Who Will Be Up to the Surpassingly Hope Challenge?

Thirteen youngsters will be trying their luck in the Surpassingly Hope Challenge, a short 5.5 furlong dash for juveniles on the dirt.  It’s a wide-open affair that should provide lots of fun for race lovers.

Big Stud                      Mistymorn       10/1     This guy’s coming in with an impressive record of three wins in five starts, including a stakes win at this distance last time out.  He’ll need to speed up just a hair to be a factor in this race, but he’s proven himself to be a tenacious competitor and is worth a serious look at the price.

Home Free                 Redalert           12/1     Son of came home has two wins and a second in four starts.  He’s going to need to speed up a fair amount to do damage here, though.  Bettors should be concerned that he flopped in his first stakes attempt.  Nice colt, though, and could do well if he runs a really big race.

Forest Royalty           Given2                        6/1       Among the top choices for bettors, he’s won two of three starts.  He’s capable of running fast enough to take this race and has a skilled jock aboard.  Failed badly last time out in stakes company, but he’s shortening up again here and that may help.  Watch for him to go straight to the front.

Borracho                     Goodgrits        6/1       Bit of a mystery horse with only a single race under his belt, but it was a darn impressive race.  Won debut handily with an 82 fig, which should be competitive here.  Looks like he should enjoy stretching out a bit off that 4.5 furlong race.  Solid rider aboard.  Will be near the front.  This race will tell us a lot about him.

Raktavija                    Super16           7/1       Son of Awesome Again won first two starts, then lost a stakes on a sloppy track and underperformed in a route.  He’s heading back to sprinting on a clean track here, so he’s likely to perk up.  Will need to improve some off his prior wins, but should be able to do so with gained maturity.  Will compete for the lead with some other quality animals.

Likes It Firm              Li6                   8/1       Two-for-two for Ecton Park colt stepping up to stakes competition for the first time.  Won first two against small fields and will need to step up his game some to take on this bigger, classier field.  Wish he had a better jock, but he’s certainly a contender.

Ringer N’Dallas         Okcshadow     14/1     Longshot has won two of seven.  He ran his best yet last time out when stretching out to 7 furlongs, but he’s shortening up again here.  May not be at his best distance and finished midpack in his prior stakes attempt.  Nice enough colt, but I don’t think this is where he’s going to shine.

Cee Cee Gallant        Sis48                20/1     Longest shot in the field, but he’s also posted one of the highest speed figures here.  Tried a stakes last time out, and finished an unthreatening sixth, so that doesn’t bode too well for this race.  But that was his only time off the board in four starts, so he’s higher-quality than the odds would suggest.

Lark N’Dallas            Erniea             10/1     Western Expression colt has won two of six, but faded badly in first stakes attempt last time out.  Would need to improve a fair amount to compete here, but it’s not totally out of the question.

Black Street               Wiz                  9/1       Street Cry colt has hit the board in each of three starts, but it took him three tries to break his maiden.  Looks like he has good potential, but he’s in pretty deep here.  Will need to dig very deep to compete with these.

Miefly’s Indy             Seapigeon        5/1       My oh my, is this fellow looking good.  A stakes winner at this distance last time out, he’s also earned the highest speed figure in this field.  Comes from slightly off the pace, which will help in a field full of speedy juveniles.  Biggest drawback here is that his jockey has only a 5% win rate this year.

Articulate                    Astin                14/1     Nice colt who’s been on the board in four of five starts.  So far, though, he’s been a good deal slower than the best here.  He’ll need to really ramp it up if he’s going to be a factor. Drew an absolutely awesome jock, though, who could go a long way towards bringing out the best in him.

Horse Thief                Maximilian      17/1     Lots of questions here for a colt with only one start under his belt.  He won that comfortably, but will need to show more grit and speed in his second outing.  If he takes a big step up in his second outing, he could do some damage at a big price, but it’s really too soon to tell much about him.

Should be fun!  Good luck to everyone and may your horses come back safe and sound.