Heavens Uncle Among Stakes Winners to Post Works at Remington Park, 20 Training Races on Tap This Week.

© Dustin Orona Photography

By Richard Linihan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–FEBRUARY 23, 2026– Several stakes winners and horses of note took to the racetrack this past weekend, working out to ready for the upcoming Remington Park American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season that begins Thursday, March 5.

Saturday, Feb. 21 works:

The 4-year-old stakes-winning gelding, Apolitical Time, stopped the timer for 220 yards in :12.45 handily from the gate. The Retama Park Derby winner last summer had the 13^th fastest time of 49 horses at 220 yards Saturday at Remington Park.

Apolitical Time, an Oklahoma-bred son of Apollitical Jess, out of the Fishers Dash mare Breitling Time, won the Retama Derby on July 26, 2025, after breaking his maiden at Remington Park on April 12. As a 3-year-old, Apolitical Time qualified for the finals of the Grade 2, $244,000 Heritage Place Derby, finishing sixth at 26-1 odds.

The gelding also qualified for the Grade 3, $220,000 Oklahoma Derby here last spring, and was a near winner in a three-horse photo. Cowboy Blue Z was the winner by a nose over Baby Ruth, who was another half-length ahead of Apolitical Time.

Apolitical Time’s career record is 17 starts, three wins, three seconds and three thirds for earnings of $158,033. Apolitical Time was bred by Flag Ranch.

Another multiple stakes winner on the track Feb. 21 was a Paint named Captain Fancy out of the Alcala Ranch barn, Leo Alcala trainer. Captain Fancy, a North Dakota-bred Paint by Im the Captain Now, from the Major Rime mare ND Bunny Jet, won a pair of stakes races at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., on September 9 and 29.

Captain Fancy worked Saturday morning, 220 yards, and got the bullet (fastest of the day at the distance) in :12.15 handily from the gate, swiftest of the 49 that went that far.

Captain Fancy has won two-of-three starts at Remington Park, taking a futurity trial at first asking on April 14, 2024 and then winning a claiming $17,500 non-winners-of-two career races event on March 15, 2025. He last went to the track in a race on Nov. 9 at WRD when he finished second in the Grade 2 Don Drake Memorial Stakes, losing to Vesper Martini by a neck. Captain Fancy was the 1-5 wagering favorite that day.

Captain Fancy’s lifetime record coming into this meet is 13-6-2-1 for a bankroll of $52,915. He was bred by Randal E. Schwartz.

Another with a good workout Saturday was Nine One Won, a multiple graded stakes placed Quarter Horse for trainer Raul Ramirez and owner Jimenas Ranch. A 4-year-old Texas-bred gelding by Tempting Dash, from the Jody O Toole mare Not My Choice, Nine One Won went 220 yards in :12.66 handily from the gate. His best races at Remington Park came last year as a 3-year-old when he qualified for both the Oklahoma Derby and the Heritage Place Derby. The gelding ran a respectable third in the Heritage Place, behind winner House of Lords and Kiss My Maruska, both graded stakes winners.

Nine One Won’s lifetime record is 23-6-5-7, $197,600.

Sunday, Feb. 22 works:

The most prominent horse to work on this day was Heavens Uncle, a 4-year-old Quarter Horse earner of more than a half-million dollars and a multiple graded stakes winner. He covered 220 yards Sunday in :12.60 handily. That was 19^th of 50 who traveled 220 yards.

Heavens Uncle, who has won 6-of-13 starts lifetime as an Oklahoma-bred gelded son of Uncle D, out of the Streak And Dash mare Heavens Assured, won the Grade 1 Remington Park Futurity on April 29, 2024, and followed that up with a Grade 2 victory in the Bob Moore Memorial Stakes at Remington as a 3-year-old on April 19, 2025. He will be looking to continue that stakes-winning streak as a 4-year-old this meet.

Heavens Uncle was bred by his owner Sherry Gilmore and has a lifetime record of 13-6-2-1, $508,399. He has won five of his six lifetime races at Reminton Park.

Feb. 25 & 26 Training Races
The pre-season training race schedule is winding down but not before two more days of action take place this week. There will be 10 training events at 250 yards set for both Wednesday, Feb. 25 and Thursday, Feb. 26. The action begins both dates at 11am.

Trainer Sebastian Gonzales will open up his barn and fill the training races this week with 20 entries over the two dates of activity. Others trainers who have entered 10 or more include: Jesus Ruiz (11), James Gonzalez (11), Guillermo Valdivia (11), Matt Whitekiller (10) and Clint Crawford (10).

A total of 153 horses have entered over the two training race days with 77 on Wednesday, Feb. 25 and 76 on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Training races are utilized by trainers, seeking to gain valuable experience for 2-year-olds who have yet to make a career start in a pari-mutuel event.

CHECK OUT THE SCHOOLING RACES ONLINE
StallioneSearch.com will provide complete coverage of all schooling races throughout the season, including names, times, finishes, sire, dam, sale price, owner, trainer, and jockey, giving horsemen an early evaluation tool ahead of trial entries.

SIGN UP FOR EMAILS
Results for the schooling races will be available on StallioneSearch.com. SIGN UP for email updates to receive schooling race results and additional industry information.

ENTRIES FOR BOTH DAYS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE
CLICK HERE for the two-year-old entries, including sires, dams, owners, trainers, jockeys, and summer sale prices where applicable.

Opening Night Program Draw

The first night of the 2026 Reminton Park season will be compiled on Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, in the track’s racing office. The card for the first night of the season will feature trials for the Oklahoma Paint & Appaloosa Futurity.

Remington Park has provided more than $407 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. The 2026 Remington Park American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season begins March 5. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

*******************

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.