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admin June 1, 2026 0 Comments

CATCHN SOUTHERN RAYS MAKES STRONG LATE MOVE TO WIN JUNOS REQUEST STAKES AT REMINGTON PARK

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, May 31, 2026 – Catchn Southern Rays had not won a stakes race since 2024 when she won the Black Gold Fillies Futurity, but all that changed Saturday, May 30 at Remington Park when she made a late move to pass all rivals to score the Grade 1, $107,120 Junos Request Stakes.

The 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred mare by Apollitical Jess, out of the PYC Paint Your Wagon mare Mary Paintyourwagon, won her only other stakes race as a 2-year-old at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., on Nov. 12, 2024 in the $536,151 Black Gold Fillies Futurity and did it in the same fashion she did Saturday night from well off the pace. She broke seventh of nine in that futurity and in the Junos Request, she was sixth of the nine at the start. By the time she reached the finish line in the Junos Request, she used all 400 yards to win by a nose as the 2-1 betting favorite. She outlasted Karmalites (5-2 second favorite) in second. Running time for the winner was :19.644 on the fast track, earning a 94 speed index, one click better than the runner-up at 93.

Jockey Cristian Esqueda was up for trainer Stacy Charette-Hill and owner-breeder  Leann J. Burns of Edmond, Okla. Catchn Southern Rays was a winner for a sixth time in nine races at 400 yards and won for the fourth time in 10 tries at Remington Park. She paid $6.60 to win, $3.60 to place and $2.80 to show. She earned $62,400 from the purse in the Junos Request and improved lifetime to 19 starts, eight wins, and two seconds for earnings of $388,799.

Another head back in third was Sheza Fearless Eagle (5-1). The rest of the order of finish was Jolie Laide (13-1) fourth, I Am Candy (12-1) fifth, Flying Bandida (7-2) sixth, Karmas a Chick (52-1) seventh, Eyesa Wagon My Tale (38-1) eighth and Baby Ruth (10-1) ninth. There was one scratch early on in the race and that was Peppa.

It was the first win for all the connections of Catchn Southern Rays in this stakes series.

The Junos Request Stakes is for fillies and mares, 3 and older. The race is named for multiple Remington Park seasonal champion Junos Request who won the 1992 Remington Park Championship in a year where she was eventually voted the American Quarter Horse Association’s Champion Aged Mare.

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Remington Park has provided more than $411 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 Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park will begin on August 21. 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.