OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As he exited the starting gate Thursday night in an allowance race at Remington Park, Got Country Grip stumbled, and for a moment, the star paint horse’s connections thought all might be lost.

But Got Country Grip recovered under jockey G.R. Carter and pulled away in the stretch for the horse’s 16th straight win, equaling a modern North American all-breeds record.

The win tied the 5-year-old gelding with four thoroughbreds, including 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation and North America’s leading money winner, Cigar, two racing legends. Hallowed Dreams and Mister Frisky also won 16 in a row.

The modern world record for consecutive wins is 17, held by another thoroughbred, Hong Kong-based Silent Witness. Got Country Grip’s trainer, Brandon Parum of Jones, said his unbeaten horse will try to match that mark during a race at Remington Park on April 19.

“To be in the company of those kinds of horses is pretty special,” said Carter, a 22-year riding veteran.

“I knew what was on the line,” he said. “But no matter how much pressure you feel or no matter what’s on the line, you still have to do the things you are trained to do. You’ve got to do all the same things you’ve got to do to win any race.”

Carter had to rely on his depth of experience during the race’s initial strides, as Got Country Grip stumbled as the horse’s front feet hit the ground for the first time coming out of the gate.

“You’ve just got to ride through it and try to get them back on their feet and keep their forward momentum going,” Carter said. “That’s what he’s good at — that forward momentum down that race track. He’s a phenomenal animal. You can look at him, his demeanor and the way he carries himself. He’s got it. He’s something special. He knows it, too.”

Got Country Grip recovered sufficiently to win the $15,000 race for paints and appaloosas by 3/4 of a length over Bust N Moves, with Boy of Summer third in the seven-horse field.

“The ground came out from underneath him ... but he went right on,” Parum said. “It wasn’t terrible, but it was enough to get a lot of horses beat.”

The Oklahoma-bred Got Country Grip is 16-for-16 lifetime for Parum and owner Jimmy Maddux of Weatherford, Texas, including 7-for-7 at Remington Park. He went off at 1-5 odds and covered the 350 yards in 17.701 seconds, aided by a 20 mph tail wind.

“I just do the best I can with him,” Parum said.

He paid $2.60, $2.60 and $2.10. Bust N Moves paid $4.40 and $2.80, while Boy of Summer paid $4.20. Jess Streakin, Calista Corona, Braggin Rights and Check This Treat rounded out the field.

The winner’s prize of $10,078 raised Got Country Grip’s lifetime earnings to $257,578.

The win did little initially to ease the mind of Maddux, a longtime cattle rancher. Moments after Got Country Grip crossed the finish line, he held out a shaking hand to greet a friend.