mrs KVN turned the world on its ear, coming out of nowhere to win as a totally ignored horse on the toteboard. The 3-year-old filly by KVN Corona, out of the First Down Dash mare Little Surfer, flashed to the wire in the 400-yard race to get up by a head over another longshot, R Ladys Dynasty (14-1). That $2 exacta was worth $946. She also keyed a 50-cent Pick 3 payout of $4,347.60 with two other horses that were at 9-2 and 11-1 odds.
The 6-5 betting favorite in the Heritage Place Oaks, Proximity, who had won the Oklahoma Derby earlier in the meet, was right there in a three-way photo, finishing third, another nose back.
It was only Mrs KVN’s second win of her career in 11 starts. She was the seventh-fastest of 10 qualifiers on trials night for the HP Oaks on May 14.
“She had a lot of ups and downs as a 2-year-old,” said Shawna’s husband and assistant trainer Fernando Manriquez. “But she kept getting better and better this year. I thought we could light the board, but winning is great!”
Shawna was in New Mexico prepping a filly for trials at Ruidoso Downs on Sunday.
“I was upset that I couldn’t be there. She has really matured from her 2-year-old year and has blossomed into a very gritty filly with a huge heart,” said Shawna by phone. “We are very thankful to the owners and our team. We wouldn’t be able to do this without every single one of them.”
This filly has had a case of second-itis since she started racing, finishing as the runner-up in four of her 10 starts coming into the Heritage Place Oaks. She broke her maiden at Remington Park on March 25, 2022, and later ran second in an allowance race at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore for non-winners of two and a futurity trial, and was second this year in an allowance non-winners of two race in Oklahoma City and then again in her Oaks trial to qualify for this race.
“It was close,” said winning jockey Daniel Torres. “She broke perfect and I just stayed out of her way. She got the job done.”
Mrs KVN paid $65.80 to win, $29 to place and $8.20 to show. The huge longshot 1-2 finish led to a 50-cent trifecta payout of $1,023.70 and a 10-cent superfecta return of $1,800.82. Running fourth to complete that super was Painted Seis (11-1).
Mrs KVN was an $85,000 purchase at the 2021 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale and owner Thomas Scheckel of Bellevue, Ill., must have been sweating his return on that until Saturday. His filly now has a record of 11 starts, two wins, four seconds and one third for $145,426. She came into the race with a bankroll of $31,900, well under her purchase price. The winner earned $113,526 from this purse. She was bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock.
The remaining order of finish in the Heritage Place Oaks was: Fearless Moon (5th), Dena Marie (6th), Curls Joyful Wagon (7th), Where Theres Sumoke (8th), A Southern Hero (9th) and Sunday Sylence (10th).
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Tracked by more than 175,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $320 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 will begin the 2023 Thoroughbred Season on Aug. 18. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.