Remington Distance Challenge

Kelly Yother Equine's O Donovan Rossa led at every call en route to a 1 1/2-length victory in Sunday's Grade 2, $38,896 Lip Chip LLC Remington Distance Challenge Stakes (G2) at Remington Park.

Prepped by Dee Keener and sent to post as the 3-5 favorite in a field of seven, O Donovan Rossa covered 870 yards in :46.083. Roman Cruz rode the homebred 6-year-old son of world champion Apollitical Jess.

"I didn't even ask him to run early," said Cruz, describing his trip. "But as soon as I did, he was gone. (Markus Aurelius) was up there with us for a while, and I saw them coming on the outside, but I know how to ride Thoroughbreds, and I used the same method of patience in this race. I waited for the turn and then asked him, and it was all over."

O Donovan Rossa was bred in Oklahoma, and he was stretching out in distance off of his fifth-place finish in the March 16, 550-yard SLM BIg Daddy Stakes (G2). All told, the gelding has won 11 of 35 races -- including seven of 11 at the 870 trip -- and the $19,059 winner's share of the purse from his sixth lifetime stakes victory increased his bankroll to $289,453.

O Donovan Rossa also earned a berth in this year's Grade 1 Distance Challenge Championship at Albuquerque Downs.

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