VALIANT PAINTED SIGN POSTS FASTEST QUALIFYING TIME IN REMINGTON PARK DERBY TRIALS

by Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – April 6, 2025 – Valiant Painted Sign has never tasted stakes success, but the 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding will enter the $185,455 Remington Park Derby finals on Saturday, April 19 as the fastest qualifier.

Under jockey Juan Pulido, the gelded son of Valiant Hero, from the PYC Paint Your Wagon mare Third Painted Sign, qualified as the fastest of 38 sophomore American Quarter Horses in four  trials Sunday.

As a horse still eligible for a non-winners of two lifetime allowance race, Valiant Painted Sign was a bit of a surprise as the one who wound up on top at the end of the day for trainer Josue Garcia and owner Darling Farms of Lamont, Okla. Their big runner had almost qualified for the Oklahoma Derby in March when he ran second by a nose in his trial, but his time was not fast enough. It was a different story Sunday.

Pulido broke third from the gate on the winner and soon engaged with Lomax for a memorable stretch run. Valiant Painted Sign was in the one post-position and Lomax came out of post number nine, so it was difficult to distinguish which horse was in the lead when they powered past the finish. There couldn’t have been a horse whisker between them at the finish line. It took a minute, but the photo determined there was a tiny bit of space between the top two finishers. How tiny? Try three-thousandths of a second. Valiant Painted Sign ran the 400 yards in :19.472 seconds for a 99 speed-index. Lomax was right next to him in :19.475, also earning a 99.

It was the shortest of noses, but the largest of disappointments for runner-up Lomax’s connections – jockey Francisco Calderon, trainer Tyler Stein and owner Tom Maher of Pierre, S.D.

To be fair, Valiant Painted Sign’s 1-for-7 record coming into these trials was more impressive than it sounds. His one win lifetime came in the futurity trials for the Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas in October last fall, when he won by a head. His time, however, was not quick enough to qualify for those finals. His career record now is eight starts, two wins, two seconds and one third for a bankroll of $20,738. He was bred in Oklahoma by his owner.

Sent off at 5-1 odds, Valiant Painted Sign paid $13 to win, $6.40 to place, and $4 to show. Lomax (5-1) was another three-quarters of a length ahead of third-place finisher Flying Wrangler, who was the lukewarm 3-1 post-time favorite.

It was a free-for-all for the top 10 qualifiers as 10 different jockeys, trainers and owners earned a berth in the finals.

The rest of the top 10 qualifiers for the Derby, an event for eligible Oklahoma-breds, past the fastest qualifier (with jockey, trainer, trial number, race number, time and speed index) were:

• Lomax, Francisco Calderon, Tyler Stein, trial three (race nine), :19.475, 99
• Toastin Heros, James Flores, Clint Crawford, trial four (race 10), :19.483, 99
• Stetsonn, Bryan Candanosa, Dean Frey, trial two (race eight), :19.548, 97
• Flying Wrangler, Eugenio Navarette, Stacey Capps, trial three (race nine), :19.579, 96
• BV I B Quick, Jhaciel Soto, Eddie Lee “Bubba” Willis, trial four (race 10), :19.583, 96
• Relentless American, Ramiro Garcia, Jason Olmstead, trial four (race 10), :19.616, 95
• Pluto 22, Francisco Calderon, Cristian Alcala, trial one (race seven), :19.617, 95
• Sunnyside Dynasty, Rolando Raudales, Victor Ibarra, trial three (race nine), :19.658, 94
• Mr Charlie Brown, Jesus Salazar, Guillermo Valdivia, trial one (race seven), :19.670, 94

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Remington Park has provided more than $377 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 presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 American Quarter Horse Season, features the $868,455 Remington Park Futurity on Saturday, April 19. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.