ESPECIALLY JESS WAS ESPECIALLY FAST WITH BEST TIME IN REMINGTON PARK FUTURITY TRIALS

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – April 3. 2021 – Especially Jess smoked a field of training race horses on March 17 and followed that up with the most impressive win Friday, becoming the fastest qualifier on night one in the Remington Park Futurity trials.

The fastest five from Friday night’s trials will join the five best from Saturday night for the 10 qualifiers in the finals of the restricted Grade 1, $926,500 Remington Park Futurity for 2-year-old Oklahoma-bred Quarter Horses, going 330 yards. That final is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, along with the Remington Park Derby and six more stakes events.

Especially Jess ran to his bloodlines on Friday, taking after his sire Apollitical Jess, who won the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in California in 2010. His lifetime record was 14 starts, eight wins with four seconds for $1,339,831 in earnings. On top of that, as a sire, he has thrown some staggering winners, including All American Futurity winners Apocalyptical Jess and Mr Jess Jenkins. Apollitical Jess is the all-time leading single-season sire of money earners. On the bottom side of Especially Jess’ pedigree shows him out of the Dashair mare Especially Tres.

Consequently, it was no surprise when jockey Jose Alvarez was out of the gate on top in the fourth trial and was ahead of the field by a full length before one could blink. By the time the 6-5 wagering favorite hit the finish line, he was 3-3/4 lengths in front. Trainer Trey Wood had given Alvarez a leg up for owners, and breeders, Mark and Annette McCloy of Jal, N.M.

Especially Jess covered the 330 yards in :17.016 on a fast track, earning a speed index of 83, into a headwind of 15 mph, almost seven-tenths of a second faster than any other horse trying to qualify. The second fastest horse of the night, Reimagine, won his trial in :17.085 for an 81-speed index.

Here are the five qualifiers from Friday (with their jockey, trainer, trial number, times and speed index) were:

• Especially Jess, Jose Alvarez, Trey Wood, trial four, :17.016 seconds, 83
• Reimagine, Francisco Calderon, Jose U. Lopez, trial three, :17.085, 81
• First Prize Dash 2, Raul Ramirez, Jr., Manuel Rodriguez, trial five, :17.146, 79
• AJs Tres of Paint, James Flores, Troy Carter, trial five, :17.158, 78
• San Lorenzo Tay, Juan Pulido, Kelly Heltzel, trial eight, :17.168, 78

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Tracked by more than 165,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $258 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, Remington Park is open daily for casino gaming and simulcast horse racing. The 2021 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season continues through May 29. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.