Racing


Jess A Hilbily Bone Defeats His Brother To Win Pauls Valley Stakes At Remington Park
Jess A Hilbily Bone (2) gets up to win the Grade 3, $50,165 Pauls Valley Stakes on Thursday at Remington Park, under jockey Benito Baca.

© Dustin Orona Photography
Jess A Hilbily Bone Defeats His Brother To Win Pauls Valley Stakes At Remington Park

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—APRL 5, 2018—The consistent Jess A Hilbily Bone rolled down the stretch from over five lengths behind to run down and pass his full brother, Rock A Billy, to win Thursday’s Grade 3, $50,165 Pauls Valley Stakes. The race is the first stakes around the turn at 870 yards this season at Remington Park.

Both the winner, Jess A Hilbily Bone, and runner-up Rock A Billy, are bred and owned by Rockin J Running Horses of Gatesville, Texas. Tammy Johnson trains both and is extremely proud of the Texas-bred brothers.

"They’re full brothers. We raised them, bred them, the whole deal. It’s kind of special, both of them running together."

Jess A Hilbily Bone is a 7-year-old while Rock A Billy is a 5-year-old. The younger brother had the jump in the stretch and managed to get to pace-setting Jessa Little Rusty with 100 yards to go. However, the elder brother timed his run perfectly under jockey Benito Baca to win by a half-length, crossing the finish in :45.607 over the fast track.

Rockin J Running Horses' Tammy Johnson and Mike Wakefield accepting the Paul Valley Stakes trophy Thursday night at Remington Park. © Dustin Orona Photography
"We stayed close enough. I was a little nervous coming down the stretch because the other one of Tammy’s (Rock A Billy), it looked like I was going to have a hard time catching him but he’s got a huge kick to him and he ran him down. He’s a great horse to get to ride."

Jess A Hilbily Bone was at 7-2 odds in the wagering and paid $7.80 to win, $4.40 to place and $2.80 to show. Rock A Billy paid $9.20 to place and $5.20 to show. Jessa Little Rusty had to settle for third, three-quarters of a length off the winner, and paid $3 to show as the beaten 5-2 betting favorite.

Jess A Hilbily Bone and Rock A Billy are both by Rock Solid Jess from the Game Patriot mare Imaginiff. The Pauls Valley victory is the 10th career win from 39 starts for Jess A Hilbily Bone and his sixth lifetime score at the 870-yard distance around the turn. The winner’s share of $29,838 boosted the bankroll for Jess A Hilbily Bone to $171,029.

Jessa Little Rusty, a multiple graded winner by Mr Jess Perry from the Royal Quick Dash mare Rustys Quickid, races for owner Louis Howard and trainer John Stinebaugh. Jockey Gilbert Ortiz had the riding call on the earner of more than $237,400.

Rounding out the order of finish in the field of eight for the Pauls Valley Stakes were Big Spurs, Blazen Panther, Trubador Dan, Admiral Zoomwalt and Dashin JJ.

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The Pauls Valley Stakes is named after the Oklahoma town about an hour south of Oklahoma City.

Tracked by over 136,000 fans on Facebook and more than 9,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided over $189 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Remington Park, Oklahoma City’s only Racetrack & Casino, is home to the $900,000 Remington Park Futurity on Saturday, April 21. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, Remington Park is in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. For more information, reservations and group bookings please call 405-424-1000, 866-456-9880 or visit remingtonpark.com.