Lady Apple Wins Stretch Battle in Remington Park Oaks

OKLAHOMA CITY – Multiple graded stakes winner Lady Apple racked up another high-end score on Sunday afternoon when she prevailed in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks (G3).

Lady Apple swept to the lead in the short field of four by the time the field left the turn, engaging Gold Standard and Classic Fit at the top of the stretch. The trio moved together until Classic Fit backed away with over a furlong left in the 1 1/16-mile event.

That left Lady Apple and Gold Standard to duel for the remainder of the Oaks, with Lady Apple gaining the victory by a 1/2-length under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Trainer Steve Asmussen has enjoyed a solid year with Lady Apple in 2019. She also won the Fantasy Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park in April and the Iowa Oaks (G3) at Prairie Meadows in July. In between, Lady Apple was third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs in May.

The victory in the Remington Park Oaks helped Lady Apple rebound after a disappointing performance in the Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga over a sloppy surface in August.

“The only two bad races on her form were at Saratoga,” Asmussen noted. “Maybe she just doesn’t handle that surface, wet or not, because she did handle the slop at Oaklawn. She’s a quality filly. This was a good win for her against a nice group of horses.”

Lady Apple also provided Asmussen with his sixth win on the Oklahoma Derby Day card on Sunday. The triumph gave him a new record for most wins by a trainer on one racing program at Remington Park. The old mark was shared by Wade White (1993) and Asmussen, who had previously won five races on the same program three times (once in 2017 and twice in 2018).

Lady Apple is owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred III and KatieRich Stables. She was the second wagering choice at 6/5 odds and paid $4.40 to win and $2.10 to place. Gold Standard paid $2.20 to place as the beaten 3/5 betting favorite. There was no show wagering in the Remington Park Oaks. Classic Fit finished third, 8-1/4 lengths behind the winner. She’s Shiney completed the order of finish in fourth.

The victory is the fifth from 11 career starts for Lady Apple, a 3-year-old filly by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin from the Clever Trick mare Miss Mary Apples. Bred in Kentucky by KatieRich Stables, Lady Apple made $120,000 for her Remington Park Oaks win to push her career earnings to $811,950.

This is the first win in the Remington Park Oaks for Phoenix Thoroughbred III and KatieRich Stables. Asmussen saddled his fourth winner in the race while Santana, Jr., rode his second in the event. Asmussen and Santana, Jr., won the Oaks for a second straight year, having triumphed in 2018 with She’s a Julie.