At 34-1, Cal-bred Express Kid outran his odds in the Springboard Mile to close out Remington Park’s Thoroughbred meet and in the process the colt took home 10 Kentucky Derby points on Saturday evening.
The $2,000 buy out of the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association Fall Mixed sale broke his maiden at first-asking at Canterbury in early July and was the runner-up in the Prairie Meadows Freshman Stakes in mid-August. Express Kid shipped to Oklahoma City to contest the Clever Trevor Stakes, but was well-beaten Sept. 28. Switching to the local course’s turf for an allowance condition Nov. 6, the Wade Rarick trainee won by a head.
The longshot hustled out of the blocks from the extreme outside post and was able to wrestle the top spot away from Jets Rio (Candy Ride {Arg}). Traveling like a smooth operator under Jose Alvarez up the backstretch, Express Kid separated himself from the rest of the field, but heavy favorite Arctic Beast went on the attack around the far turn. Still, the pacesetter proved he had plenty in the tank and running down the lane his ‘catch me if you can’ tactics worked to perfection as he became the second longest shot to win the race behind 128-1 Texas Bling (by Too Much Bling)…