The Tex A.P. Challenge
Welcome back to Tennessee. It’s time for the boys’ day out this week with the $35,000 Tex A.P. Challenge stakes. We have a full field of 14 horses battling it out over 12 furlongs on the fast dirt. Three of these horses are returning this week after racing against one another three weeks ago in The RAT MORRIS Memorial. Once again, this field is pretty evenly matched as you’ll see by the odds and it could be anyone’s race. Let’s meet the field. In the gate at post position 1 will be Hier Ab Vier, an 8yo stallion by Kayf Tara out of Secret Bag and trained by papaxerxes. Switching this horse from turf to dirt back in June ’07 was definitely the right move. This will be his first stakes start on the dirt and with speeds over 100 in the past, you just may see him up in front. He has been run more often around 10 furlongs but after winning his last start at 14 furlongs with a speed of 103, a mile and a half shouldn’t be a problem for this horse. His odds are 11/1. Mango Missile, sired by Golden Missile and out of Mango Nite, will be starting from post position 2. This 5yo stallion has a couple of wins under his belt at 12 furlongs but in allowance races. He has performed poorly his 3 times out in stakes races but trainer racedragon is hoping to change that this time out. He’s had 4 starts at a mile and a half and has 2 wins and 2 seconds to show for it. Managing speeds over 100 twice in his career (these were his two 12f wins), he has not been able to get out of the 90’s so far this year. If his past record is any indication, this horse has the makings of a great allowance runner but may be a little outclassed in stakes. His odds are 11/1. You will find Samalaman Island loading into the gate in post position 3. 4 years old and sired by Fantastic Light, this colt has an impressive record of only finishing out of the money once in his 16 career starts and only twice finishing worse than 3rd. Not including his one Grade 3 start, he’s got 6 stakes starts with 2 wins, 3 seconds and a third. Also, in all stakes starts, he has ran with speeds over 100 with a top speed of 110. I would not be surprised at all to see this horse give the more experienced horses in the field a run for their money as I’m sure his trainer profly is confident he will. His odds are 8/1. Post position 4 is the starting point for K’s Inkognito. This 6yo stallion is sired by Sadler’s Wells and is trained by kuovadis. He has only placed out of the money 3 tims in his 28 starts on the dirt and has won with ease at 12 furlongs as well as greater and shorter distances including an impressive win at 12 furlongs by 7 3/4 lengths. Quite capable of speeds over 100, this horse has what it takes to be at or close to the front of the pack. He goes into this race with odds of 11/1. One of three horses returning this week after running in The RAT MORRIS Memorial is the horse in post position 5, Sittinwaitinwishin. Trainer tmp will be praying that this horse doesn’t repeat his 27 3/4 length loss in The RAT MORRIS. This horse has shown in the past that he is capable of speeds over 100 but just hasn’t been living up to expectations recently with speeds down in the 80’s his last two times out. He’s also never won a stakes race, his best stakes finish was a second. His odds are 16/1. Post position 6 will hold Kepler Cro Cor C. Returning this week after a very disappointing loss in The RAT MORRIS Memorial 3 weeks ago, this 4yo colt by Crafty Prospector hopefully will show the speeds that he is capable of. The shorter distance, 4 furlongs less than The RAT MORRIS, should be a little more to this colt’s liking. He’s got several wins at 12 furlongs and trainer marianus will be hoping to add one more win this week. It’s no surprise that he’s the favorite with odds of 4/1. In post position 7 Supreme Blend will be standing patiently awaiting the start. This 5yo stallion by Richly Blended and out of Five Son is trained by jessimare2. This will be Supreme Blend’s first start in a stakes race. With one win at 13 furlongs and one at 14, a mile and a half should not be any trouble for this horse but like others in this race, if the speed is turned on it may be too much for him. He’s only showed a speed over 100 once in his career and that was 102 his last time out. His odds are 21/1. In post position 8 will be Humboldt Station, a 6yo stallion by High Yield and out of Broad Raise. Not having raced over 10 furlongs since October ’05 and not at 12 since August of that same year, trainer topicount2 is hoping that the distance will not be a problem in this race. After showing speeds over 100 four out of his past 5 starts I can say that if the race comes down to speed, he has a good chance, especially with a top speed of 107. His odds are 6/1. beabono is the trainer of Longer Than Woods who will be starting in post position 9. This 6yo stallion who is sired by Bastogne has plenty of experience, and wins, at 12 furlongs however, the wins have been in either starter or allowance races. His best stakes finish was second back in November 2007. With a top speed of 102 and only showing that speed twice in his career, he will have his work cut out for him in this race. But, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anything is possible here in Tennessee. His odds are 8/1. Higher Than a Kite will be loaded into the gate in post position 10. Trainer super15 brings this 5yo sired by High Chaparral into this race. This horse has performed well in allowance races but has not done so well in stakes races with a 4th being his best finish. He has shown speeds of 100 or more twice in his career with 107 being his best. If he can bring that kind of speed into this race he will have a fighting chance, otherwise I believe he would be best racing in allowance races. His odds are 15/1. Touch and Stop, another horse returning here after The RAT MORRIS Memorial, will be starting in post position 11. Trainer dlynche is hoping that the shorter distance will help this 7yo stallion by Touch Gold, to improve upon his second place finish in the RAT MORRIS and bring home the win. He’s got several wins at 12F and is able to bring on the speed necessary to win so it’s possible that you may be seeing him in the winner’s circle. His odds are 8/1. Toccet sired the 4yo colt in post position 12, Nijinsky. After 2 impressive wins his last two times out and a top speed of 109, trainer stoneface decided to try this colt in a stakes race. This will be his 2nd stakes race, his first back in June ’07. He placed 3rd in that race which sounds good except there was only 4 horses running and he finished 17 3/4 lengths off the lead. However, he’s shown a lot of improvement since then and may be ready to face others at this level. His odds are 11/1. Red Wind will be starting in post position 13. iant1 trained this 5yo stallion by Monsun out of Valentine Bride. This will be his second start in a stakes race and third start at 12 furlongs although the distance should prove no problem after winning his last start with ease at 16 furlongs. If the speed gets turned on, though, this may pose a problem for this horse who has never broken 100. Red Wind is a great allowance horse but I feel that this jump into stakes level may be a bit premature. His odds are 16/1. In post position 14, No Nag Here will be awaiting the starting bell. Generous sired this 8 year old stallion trained by sesho17. With plenty of experience at this distance as well as greater distances and wins at them all, 12 furlongs is no problem for this horse. What may pose a problem is if he doesn’t start showing better speeds than he has his last 3 times out, not getting out of speeds in the 80’s. He is the longshot with odds of 22/1. This is a very diverse field this week here in Tennessee and it’s really going to come down to exactly what factor plays the more important role in deciding the race’
Good Luck and Happy Racing!!