Mario Delgado and Stacy Charette-Hill had stellar weeks riding and conditioning horses, respectively, to earn the Lip Chip Jockey and Trainer of the Week awards.
Delgado won six races from 25 starters last week to lead the way in the Remington Park jockeys’ colony, moving into third place all by himself in the jockeys’ standings. Only three jockeys have 30 wins or more this meet and he is now one of them. He trails only Juan Pulido and Francisco Calderon in trips to the winner’s circle this spring at Remington Park. The highlight of Delgado’s week came Saturday when Delgado had a hat trick, three winners in one night.
The odd thing about Delgado’s big night was that he was shut out the first five races on the 10-race card. Then he won three of the last five races on the program to end with a bang. His spectacular evening started with race six that night when PYC Fancy Return ($16.20 to win) got home first in a maiden claiming race, followed by a win in the seventh race aboard Texas Rein ($5.80) and concluding the evening with victory in the saddle of SR Dark Storm ($3.80).
Entering the final three race nights of this Remington Park season, Delgado has 31 wins to Pulido’s 64 and Calderon’s 38.
Charette-Hill brought home two winners for the week with only eight starters, and one of those was a stakes caliber mare named Miss KT Perry on Thursday, May 22 in a featured allowance race. Cristian Esqueda, her regular rider, was aboard for the win. Miss KT Perry actually had to share her win as the 5-year-old Oklahoma-bred mare by PYC Paint Your Wagon, out of the Mr Jess Perry dam KT Perry, dead-heated with Brisa de Mar in Thursday’s final race on the card, hitting the wire at the exact same time.
Miss KT Perry has been a godsend to Charette-Hill, as honest a racing mare as one could come by; trying hard every time out whether it’s in allowance company or stakes horses. She had three second-place finishes to spectacular graded stakes-winning competition at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, last fall. Miss KT Perry had her heart broken in the Grade 3 Keokuk Stakes, the Grade 3 Distaff Challenge and in the Grade 3 Two River Stakes. One of those runner-up finishes came against one of the best Quarter Horse mares to ever run at Remington Park – Lynnder 16. That 9-year-old mare has won 23-of-44 races, is a multiple graded stakes winner and has $920,486 earned in her career. She barely beat Miss KT Perry in their matchup.
Miss KT Perry is owned by Leann J. Burns of Edmond, Okla. Charette-Hill’s other winner for the week also came on the same night when One Famous Time broke his maiden at 19-1 odds. Esqueda also booted this one home for owner Burns and Stephan Ralston.
The final week of the Remington Park season continues Thursday through Saturday, May 29-31. The first race is 6pm nightly, except on May 31, Champions Night featuring 12 stakes races, begins at 5pm.
