A Toss Up Favored in Sooner

Grade 2 winner looking for another win in Sooner State Stakes.

April 26, 2012

James Sills and Abel Flores’ A Toss Up will be favored to gain his third stakes win of the Remington Park season when he faces Oklahoma-breds in the $100,000 Sooner State Stakes (RG1) on Saturday night.

A Toss Up (Sweet First Down-Shake Cartel by Corona Cartel) came back from a four-month freshening for the Remington Park season with a nearly spotless record. He showed he was ready to make an impact in his seasonal debut when he easily handled open horses in the Eastex Handicap (G2) by 1 3/4 lengths. After a close second-place finish in his Remington Park Oklahoma-bred Derby (R) trial, he moved forward with a three-quarter-length derby win in the 400-yard derby for trainer Eddie D. Willis.

Carl Pevehouse’s homebred Candy Cartel (Corona Cartel-This Candys Special by Strawfly Special) rides a six-race winning streak into this confrontation against the boys. The Clinton Crawford-trained mare won the Fort Erie Derby last fall and posted the most important stakes win of her career when she was a neck winner of the Decketta Stakes (G3) in her latest start.

Mary Passmore’s Chi Ter (Granite Lake-This Chicks Stylish by Chicks Beduino) is also in peak form this year and has won his latest two starts, each allowance races at Remington Park. The Jackie Kirby-trained gelding took an open allowance race over 440 yards by 1 1/2 lengths and then handled Oklahoma-breds by three quarters of a length over 400 yards as the even-money choice.

Chi Ter won the Sawgrass Stakes at Hialeah Park in February and then came back two weeks later to finish a close second behind Jess A Runner in the $75,000 Hialeah Invitational Championship.