For Immediate Release – Oklahoma City, Ok, December 18, 2022 – Rated R Superstar shows up when the lights shine brightest and it was no different on Saturday night at Remington Park as he took down the $102,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial Stakes.
The 9-year-old gelding just seems to be getting better and better with age for Remington Park’s all-time winningest owner Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla. The son of Kodiak Kowboy (Posse), out of the Gold Case mare Wicked Wish, had all his wishes come true in this race as the heavily favored shipper from trainer Brad Cox’s barn, Caddo River (4-5) just didn’t fire in the 1-mile, 70-yard race over the main track.
Rated R Superstar loves the Remington Park main track, winning for the third time here in only four tries. He earned $60,000 for his trip to the winner’s circle and saw his record boosted overall to 65 starts, 13 wins, 10 seconds and eight thirds for $1,781,280. On Remington Park’s dirt surface he is now 4-3-1-0 for $278,000.
Rated R Superstar won his fifth stakes race since Aug. 20, 2021 when he took the $175,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park. He then shipped to Oaklawn Park at Hot Springs, Ark., in 2022 and took down the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes on Jan. 15 there and then the Grade 3 Essex Handicap on March 19. On his return to Remington Park this year, he won the Governor’s Cup again on Aug. 19.
Jockey Isaac Castillo took over in the saddle for four-time Remington Park jockey champion David Cabrera, who didn’t make the trip back to Oklahoma City from Oaklawn, where he raced Saturday. Rated R Superstar was one of two stakes winners on Saturday that Cabrera had ridden in their last starts. He was aboard $400,000 Springboard Mile winner Wildatlanticstorm when he won the Clever Trevor Stakes in October.
“Danny told me about this horse,” Castillo said after the race. “So I tried to save ground with him and get him into the best position down the lane.”
As they hit the top of the stretch, Rated R Superstar pulled off his patented wide swing to the middle of the track and everyone in front of him in the eight-horse field, coming from seventh place.
“He always does that,” said Castillo. “At the quarter pole I knew I had a lot of power under me.”
Caldwell said he would follow the same path with his veteran hard-knocking stakes winner and go to Oaklawn and hopefully have him in the Fifth Season again in January as a 10-year-old.
“I was lucky to be able to pick up Castillo when David couldn’t come,” said Caldwell. “We are really blessed with this horse.”
Caldwell claimed Rated R Superstar for $50,000 at Oaklawn on Jan. 21, 2021, and he has won six times since then, five of those in stakes, so he has more than earned all that money back for his owner.
Caldwell and his trainer Federico Villafranco tried him on the turf at Remington Park in the $100,000 Remington Green on Sept. 25 but he ran a dismal 11th in a field of 12.
“He’s just not a turf horse, but we really didn’t have anything else to run him in,” said Caldwell.
Rated R Superstar went off at 7-2 odds and paid $9.60 to win, $3.80 to place and $4.80 to show. He was bred in Kentucky by Thorndale Stable. It wasn’t easy sledding for Rated R Superstar, however, as Oklahoma-bred Number One Dude (4-1) pushed him to the limits. The margin of victory turned out to be a half-length. The huge longshot Shadrack (60-1) checked in third, another 1-3/4 lengths back. It was the first win for all connections in this race.
Caddo River only beat two horses in the eight-horse field, finishing in sixth place. The remaining finishers included Hello Hot Rod (4th), Paluxy (5th), Eastside Cool (7th) and That’s Something (8th).
The Jeffrey Hawk Memorial is named in honor of prominent Remington Park owner and breeder Bryan Hawk’s brother who passed away in 2017.
••••••
Tracked by more than 172,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $311 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 features simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
