OKLAHOMA CITY – Leading rider at Remington Park, Juan Pulido, won both the Grade 2, $435,395 Oklahoma Futurity with Kiss Me Ina Flash, and also the Grade 3, $259,655 Oklahoma Derby with AJ Remember Me on Saturday night.
He did not, however, take the suggestion that he could take the rest of the meet off.
“No, I can’t; hey, I have to feed my family every day,” Pulido said with a laugh.
Asked if, in his wildest dreams, when he woke up Saturday morning, did he think he could pull off the sweep, Pulido showed his honesty.
“Well, yeah I had the idea I could because I qualified both those winners,” and then with a smile, he said, “I just didn’t want to say nothing to nobody.”
That’s the humble side of Pulido. The proud side was him jousting his whip in the air as his 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly by Kiss My Hocks, out of the First Moonflash mare Flashing My PJs, crossed the finish line first, a head in front of 2-1 second favorite A Fortunate Cowboy. Kiss Me Ina Flash was the heavy even-money favorite and paid $4 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.20 to show.
Kiss Me Ina Flash earned $174,158 for the trip to the winner’s circle, just north of the $140,000 that owner Dunn Ranch (Matt Dunn) of Wynnewood doled out for her at the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale last year.
“She’s just a horse that’s bred right,” said Dunn. “She’s balanced. She’s classy. Soon as I saw her at the sale, I knew she was a horse that we needed to get bought if we could buy her and put her on our program. She really showed up tonight; showed a lot of fire, the want to run. I think she’s well on her way to a good career.”
Trainer Jed Vane said it may be a career that leads to the biggest races for the American Quarter Horse breed.
“She’s (paid up) in the Remington Park (Futurity); she’s in the Heritage Place (Futurity). She’s in the All American (Futurity),” he said.
First things first. Tres Crystals, in 2022, is the only horse to ever win both the Oklahoma Futurity and the Heritage Place Futurity. Vane was asked if this filly could be the second.
“We’re going to give it hell,” he said.
Kiss Me Ina Flash didn’t break on top from the gate, but she did the next best thing. She was just off the shoulder of A Fortunate Cowboy, who broke from post-position three while the winner was in post four. Pulido said he wasn’t sure who was in front at the beginning, but he was sure who was at the end.
“I was focusing, looking forward (down the track) with my filly and how she was going,” Pulido said, “so I don’t know. My (headman) kept her calm in the gate. Whenever horses started acting up, he did a great job with her and I think we broke sharp. The 3-horse (A Fortunate Cowboy) was with us the whole way. I was just keeping my filly busy and we got first (in the end).”
Kiss Me Ina Flash was bred by the Flashing My PJs Partnership and is showing the same kind of talent her mother, Flashing My PJs, showed in her short career. She only raced four times, but won two of those, including trials in the Heritage Place Futurity and the All American Futurity. She finished seventh in the All American finals at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico in 2020. Her only other start saw her finish second in the Rainbow Futurity trials at Ruidoso.
This was the first win in the Oklahoma Futurity for Vane and Dunn Ranch and the second victory for Pulido. The young jockey also won it in 2023 with PYC Legacy.
The completed order of finish beyond the top two was Ruse Man Crystal (10-1) third, Whiskey Doc (15-1) fourth, Nena C (10-1) dead heat – fifth, Scott Road (15-1) dead heat – fifth, Valiant Sass (26-1) seventh and One Fancy Cowboy (8-1) eighth. There were two early scratches in the race – Chin Up Buttercup and Crystal Boi.
Remington Park racing continues Sunday, March 22 at 4pm-Central.
Remington Park has provided more than $408 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. The 2026 Remington Park Futurity, the richest race of the season for Oklahoma-breds, takes place on Saturday, April 18. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
By Richard Linihan
