Sallisaw horse trainer enters Remington Park week without her big boys, but has hope

OKLAHOMA CITY — Trainer Michelle Hurdle from Sallisaw enters Remington Park’s meet that starts Thursday without the two big older boys in her barn that have made her such a thorn in the side of her competition — Charlies Fury and Jess My Hocks.

The upcoming meet is for American Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas. First post time is at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Charlies Fury, an 8-year-old gelded son of Furyofthewind, out of the Take Off Jess mare Jess Charlena, and Jess My Hocks, a 7-year-old gelded son of Kiss My Hocks, out of the same dam, have both been retired. Charlies Fury, a big sorrel gelding with a white blaze on his face, has an interesting career ahead of him.

“We sent him over to Jesus Blanco at Oaklawn (in Hot Springs, Ark.), a kid who breaks babies for us,” Hurdle said. “Charlie is learning to pony horses over there. He is going to have to learn to settle down a bit, but I’m excited for him. He hasn’t quite made it to the races in the afternoon yet.”

All Charlies Fury, owned by Tom and Kathy McAnally of Guthrie, did for Hurdle and crew, including strong righthand assistant Edith Gutierrez, is win 13 of 36 races lifetime for earnings of $463,278. Hurdle loved this horse so much she even owns a bobblehead of him and her among her belongings that was given to her as a gift.

“Charlie was a favorite in the barn,” Hurdle said. “That’s what we call him. I just love him.”

Among his biggest wins at Remington Park are victories in the Grade 2 Bob Moore Memorial Stakes in 2021 and the Mr. Jet Moore Stakes in 2022. Two of his most impressive starts at Remington Park may have been races he didn’t win. Charlies Fury ran second to millionaire Apollitical Pence at Remington in the Grade 2 Mighty Deck Three Stakes in 2021 and was beaten less than a length by that same horse, finishing third in the Grade 3 Heritage Place Derby in 2019 as a 3-yearold. Apollitical Pence was a 10-time stakes winner who won the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in California twice (2020 and 2021) and earned $1.8 million in his career. He recently retired. Charlies Fury gave him everything he wanted when they faced each other here.

Jess My Hocks raced 24 times, winning 10, and was a multiple stakes victor while earning $450,497 on the track for the McAnallys. His biggest victories at Remington Park had to be the two wins in back-to-back years in the Grade 1 Leo Stakes (2021 and 2022) when he defeated two-time World Champion Quarter Horse Danjer in both those races. In the 2022 edition, he also bested millionaire Instygator, who ran second in the Grade 1 All-American Futurity to World Champion Whistle Stop Café in 2020. Jess My Hocks also beat his old stablemate Charlies Fury in the 2022 Leo.

“We really had hoped to get him to the half-million mark in earnings, but he had some problems with quarter cracks,” Hurdle said.

Jess My Hocks’ nickname in the barn was “Bull” because of his immense size. Now he is just enjoying retirement. Someone who is somewhat apprehensive about these two retiring is Hurdle, although she still holds out hope for this meet.

“Sadly we have no older horse to replace them,” Hurdle said. “We do have a 2-year-old in the barn named Cut Across Charlie who looks just like Charlie. He is a full brother to Charlie. We have gated him once with a good work, but we’re going to go slow with him because he was foaled as a May baby.”

Another juvenile she is high on is Luie the First, a Big Lew colt, an Oklahoma-bred out of the Apollitical Jess mare First of 15. He ran second in a training race last Wednesday, beaten only a half-length. He is owned by Tom Keisling, Johnny Lutrick and Wallace Landrum.

Hurdle also has a bargain 2-year-old in her barn named JM Regard Marfa, purchased for $10,000, that she really has her fingers crossed for the owner.

“I own him,” she said, with a laugh. “It was an impulse buy, I was bored.”

One other 2-year-old she is keeping her eye out for is another Jess Charlena baby, purchased the same year at auction as Cut Across Charlie was foaled. She is Charlenas Cowgirl, a 2-year-old filly by Flying Cowboy 123, out of Jess Charlena, was bought by Bobby Cox in Texas, and is now in trainer Heath Taylor’s barn.

“I haven’t seen her on the track yet, but I’m watching for her,” Hurdle said.

Charlenas Cowgirl sold by the McAnallys for $370,000 at the 2023 Heritage Place September Yearling Sale.

Hurdle has about 30 horses in training in her barn currently.