Discreetness Rallies to Win Springboard Mile at Remington Park

OKLAHOMA CITY – On the final day of the season at Remington Park, the winners were mostly found on the front end of the race fields. That was the case until the final race of the afternoon and season, when Discreetness rolled from the back to win the $250,000 Springboard Mile, Remington Park’s top 2-year-old race of the season.

Owned by Xpress Thoroughbreds of Texarkana, Ark. and trained by William “Jenks” Fires, Discreetness was directed to victory by jockey Jon Court. The pace in the Springboard Mile came back to the pack for one of the rare times on the afternoon when dueling front-runners Giant Trick and then Blue Wings gave way, setting it up for others to rally.

Seventh along the backstretch, Discreetness stayed clear of traffic, well off the rail. Court asked his colt to move as the field moved through the final turn and he responded with a five-wide move, joining a group of four at the top of the stretch to battle for the win.

Discreetness stayed wide and avoided a weaving Esposito, who briefly grabbed the lead in the stretch, allowing for a cleaner path. Suddenbreakingnews rallied to the inside of Discreetness and had to deal with moving between the rivals. Discreetness hit the finish, just a nose better than Suddenbreakingnews.

“It was quite exciting at the end, a little too tight for comfort,” Court noted. “I think this horse has really come a long way. He’s still really learning how to run. He put it together tonight and showed what he’s capable of doing. I had to hold (Suddenbreakingnews) off and had to switch sticks back and forth, just enough to keep that nod in front.”

The quarterly splits for the Springboard Mile went in :23.50 for the opening quarter-mile, :46.58 for the half-mile, 1:11.93 for three-quarters of a mile and then 1:39.15 for the final time on the sloppy track.

The Springboard Mile is intended to help vault 2-year-olds into a positive 3-year-old campaign and dreams of Triple Crown competition. That is exactly the plan for Discreetness according to Fires.

“We plan to go to the Smarty Jones (at Oaklawn Park) and from there hopefully right on through. We hope to get to the Kentucky Derby but we’ll walk one step at a time.”

Discreetness was 9-1 in the wagering and paid $21.40 to win, $7.80 to place and $3.60 to show. Suddenbreakingnews returned $4 to place and $2.80 to show. Esposito finished three-quarters of a length behind the winner in third, paying $2.40 to show as the 7-5 beaten wagering favorite.

Bred in Kentucky by Trackside Farm & Tenlane Farm, Discreetness is a colt by Discreet Cat from the Elusive Quality mare Fondness. The Springboard Mile is the third career win for Discreetness from five attempts. He broke his maiden in his career debut at Arlington Park in August before finishing sixth there in the Arlington-Washington Futurity. He won in a conditioned allowance race at Churchill Downs in September before running fourth in the Street Sense Stakes there in November.

The Springboard paycheck of $150,000 boosts the total earnings of Discreetness to $192,122. This is the first Springboard Mile win for all the connections.

Open for casino gaming and simulcast racing, Remington Park features the Bricktown Brewery on the casino floor. Admission, general parking and valet parking are always free at Remington Park.

Tracked by over 88,000 fans on Facebook and 6,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park is Oklahoma City’s only Racetrack & Casino and is located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.

Source: Remington Park