Sep 20, 2018
Rowdy The Warrior at one point last year was considered a possible long shot for the Kentucky Derby.
Rowdy The Warrior raced in the 2016, $300,000 Springboard Mile for his owner, Dr. Robert Zoellner of Tulsa, Okla., and Remington Park’s all-time leading, and Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame, trainerDonnie Von Hemel as a 2-year-old at Remington Park. He then was pointed toward the Oaklawn Park prep races for the Kentucky Derby. The gelded son of Warrior’s Reward is 4-years-old now and on Wednesday night, he showed signs of that early brilliance with a win under jockey Luis Quinonez, taking an Oklahoma-bred allowance race on the turf at the one-mile distance.
As a 3-year-old, Rowdy The Warrior, made some long shot lists for the Kentucky Derby when he ran third in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes in Hot Springs, Ark. He broke poorly in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes in his next start and ran ninth, never showing any of his closing ability in a race that included Lookin At Lee, the runner-up in the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Instead of going in the Rebel Stakes after that poor start, Rowdy the Warrior was entered in allowance-company on the Rebel undercard. He ran third in that spot, but it didn’t deter his connections as Dr. Zoellner decided to give him a shot in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby. After running eighth to winner Classic Empire, Rowdy the Warrior took a drop in class. He picked up a couple of checks for third-place finishes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. earlier this year before rounding back into form at his home base of Remington Park.
The gelding ran second, beaten only a head in his first start at Remington Park among Oklahoma-bred allowance horses on Sept. 6. Wednesday night he went off as the...
