GET N HIGH Challenge highlights Kansas juvies

Kansas race fans will have the pleasure of getting a glimpse towards the future this week, as six juvenile runners will be dueling on the mile turf Saturday in the fourth annual GET N HIGH Challenge.

A number of participants from past Challenges have gone on to have very successful careers, and last year’s winner, Scientific Proof(IRE), has already garnered nearly $200K in earnings in only 14 starts. This year’s winner will take home the lion’s share of a $50,000 purse.

Here’s a rundown of the six entries:

PP1      War Surge(NY)                     boldruler                      O Cheeseman              3/1

Golden Missile-Surge, by Distorted Humor

This bay colt will be hitting the track for the fourth time in its career, and its second on turf. However, the last time out was on turf, when it broke its maiden with a superb closing effort in an MSW31800. War Surge has hit the board in two of his three races and shows great potential if he can learn from his previous race four weeks ago, which was run at 7 furlongs. Jock O Cheeseman has had a solid career, but has had a down year, coming in the money only 18% of the time and winning at a 3.2% rate. Look for War Surge to slide to mid-pack and try to make a move towards the end.

PP2      Point Down(KY)                   zibby                           S Moskowitz               13/1

Down the Aisle-Forgetful Becky, by Bon Point (GB)

Deelynet Stables sends this light grey colt out to represent its cause as well as that of the Minnesota Downs residency. Bred out of a moderately successful bargain sire, Point Down may be the long shot, but one look at his last race shows that he has some good stuff. Stalking the lead and taking control at the half mile mark, Point Down ran a speed of 81 on his way to a win in only his second race out — run six furlongs on turf. While it was not the highest level MSW, he did defeat Golden Lure, who has a stakes ITM finish. The main concern may be whether he can make the transition to the longer distance. He may show a preference to run at the lead or just off it, and may find himself tiring at a distance longer than anything he has run before. That stamina mystery is what makes him the long shot for me, but might not be a bad shot-in-the-dark pick. With a lot of closers in the field, he may be able to set a pace that he is comfortable with.

PP3      Disrepute(KY)                       pjlstables                     B Coates                     5/2

Dixieland Band-Northern Resort, by Fusaichi Pegasus

This brown colt will look to bring stakes glory to Pedro’s Racing Empire and the EAAA Racing residency this weekend. The most experienced colt in the field, Disrepute wasted no time kicking his career into high gear. Skipping the maiden phase and jumping right into an A22000NW3t, the horse ran a 72 speed for the win in his first ever race. Disrepute picked up another win his last time out, a 5.5 furlong on turf stakes four weeks ago. He has hit the board in three out of his four races, with his only miss coming in a Gr. II juvenile stakes, making him the only horse in the field with graded experience. It’s hard to bet against Disrepute with his history of strong runs against very good competition. It won’t hurt to have the track’s best jockey aboard. Look for the two-year-old to settle mid-pack before starting to make his move at the half-mile mark.

PP4      Diktionary(JPN)                    cmd3                           M Arnold                    6/1

Diktat(GB)-Porky Pine, by Pine Bluff

This CMD Stables (Comedy Central residency) brown colt has only one race under its belt, and therefore is hard to judge. Diktionary used a small burst of speed to slide from mid-pack in his last race to show third in the FAST CAT Memorial Stakes a month ago. The two horses that finished in front of him — Editor’s Finest and Sunlight on Chrome — have found success in their careers and should be considered strong competition. Having only gone 5.5 furlongs, though, it is yet to be seen if Diktionary is ready for a miler. His sire, Diktat, has had inconsistent success producing winners in the sim, but should provide some distance bloodlines to allow this runner to go longer. This race will test whether Diktionary is ready to mature into longer distances already.

PP5      Solo Act(KY)                         correction                    W Collins                    5/2

Scat Daddy-First Edition, by Storm Cat

Dixiedotco Racing and the Pastures of Green residency send this chestnut racer to Kansas as the co-favorite. Solo Act has three solid MSW performances on his resume, with his last race on the turf at 6 furlongs. He took that race in strong fashion and was never really challenged in his gate-to-wire win. I look for him to again try to get right to the front and set the pace. Solo Act showed no signs of slowing at the shorter distance, but will need to feel out eight furlongs this time around. This will definitely be a step up in competition for him, but performed well in his first turf experience and may have learned a little heading into this contest.

PP6      Dark Mage(KY)                    pauls                            L Buchholtz                7/2

Theatrical(IRE) x Caerleon x Alydar

As the only scratchbred horse in the field, this brown colt will look to get it done for Windward Farms and the Northwest Racing Circuit residency. Dark Mage has more turf experience than any of the other runners, winning his first time out in a 4.5 furlong MSW and then gaining a second consecutive win in a 6 furlong allowance. He then took a step up into the WAY MAYYING Stakes early this month, where he was the betting favorite but clearly not the strongest horse in the race. He finished fifth behind a strong contingent of horses, including winner and $80K earner Trick or Treason. Dark Mage has seen increasing speed numbers with increasing distance, and would have finished better in the WAY MAYYING  if there had been more track, as he was closing hard down the stretch. I consider this race to be a slight downgrade from his last outing, which could mean good things for this runner. Look for him to slide to the back before trying to make his move. With an impressive route pedigree, he may have it in him to push to this longer race.

As I mentioned, it can be difficult to handicap a race full of horses with limited experience. This race may separate the cream of the crop from the pretenders, but I think there are a number of quality runners here.

Point Down and Solo Act should provide the speed in this race, with the rest of the field looking to close. However, I don’t expect either of those horses to win.

My pick for the win is Disrepute. Although he is still untested at the mile distance, he has faced very difficult competition compared to the other horses, so this will be a step down for him. I expect him to be able to show his quality at the 8 furlong distance and the firm turf should do him well.

It is quite tempting to pick Dark Mage as my winner, but will put him as my runner-up. I love this horse’s pedigree and his runs have gotten better as the distance has increased. He is an experienced turf runner, so his ability to handle the grass is not in question. I expect him to make a charge and just miss out on the victory, but put together yet another nice run in what I’m sure will be a very successful career.

I’m going to go with the long-shot next, and say that Point Down will hit the board in third. He is coming off a speed of 81 — the highest of the field — and I think he will head to the front immediately and battle co-favorite Solo Act, but both will fade. I like Point Down’s mount and think Moskowitz will be able to bring home a nice ITM finish.