Hunka Burning Love Continues Strong Fall, Winning Jeffrey Hawk Memorial

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Hunka Burning Love won for the fourth time in his last 5 starts, taking the $60,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial Stakes on Friday night. 3 of the victories in his current run have taken place at Remington Park.

When Hunka Burning Love wins, he wins with ease. This 6-year-old gelding won going away in the Jeffrey Hawk by 2 3/4 lengths as the 8/5 betting favorite in the 1 mile 70-yard event for older runners. His other 3 wins came by margins of 4 lengths in the $100,000 Delta Mile at Delta Downs on November 28, by 13 in an allowance here on September 11 and by 6 1/2 in the $75,000 Governor’s Cup on August 21, the opening night of the Remington Park season.

Hunka Burning Love is owned by End Zone Athletics of Mansfield, Texas and trained by Karl Broberg, jockey Ramon Vazquez was in the irons for the Hawk Memorial. He is the fourth different rider Broberg has used in Hunka Burning Love’s streak. David Cabrera won aboard him in the Governor’s Cup and following allowance race. Then Tim Thornton won on him at Delta Downs. Orlando Mojica was aboard in the David Vance Stakes, when Hunka Burning Love proved he didn’t care for shortening up to a 6-furlong sprint, finishing fifth, beaten 7 lengths by Chief Cicatriz.

Hunka Burning Love, a gelded son of Into Mischief, the top sire in the country, out of the Thunder Gulch mare Touch of Fire, has also won 8 of 14 races this year. He earned $36,000 in the Hawk Memorial to improve his record to 46 starts, 16 wins, 4 seconds and 6 thirds for $517,329 in total earnings. He also won the Lone Star Mile in Grand Prairie, Texas, this summer by a head. Hunka Burning Love was bred in Kentucky by Morris B. Floyd and Chuck Givens.

Hunka Burning Love covered distance in 1:42.49 seconds and made every pole a winning one over the fast track. He went :23.35 for the first 1/4-mile, :46.85 for the 1/2-mile, 1:11.33 for 3/4 of a mile and 1:37.95 for the mile. He was the 8/5 post-time favorite and returned $5.40 to win, $3.60 to place and $3 to show. Summer Revolution (8/1) was second and Fast Breakin Cash (9/1) third, another 2 lengths back.

The remaining order of finish was Plainsman (4^th), Box Seat (5^th), Rotation (6^th), Popularity (7^th), Vangilder (8^th) and Drifting West in last.

This was the first win in the Hawk Memorial for all of the connections of Hunka Burning Love.