The Bodexpress colt took the lead into the first turn of the two-turn, one-mile race and rode clear in the homestretch to win by 6 ¼ lengths from 9-10 favorite Arctic Beast, earning 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. Artic Beast, who entered the Springboard Mile undefeated in three starts, earned 5 Derby points, with 3-4-5 finishers Royalamerican (3 points), Western Man (2) and Way Beyond (1) also joining the leaderboard.
Express Kid has come a long way as an afterthought at the October 2024 Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Fall Mixed Sale, where owner Steve Haahr of Puyallup, Washington, picked him up for a bargain price. The colt’s bankroll after five starts now stands at $236,902.
Express Kid won his debut in July by sprinting 4 ½ furlongs at Canterbury Park and then finished second and sixth in the stakes races at Prairie Meadows and Remington, respectively. Trainer Wade Rarick next tried Express Kid on grass in a 7 ½ furlong Remington fee on November 6, and the colt won by a head, setting him up for a big jump in class as he prepares for the Kentucky Derby at the Oklahoma track.
In the Springboard Mile, jockey Jose Alvarez was aggressive with Express Kid straight out of the starting gate, spurring him from the far outside post to the front of the field. Express Kid took the lead by the time the field entered the backstretch and settled into a comfortable rhythm and slow pace that carried him all the way to an upset victory. The colt completed a mile in 1:38.99.
“It broke very sharply,” Alvarez told Remington press officials. “And when I didn’t see anyone else going, I said, ‘This is my chance to go.’ I tried to relax a little on the backside and when I asked him at the quarter pole he gave me everything he had. He ran great, really well.”
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