Catchn Southern Rays (#9), under jockey Cristian Esqueda, gets up in the Grade Junos Reward Stakes on Saturday at Remington Park.

© Emily Paulk / StallioneSearch

By H. David Smith, StallioneSearch

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—MAY 30, 2026—Catchn Southern Rays closed with a powerful late rush to nail pacesetter Karmalites at the wire and win the Grade 1 $108,000 Junos Request Stakes for fillies and mares Saturday night at Remington Park.

The 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly covered 400 yards in 19.644 seconds over a fast track, earning a 94 speed index.

A homebred owned and bred by Leann J. Burns and trained by Stacy Charette-Hill, Catchn Southern Rays earned $62,400 for the victory. Cristian Esqueda guided the daughter of leading sire Apollitical Jess from the Pyc Paint Your Wagon mare Mary Paintyourwagon to her first Grade 1 stakes victory.

The winning connections of Catchn Southern Rays accept the Junos Reward Stakes trophy on Saturday at Remington Park. © Emily Paulk / StallioneSearch

Winner of the Black Gold Fillies Futurity at 2, Catchn Southern Rays has won eight of 19 starts and banked $388,799.

Breaking from post nine, Catchn Southern Rays trailed the early leaders before accelerating through the final strides to defeat Karmalites by a head.

Karmalites, a multiple graded stakes-winning daughter of The Marfa Lights, races for Fabian Muniz Porras and is trained by James J. Gonzales III.

The 4-year-old filly out of Cartel Karma by Corona Cartel was bred in Oklahoma by Paris Wixon. She earned $20,800 for second place, boosting her total to $725,844.

Sheza Fearless Eagle finished another head back in third. The One Fabulous Eagle mare, bred by Vaughn M. and Jill Cook and owned by Jill Cook, is trained by Fernando Manriquez and was ridden by Edwin Escobedo. Bred in Colorado, from the Tres Seis mare Ima Fearless Fire, the graded stakes-winning mare earned $10,560 to boost her earnings total to $276,343. 

The top three finishers were separated by only fractions of a length in a thrilling finish that saw Karmalites lead throughout most of the race before being caught in the final jump.

Finishing fourth through last were Jolie Laide, I Am Candy, Flying Bandida, Karmas A Chick, Eyesa Wagon My Tale, and Baby Ruth.

The Junos Request Stakes was contested under clear skies with temperatures at 82 degrees and a 12 mph headwind. One horse, Peppa, was scratched.

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The Junos Request Stakes is for fillies and mares, 3 and older. The race is named for multiple Remington Park seasonal champion Junos Request who won the 1992 Remington Park Championship in a year where she was eventually voted the American Quarter Horse Association’s Champion Aged Mare.

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