The Challenge-Week 38

Week 38 has concluded and Thechallenge2 stable has added a few horses through some successful claims that were made over the weekend.  This came on the heels of unsuccessful claims that came in groves.  Three were made in the early part of the week that were losers.    The weekend kicked off with another three losing claims before the winners rolled in and only because I was the only one who made a claim on the horses.

ALTERED KILLER who ran in a $2,500 claiming race and was riding a 5-race win streak was the  second choice in the event.  This four year old colt likes short distances and is comfy running in the back quarter of the field before making a move in the later stages of the race.   In the race I claimed him, his move was a bit too late and he finished fourth, concluding his win streak.   He’s won 13 of 24 starts and I’ll look to keep him short in distance and low end claimers or low side starter allowance races.

Out of the same claiming race I obtained Altered Killer, I also placed a claim and obtained THRISTY ARCHIE.  This four year old has an opposite style of racing where he loves to be the front runner.   He has found winning success 11 times with this style and ITM 23 of 29 starts.   He was caught in the stretch of the race he ran in and finished third.   He also does well in short distance and low end claimers.  It’s quite possible that these two horses could be entered into the same race but Thirsty came out of his race in tired condition, so I think that possibility will be low as he’ll stay at the farm longer than I forsee his new stablemate staying.

The third that was claimed was five year old KRYGYZSTAN who is a turf runner.   He took a dramatic drop from allowance level to the $5,000 claiming event.  His last start was in a desperate two mile listed stakes event that he was routed in.  He’s had a handful of stake races with nothing to brag about.   He’s been popping 100 speeds in the allowance group and in the 9f claiming race, the speed was 96 which does not look as appealing, rather concerning that he’s dropped from the 100-speed level.  But he won by more than 3 lengths and the jockey was wise not to burn him out.  He’s now eligible for starter allowance races, which is very much worth considering.    8 to 10 furlongs looks to be his range, so I’m excited by this prospect.   I would not rule out engaging the allowance company again either, but I think his confidence may need to be build up a bit.

So the three claimers cost 20 BP’s in the end and it was a struggle to recoup that with this weeks three runners.

CLARENCE COUNCIL made his second start for the stable and ran in the same condition as her first, a $17,500 claiming 6.5 furlong turf.   She went off at 9/1 odds, which was higher than the 6/1 in her first start where she finished third.  Clarence had nothing to show this time out.  She ran just off the leaders early on but fizzled badly and concluded the race in 8th.   I’ll be retiring this gal.  A departing G-sire card was dropped off.

Success continues to follow GLDREWARD who added another notch to his win column, which is now at a dozen.  He ran in a $5,000 starter allowance and at a distance of a  mile.  This was his third outing for the stable and this front runner wired the field and won by over two lengths.   His record is now 2-1-0 for the stable and he earned 22 BP’s in this race and so far 69 in total for the stable.  The win in a 6-horse field earned two sire cards.  They flipped as 1-F and 1-G.

Wrapping up the week was SHAUNS STORM who I moved over to the turf where he has the majority of his starts and shuffed him into a 6.5f allowance race.   The 11/1 odds implied he would be a longshot and he was in over his head.  Finishing 8th out of 10 was not pleasant to watch, but he wasn’t too far back at the end, only 4 strides.   I need to put him in a softer claiming race.  I was hopeful that going back to allowance would be alright as he finished 2nd in an allowance back in July.  One G-card for the race.

 

The week ended with 22 BP’s picked up from racing, and after netting this with the BP’s taken for claims, the stable gained only 2 and there are 557 on hand.  The stable holds 2 E-cards, 2-F cards and 5-G cards inclusive of this weeks earnings.  The two E-cards have been used to obtain a sire-share and the G-cards traded up, thus the stable has 3-F cards when the dusts settles.

The sire share delivered was E-rated MORO TAP.  This is a child out of Tapit and the sire has been bred with the retired Clarence Council.   The two year old that was bred has been named FROST ADVISORY and is a filly.  The name was picked as I’m watching the weather forecast as I type this article and the weatherman denoted the first Frost Advisory.  Hell….Fall just started yesterday!   At least the advisory is well to the north.

Next week, I’m looking at 5 runners going.  Gonna be busy as this will include the two year old.  Something I haven’t done much of is provide the stats for Thechallenge2 stable during this series of articles.  After 125 starts, the stable has a record of 23-27-15 with a decent 18.4% winning percent and ITM 52.0%