SHOCKINGLYFAMOUS MAKES HIS FIRST TRY AROUND HOOK A MEMORABLE ONE, WINNING FEATURE 870-YARD RACE BY SEVEN-PLUS LENGTHS

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – March 18, 2022 – The one big question in Friday night’s feature race was whether the multiple stakes-winning Shockinglyfamous could make that class handle a turn race at 870 yards.

When the featured allowance/optional claiming race around the hook was over, this son of One Famous Eagle, not only proved he could turn left but that he could leave a strong field in his wake as he drew off to win by 7-1/4 lengths, stopping the timer in :45.172 for a speed index of 96 on the fast track. The 6-year-old had raced 26 times in his career and all 26 times down the straightaway. Anything could have happened, and often does, with horses trying to do something new for the first time. Jockey Stormy Smith, however, is a pro around the hook and he had Shockinglyfamous on the lead turning for home. It was just a matter of running like he has in big races the final 400 yards in the straight portion of the 870-yard race.

Shockinglyfamous acted like he knew exactly what he was doing the entire way and kept pulling away from a field that included Bubba Bad, a winner of 13-of-19 races at 870 yards. There were plenty of fans that believed in the winner as he was sent off as the 6-5 wagering favorite. Bubba Bad, who ran fourth after getting involved in a squeeze play out of the gate, finished fourth as the 8-5 second favorite.

Trainer Kasey Willis had worked Shockinglyfamous at 660 yards around the hook on Feb. 19 at Remington Park, but not from the gate. His time of :36.22 seconds that morning was respectable and must have given his trainer some confidence for this initial try around the turn.

The start of the race was nothing but trouble for the second favorite as he, and the two horses two his outside came together in an accordion effect, taking their chances of a good race away. Shockinglyfamous had a three-length lead by the time he turned for home. His running time was 4/5ths of a second off the track record of :44.288 set by Snowbound Superstar on May 10, 2009. This could be the first foreshadowing of a contender in this year’s distance championship races at Remington Park.

Shockinglyfamous does it under the colors of owners Stone Chase Stables and Willis of Maysville, Okla. He won $10,698 from the $20,920 purse and improved his record to 27 starts, seven wins, three seconds and three thirds for lifetime earnings of $200,294. Bred in Texas by Clarence Scharbauer III, Shockinglyfamous is by One Famous Eagle from the Langfuhr (tb) mare Shocktime (tb).

Shockinglyfamous paid $4.60 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show. Holy Storm (9-1) finished second, three-quarters of a length ahead of third-place finisher We Call Him Joneson (8-1). Bubba Bad was three-quarters of a length further back in fourth.

Shockinglyfamous is a multiple stakes winner, but hasn’t won any black-type races since 2020. He won the $15,000 Rillito Challenge Championship Stakes at Ruidoso Downs at 440 yards on July 12, 2020. Prior to that he had won the $50,000 SLM Big Daddy Stakes at Remington Park at 550 yards on March 14, 2020. He finished second in that race this year, beaten a half-length. He also won the $130,000 Altoona Derby on Oct. 12, 2019 at Prairie Meadows in Iowa. Friday night’s performance may be an indication that he could be climbing back to the stakes scale with a new weapon under his belt, the hook.

Live racing continues this week with first post of 6 p.m. Saturday with a card loaded with stakes races, including the Grade 1 $440,800 Oklahoma Futurity and the Grade 3 $262,700 Oklahoma Derby. Sunday afternoon racing is at 4 p.m. All times are Central.

•••••

Tracked by more than 168,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $286 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 the home of the historic Oklahoma Futurity on March 19. Simulcast horse racing featured daily, the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.