Veteran jockey Quinonez overcomes early problems to get Mister Omaha win in Don McNeill Stakes

OKLAHOMA CITY — It proved to be a fortunate move for one Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer to put another on Mister Omaha. The decision led to a victory in the $50,000 Don McNeill Stakes last Friday night at Remington Park.

Trainer Joe Offolter, who enjoys a spot in the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame, chose his fellow Hall of Famer, jockey Luis Quinonez, to ride Mister Omaha and that’s a tough combination to beat, especially when there is trouble. A younger jockey might have panicked when Mister Omaha was dead last coming at the start with an awkward beginning, but Quinonez took it as a challenge.

“I never expected him to do that,” said Quinonez, Remington Park’s No. 2 all-time winningest rider in history. “He slipped (on the sloppy track) out of the gate. Now, we know he can do both — win on the front and coming from behind. He learned a lot from this race.”

Quinonez has ridden in all four starts for this 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred colt by Omaha Beach, from the Into Mischief mare Cosmic Code. Overcoming the kind of trouble Mister Omaha did at the start is one of the reasons Offolter and owner-breeder Bryan Hawk (Shawnee) like having him up on their horses.

“That’s why we have the ‘Ice Man’ on him,” Offolter said. “Luis Q fits him perfectly.”

It was the third win in a row for Mister Omaha, who now has two black-type scores under his belt against Oklahoma-breds. He also won the $76,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile on Oct. 18 at Remington Park, sprinting virtually gate-to-wire in that one at six furlongs over a fast track. Mother Nature threw a monkey wrench into that plan for Mister Omaha in this race it seemed. Still, he came from the back of the pack eight lengths behind in the early going and made up every inch of ground and more over a sloppy track, going a mile.

Hawk won two stakes last Friday night with his Oklahoma-breds and has a chokehold on leading owner of the meet in the standings now with 18 wins on the season, five better than second-place Dick Cappellucci.

Mister Omaha cut into early fractions of 24.73 seconds for the first quarter-mile, 48.65 seconds for the half-mile, 1:13.67 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:26.29 for seven-eighths of a mile before stopping the timer in 1:39.41 for the mile race. Chi Town Road was out front early by three lengths after a half-mile before fading.

Mister Omaha was sent off at 6-5 odds, paying $4.40 to win, $4 to place and $2.10 to show. He made up eight lengths early, but eventually won by five lengths. When he made his move wide, he made every other competitor look like they were standing still.

All in Okie (37-1) checked in second and paid an incredible $31.40 to place and a disappointing $3.80 to show. He was 4.75 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Periscope, who was sent off as the 3-5 betting favorite and paid $2.10 to show. He took the lead after six furlongs in the race, but got swallowed up by the winner in the stretch. The rest of the order of finish was Chi Town Road (39-1) fourth and Cold Fact (8-1) fifth.

Mister Omaha earned $30,000 for the trip to the winner’s circle and now stands at four starts, three wins and one second for a bankroll of $102,409. It was the first win for all the connections in this stakes race.

The Don McNeill Stakes is named after the late owner and breeder who campaigned such greats at Clever Trevor, Mr. Ross and Caleb’s Posse. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Remington Park racing will continue Wednesday through Saturday. The first race nightly is at 6:30 p.m.