OKLAHOMA CITY – May 12, 2019 — Charlies Fury qualified for the Remington Park Derby as the third fastest qualifier on April 7, but was unable to race in the finals due to a minor bleeding problem in that race. He made up for lost time on Sunday by qualifying as the fastest 3-year-old American Quarter Horse over seven trials for the Grade 2, $367,750 Heritage Place Derby, scheduled on closing day, June 1.
Owners Tom and Kathleen McNally of Guthrie, Okla., had to be thrilled to see Charlies Fury cruise to victory by 1-3/4 lengths in the Remington Park Derby trials in April, only to be just as quickly disappointed when they found out he could not run back for the final.
The McNallys are back to where they were in April after watching Charlies Fury smoke a field of sophomore runners by two lengths at 400 yards in the Heritage Place Derby trials. He drew off easily as the 3-5 betting favorite in the first trial of the day and his time of 19.319 seconds over a fast track was the fastest of the day. Charlies Fury earned a dazzling speed index of 101 for his efforts.
Charlies Fury is trained by Michelle Hurdle and ridden by Agustin Silva. He is a gelded 3-year-old son of Furyofthewind, out of the Take Off Jess mare Jess Charlena. He was bred in Oklahoma by his owners.
Paying $3.40 to win, $2.40 to place and $2.10 to show, Charlies Fury won his third career race from eight attempts. He has never finished worse than third, boasting three second-place efforts and two more runs in third to go with his victories. Charlies Fury earned $5,838 for running first in his trial and improved his lifetime bankroll to $99,800.
It’s hard to believe, as dominant as he appeared on Sunday, that Charlies Fury has only run in a stakes race once, finishing second in the $267,000 Black Gold Futurity at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore on Sept. 23, 2018. He ran second that day to Viva Le Don, another horse that qualified in the trials Sunday. Viva Le Don finished second in the third trial of the day, but his time was fast enough to be third best for the day at 19.478 seconds. He was beaten by a half-length by the winner of that trial, Apollitical Pence, the second-fastest qualifier of the day at 19.402.
Leading trainer Eddie Willis qualified two finalists while trainer Rick Robinson matched that total with his own pair of qualifiers.
- The following were the 10 fastest qualifiers from Sunday, moving on to the finals:
- 1) Charlies Fury, 19.319 seconds, 101 Speed Index, trial one, trainer Michelle Hurdle, jockey Agustin Silva.
- 2) Apollitical Pence, 19.402, 98, trial three, Trey Wood, Ricky Ramirez.
- 3) Viva Le Don, 19.478, 96, trial three, Tammy Johnson, Randy Wilson.
- 4) Docs Kansas Rep, 19.529, 95, trial four, Kenny Laymon, Daniel Torres.
- 5) Moment of Fury, 19.530, 95, trial 7, Rick Robinson, James Flores.
- 6) VF Jedi Returns, 19.531, 95, trial two, Sammy Valdivia, Jose Vega.
*Heritage Place Sales Graduate* - Tied 7th) Jess Proved Youwrong, 19.549, 94, trial two, Rick Robinson, James Flores.
*Heritage Place Sales Graduate* - Tied 7th) Money All Day, 19.549, 94, trial seven, Eddie Willis, Jimmy Brooks.
*Heritage Place Sales Graduate* - 9) Jess Doin Time, 19.564, 94, trial four, Jason Olmstead, Cristian Esqueda.
- 10) Pollitical Fire, 19.590, 93, trial five, Eddie Willis, Jimmy Brooks.
*Heritage Place Sales Graduate*
Sunday’s derby trials were conducted with northerly tail winds, ranging from 7-10mph.
Racing resumes Thursday with race one set for 6 p.m., with 11 races on tap.
Remington Park is always open for casino gaming. Simulcast horse racing is offered daily. Admission, parking and valet parking are always free at Remington Park. Guests must be 18 or older in order to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino.
Tracked by more than 154,000 fans on Facebook and more than 9,900 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $218 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 is home to the Grade 1, $963,000 Heritage Place Futurity on Saturday, June 1. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.