Juvenile sprinters are highlighted this week\u2019s marquee race, the Gold Champ Challenge. This annual race runs over six and a half furlongs of turf, rated this week as firm. The race carries a $50000 purse. This is the second annual running of this race, won last year by Tamariki<\/B>, who executed a flawless deep close to best a field of six by a length and a half. This year\u2019s edition draws a deeper field of ten, nine colts and one filly. They range from unraced to multiple stakes winners. The oddsmakers used the dartboard method in this one, rating six of ten entries between 4\/1 and 6\/1 odds. Three others go off between 10\/1 and 12\/1, with one longshot rated at 67\/1 odds. With the favorite going off at 4\/1 we should have some nice exotic payouts at the betting window this week.<\/P>
PP 1) Viva Le Diva(AUS)<\/B> Sired by Redoute\u2019s Choice(AUS), Trained by turfy. Viva Le Diva(AUS) enters this race with six starts under his belt. This is his second stakes start, and he is still seeking his first win at this level. He sports a very nice 1-2-1-2-0 record in his first six, with a best speed of 77.6 earned in his last start. That start was an A1x outing at six furlongs on a very tough Delaware track, where he finished second after getting caught in an early speed duel. Five of his six prior starts were on dirt, and he performed quite well, but switching to turf in his last, he got a nice speed bump. Was one of his best runs since his debut. Unusual given his strong classic to long breeding, this will be his longest run to date by a half furlong. He seems to be at his best with a piece of the early lead, but he has shown some potential to be able to close from just off the lead. He has a field of fast starters to contend with here, and he might want to back it off slightly out of the gate and see who survives the early speed duel.<\/P>
PP 2) Barb\u2019s Yogi Bear<\/B> Sired by Loup Savage, Trained by kaliegh. Barb\u2019s Yogi Bear is making a fifth career start here. He is no stranger to stakes though, with two of four runs at this level and one stakes win. He brings a 2-0-1-1-0 record to the table, with a best speed of 77.6 earned in his last race. He is coming off his first stakes win, a five and a half furlong effort on an off track in Louisiana, where he outlasted the early speed to eke out a quarter length victory. So far he has never raced off the grass in his career, and his performance to date hasn\u2019t given his trainer any reason to move him. His longest race in his first four starts was at five and a half, and he was right one the lead in all four. Twice he held on for wins, and the other two he wasn\u2019t quite as successful. The extra distance here doesn\u2019t look like it is going to work to his advantage. His break from the gate would normally put him at the head of mid pack, but he hasn\u2019t exhibited any inclination to close much, and appears to be more of a stayer. Should be close at the finish, but with the firm track, I don\u2019t see him bringing it home.<\/P>
PP 3) Flying Fortress BG<\/B> Sired by Miesque\u2019s Son, Trained by missouri3. Flying Fortress BG is one of two horses making a field high ninth career start here. Six of those starts have been in stakes competition and he has three victories at this level. He brings in a rank of number five in the juvenile turf sprint division. Overall in his eight career runs he has gone 4-3-0-0-0 with a best speed of 79.7 earned three starts back. His last race was a five and a half furlong stakes in Indiana, where he just missed, closing to second a scant half length out at the wire. He debuted on the dirt, performing less than well, but his record since switching to turf speaks for itself, having never finished outside the top two. He is going a half furlong beyond his prior long here. He has exhibited an excellent turf close from just off the pace, and that should work well here. He has good speed and the extra distance shouldn\u2019t bother him. With plenty of early speed to set him up here, this race gives him a very good shot at stakes win number four.<\/P>
PP 4) Maching Me(IRE)<\/B> Sired by Saddler\u2019s Hall, Trained by mymystake. Maching Me(IRE) is making his six career start here. He has three stakes starts in his first five, and he is still seeking his first stakes win. His first five starts have netted him a record of 1-1-1-1-0 with a career best speed of 70.2 earned in his second start. He comes off a five and a half furlong stakes in DC where he finished a hard closing second by a quarter length. He made one dirt start, two races back, and it was his only career finish outside the top four. His longest previous race was six furlongs, and he seems more comfortable at this stage in something shorter than he faces here. He runs as a midpack closer, but his close has been spotty to say the least, and seems to be at its best in a shorter race. He may be looking for a faster break, but not sure he would want to try it in this field. He is going to need a career best and then some to be a factor in this one.<\/P>
PP 5) Christmas Joy<\/B> Sired by Kitten\u2019s Joy, Trained by empirez. Christmas Joy makes his seventh career start here. He comes in as the number fifteen ranked turfer sprinter and the oddsmakers\u2019 favorite in this race. Five of his six starts have been in stakes competition, and he has already clocked three victories. His full record in six starts is 4-1-0-1-0 with a best speed of 80.7 earned two starts back. He stretched out to eight furlongs in his last start, a stakes run in Jamaica, where he finished forth, not being able to mount any kind of close in the second half. He\u2019s never tried dirt, and the way he has been running, it would be hard to justify moving him at this point. He gone from five and a half to eight furlongs, but three of his four wins have been in the distance range where he finds himself here. He\u2019s a midpack closer, and he is at his best when he is about two to three lengths out at the half. His close has been stellar in sprints when he has some speed to set him up, and he should have that here. As long as he doesn\u2019t involve himself in the early speed duel, he should be right there at the wire in this one.<\/P>
PP 6) Rache\u2019s Bell<\/B> Sired by Cats And Dogs, Trained by jakematt2. Rache\u2019s Bell makes only his fourth career start in this race. He has one prior stakes run, and he is looking for his first stakes win here. He\u2019s gone 1-0-0-1-0 in his first three starts, with a best speed figure of 69.7 earned in his last start. That start was his first stakes run, a six furlong effort in New Hampshire, where he finished fourth, holding about the same distance off the lead throughout the race. All three of his starts have been on turf, and it might be worth taking a shot in a dirt allowance at some point. He goes a half furlong beyond his previous long in this race. Sadler\u2019s Wells in his pedigree should give him some stamina, and this distance shouldn\u2019t be a problem for him. His first start, he tried to run close on the lead, and faded quickly once they passed the half. He has tried a slower break in his last two and it has benefitted him. Though he failed to close in his last, he was able to hold the pace, which is a step forward. He has potential, but with the speeds he has been posting to this point, it\u2019s hard to picture him being a factor here. <\/P>
PP 7) Tap The Spirit<\/B> Sired by Tapit, Trained by nagdabbitt. Tap The Spirit is making only his third career start in this race. This will be his first try at stakes level. He has a win and a show in his first two, clocking a best speed of 81.1 in his last outing. Both outings were on a very tough Vermont track, his last being a seven furlong MSW where he broke away down the stretch to best a full field of hopefuls by a length and a half. He made his debut start on dirt, running passibly for a first run. Switching to turf in his second, he clocked the highest speed in this field in his maiden win. This distance is right up the middle between his first two runs, and he seemed to like the longer run better, though that was also his turf debut. He breaks at a midpack\/stalker pace, but in his first two, he had a piece of the early lead in both. Not only did he hold the pace, but on the softer turf surface he walked aways from the field down the stretch. If his last race was an indicator, he is going to be one to watch, and could surprise here.<\/P>
PP 8) Lea Trauma<\/B> Sired by Absolute Harmony, Trained by jfischer. Lea Trauma is the only filly in this race, and is making here first ever start in this race. She is the only two year old progeny of her sire Absolute Harmony, whose last small crop experienced some success on grass, fielding three allowance runners out of seven starters, none showing major speed. Most of his earnings were earned in routes. Her dam sire, Bakharoff, is likewise lightly represented, and experienced his successes almost exclusively in dirt sprints. One has to wonder what her trainer knows that the rest of us don\u2019t, starting her in this race. Thinking he could have found her a bit softer spot for her debut. The no runs to judge by, the best I can do here is wish her good luck.<\/P>
PP 9) Popping Bubbles<\/B> Sired by Royal Academy, Trained by swale. Popping Bubbles makes his ninth career trip here. He has three starts at stakes level under his belt, but he is still seeking that elusive first stakes win. He has run to a 3-2-1-1-0 record in his first eight, posting a best speed of 80.2 earned two starts back. His last run was a seven and a half furlong stakes right here in Virginia, where he rode a rollercoaster race to a second place finish. He is a career turfer, having never set hoof on dirt, and he has five top two finishes in seven starts to show for it. He has wins at five and a half, six and seven furlongs, and the distance here is right up his alley. He runs as a midpack closer, and his close has been fairly consistent. He has shown the ability to close from relatively deep at these short distances, and that could work well for him here. He needs to run this one at a happy medium, avoiding the early speed duel without sacraficing to much ground in the first half. If he stays within three our four lengths at the half, he could be dangerous down the stretch.<\/P>
PP 10) Consolidator Cielo<\/B> Sired by Consolidator, Trained by ohiovalley. Consolidator Cielo makes his eight start in this race. This will be his third stakes starts, and he is still looking to put is first stakes win in the books. He is 1-2-3-0-0 in his first seven, running a best speed of 79.2 in his last start. He crossed the pond to Ireland for his last run, where he finished second after carrying a length and a half lead into the stretch. Six of seven career starts have been on turf, and his one dirt race was his only finish outside the top three. That was enough to put him back on turf since then. He has stretched out as far as seven and a half, but his only win has come in this distance range. His best speed came in the longer race though, where he faced a tougher challenge. He\u2019s a faster starter and he hasn\u2019t shown much inclination to close when he has started off the pace. He should have a piece of the early lead here, but he has had difficulty holding on to it. He will need to put as much distance as he can on the field to bring this one home for the win.<\/P>
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Oddsmakers are calling a close one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":472,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews","category-reviews","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/472"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}