Racing


Trainer Shawna Manriquez Wins Second Oaks Of Meet With Mrs Kvn at 31-1 Odds In Heritage Place Oaks
Miss Kvn, piloted by Daniel Torres, wins the $270,300 Heritage Place Oaks at Remington Park on Saturday.

© Dustin Orona Photography/Remington Park
Trainer Shawna Manriquez Wins Second Oaks Of Meet With Mrs Kvn at 31-1 Odds In Heritage Place Oaks

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–JUNE 3, 2023–If the race is called the Oaks at Remington Park, one had better not ignore trainer Shawna Manriquez and her entry in the race. Mrs KVN proved that Saturday, pulling off the surprise at 31-1 odds in the $270,300 Heritage Place Oaks.

Earlier in the meet Manriquez won the Remington Park Oaks with Kool N Foxy. That was no surprise, however, as Kool N Foxy was the 3-1 morning line favorite in that event for Oklahoma-bred in April.

Mrs KVN turned the world on its ear, coming out of nowhere to win as a totally ignored horse on the toteboard. The 3-year-old filly by KVN Corona, out of the First Down Dash mare Little Surfer, flashed to the wire in the 400-yard race to get up by a head over another longshot, R Ladys Dynasty (14-1). That $2 exacta was worth $946. She also keyed a 50-cent Pick 3 payout of $4,347.60 with two other horses that were at 9-2 and 11-1 odds.

The 6-5 betting favorite in the Heritage Place Oaks, Proximity, who had won the Oklahoma Derby earlier in the meet, was right there in a three-way photo, finishing third, another nose back.

It was only Mrs KVN’s second win of her career in 11 starts. She was the seventh-fastest of 10 qualifiers on trials night for the HP Oaks on May 14.

''She had a lot of ups and downs as a 2-year-old,'' said Shawna’s husband and assistant trainer Fernando Manriquez. ''But she kept getting better and better this year. I thought we could light the board, but winning is great!''

Shawna was in New Mexico prepping a filly for trials at Ruidoso Downs on Sunday.

''I was upset that I couldn’t be there. She has really matured from her 2-year-old year and has blossomed into a very gritty filly with a huge heart,'' said Shawna by phone. ''We are very thankful to the owners and our team. We wouldn’t be able to do this without every single one of them.''

This filly has had a case of second-itis since she started racing, finishing as the runner-up in four of her 10 starts coming into the Heritage Place Oaks. She broke her maiden at Remington Park on March 25, 2022, and later ran second in an allowance race at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore for non-winners of two and a futurity trial, and was second this year in an allowance non-winners of two race in Oklahoma City and then again in her Oaks trial to qualify for this race.

''It was close,'' said winning jockey Daniel Torres. ''She broke perfect and I just stayed out of her way. She got the job done.''

Mrs KVN paid $65.80 to win, $29 to place and $8.20 to show. The huge longshot 1-2 finish led to a 50-cent trifecta payout of $1,023.70 and a 10-cent superfecta return of $1,800.82. Running fourth to complete that super was Painted Seis (11-1).

Mrs KVN was an $85,000 purchase at the 2021 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale and owner Thomas Scheckel of Bellevue, Ill., must have been sweating his return on that until Saturday. His filly now has a record of 11 starts, two wins, four seconds and one third for $145,426. She came into the race with a bankroll of $31,900, well under her purchase price. The winner earned $113,526 from this purse. She was bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock.

Runner-up R Ladys Dynasty, guided by Jimmy Brooks, has yet to visit the winner’s circle this season. Conditioned by Eddie D. Willis, the three-time winner has $88,279 in earnings after cashing in the $45,951 check for second place.

R Ladys Dynasty was bred by Flag ranch, LLC of Oklahoma and is owned by Bobbie and Larry Rice. The daughter of FDD Dynasty is out of Lady Eagle 123, by One Famous Eagle.

Proximity, ridden by Francisco Calderon, was favored to win as fastest qualifier from the trials, but after a slow start, she rallied for third. Trained by Monty Arrossa, the daughter of Moonin The Eagle’s only two career wins came this season at Remington Park, including the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby in March. The Oklahoma-bred filly has $150,828 in career earnings.

Current owner Dennis Dreier bought Proximity for $20,000 in last year’s Heritage Place Fall Mixed Sale. Bred by Ron and Melany Shalz, the three-year-old filly is out of Conspicuous Dynasty by FDD Dynasty

The remaining order of finish is Painted Seis, Fearless Moon, Dena Marie, Curls Joyful Wagon, Where Theres Sumoke, A Southern Hero and Sunday Silence.

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Tracked by more than 172,000 fans on Facebook and 10,700 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $316 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 the 2023 American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa season through June 3. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.