Oklahoma Classics Pick – She’s All In

Photo Credit: Steve Queen

The Oklahoma Classics are quickly approaching at RemingtonPark, and there’s going to be a multitude of highly anticipated horses facing off for the event. One of these horses of interest will be She’s All In, a 5 year-old mare from Georgia, OK.

She’s All In, a graded stakes winner, was rated 64^th by wins in 2011. This year, she’s had 9 starts with 3 wins, 2 seconds, and 2 thirds. That’s a pretty solid year.

I had a chance to speak with her trainer, Donnie Von Hemel about the upcoming Oklahoma Classics, and to get a little insight on what She’s All In is like:

How is She’s All In performing this year as compared to last?

“Well, she’s probably had the best year of her career. She’s won at the Sixty Sails Handicap in Chicago this spring, which is a graded stakes race. That would put her in the upper echelon of her generation of mares running in the country right now. There are very few of them that have won graded stakes races this year, so she’s had a very big year.”

Tell me a little bit about her personality.

“She’s become more business as she’s matured. She’s a five year-old race horse now and she had some ADD stuff when she was younger, and it kinda kept her from being as good as she could be. But as she’s matured and become more focused as a race horse, her consistency has been really good the last couple of years.”

What do you think about the competition this year at the Oklahoma Classics?

“Oh, it’ll be a great night of racing - all Oklahoma breds. You’ll get to see a number of horses like She’s All In that have competed in open company and competed very well, and it’s really a nice showcase for what’s going on in Oklahoma and the quality of horses that the state is producing right now.”

In your opinion, what are She’s All In’s greatest strengths?

“She just knows how to win. She’s won several races, and she’s one of those horses that knows her job and knows how to get out there to do her job. She loves to run on the dirt course at Remington.”

As an accomplished trainer, what do you believe are some important principles to follow when training a race horse?

“Oh I could write a whole book on that. Probably the most important thing is to train each horse as an individual, and listen to what they’re telling you as far as when to race and what level to race. Usually if you put the horse first, the rest will take care of itself. “

I’d like to thank Mr. Von Hemel for his time, and wish him and She’s All In the best of luck this year at the Oklahoma Classics. However, I don’t think they’ll be needing it.