OKLAHOMA CITY – May 10, 2020 – Trainer Monty Arrossa moved his tack and a short string of 12 horses to Remington Park for the first time in his career this year. The venture could pay off in the season’s most prestigious race on May 30 after qualifying Aint She Tempting (*Heritage Place Graduate) with the top time in Saturday night’s Heritage Place Futurity trials.
After 20 trials for the Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity, Aint She Tempting, the winner of the Grade 2, $373,825 Oklahoma Futurity on March 21, put up the fastest overall time for the 10 Heritage finalists. She stopped the clock for 350 yards in 17.570 seconds on Saturday night over a fast track. She won her trial by an amazing 4-1/4 lengths for a speed index of 89.The Heritage Place Futurity will be run on the final day of the Remington Park season, Saturday, May 30.
A daughter of Tempting Dash, out of the Corona Cartel mare Preslee The First, Aint She Tempting has already earned $164,220 in three starts and could cash another huge check in the Heritage Place Futurity final. Aint She Tempting was bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock.
Arrossa trains Aint She Tempting for Levings Racing of Edmond, Okla., and Dunn Ranch of Wynnewood, Okla. He has risen from small-town obscurity to the top ranks among American Quarter Horse conditioners in the country since 1991. Arrossa, 47, from Jerome, Idaho, won a training race with Aint She Tempting on Feb. 12, then ran second in the Oklahoma Futurity trials with her by a nose before winning the final at 18-1 odds. If it’s possible, she looks like she has improved since winning the Oklahoma Futurity.
Arrossa ranked third in the country in number of wins in 2018 and was ninth last year. In 2019, Arrossa started 334 horses, won 63 times, finished second 66 times and third 53 more times. His horses earned $1,109,943.
Aint She Tempting was ridden to victory by Remington Park’s leading jockey James Flores. He won four trials Saturday while qualifying three to the Heritage Place Futurity. All he’s done is solidified his shot at three riding titles in a row in Oklahoma City, all after being voted the American Quarter Horse Association Champion Jockey for 2019.
The following were the five fastest qualifiers from Saturday with jockey, trainer, time, speed index and trial number:
1) Aint She Tempting, James Flores, Monty Arrossa, :17.570, 89, trial one. (*Heritage Place Graduate)
2) Instygator, James Flores, Jacobo Mejia, :17.670, 86, trial six. (*Heritage Place Graduate)
3) Candy Blood, Armando Ramirez II, Guillermo Valdivia, :17.746, 84, trial five.
4) Dash for Blood, Stormy Smith, Lyle Wood, :17.829, 81, trial seven.
5) Bpmysoutherndynasty, James Flores, Dee Keener, 17.898, 79, trial five. (*Heritage Place Graduate)
The 10 Saturday trials were conducted into light southerly headwinds between 4-7mph.
The following were the five fastest Heritage Place Futurity qualifiers from Friday, May 8, with jockey, trainer, time, speed index, and trial number:
Tied 1) Shott Gun, Rodrigo Vallejo, Heath Taylor, :17.641, 87, trial two (*Heritage Place Graduate)
Tied 1) Coronados Lady, Daniel Torres, Jonathan Chavira, :17.641, 87, trial four (*Heritage Place Graduate)
3) HR Princess Jess, Jimmy Brooks, Eddie Willis, :17.661, 86, trial five (*Heritage Place Graduate)
4) Contender, Justine Klaiber, Eddie Willis, :17.669, 86, trial three
5) Coronados Chick, Raul Valenzuela, John Stinebaugh, :17.707, 85, trial two
The 10 trials on Friday, May 8 were conducted with the assistance of northerly tailwinds between 6-15mph.
The 2020 Heritage Place Futurity program is worth a total of $1,022,260 (including trial purses, Heritage Place Juvenile and the final). The purse the field will compete for in the Heritage Place Futurity final will be $826,260.
Remington Park racing resumes Sunday with race one set for 6pm-Central. There will be 11 races on the program, headlined by five important trials for the Grade 2, $248,000 Heritage Place Derby.
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Tracked by more than 163,000 fans on Facebook and more than 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $242 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 presents the 2020 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season through May 30. Visit remingtonpark.com for free racing selections for every program.