Article written by Kbsweet.<\/EM><\/P> PRICEY COURAGE CHALLENGE<\/B> <\/P> Ascot, 13F turf, $75,000, 4&up open<\/B><\/P> Stakes Record: 2:47 2\/5<\/B> <\/P> (Strategic Allicance, 2005)<\/B> <\/P> WELCOME!<\/B><\/P> This is the 3<\/I>rd<\/I><\/SUP> running of the Pricey Courage Challenge.\u00a0The inaugural running of the young stakes race February 5<\/I>th<\/I><\/SUP>, 2005 and showcased a short field of 6 runners; 3 were stakes winners, one was graded placed one was stakes placed, and the last was a winner of claiming races.\u00a0Surprisingly enough, that race houses the stakes record, set by <\/I>Strategic Alliance in 2:47 2\/5<\/I><\/B>; the horse wired the field, winning by 3 lengths with a 96 speed figure.\u00a0The Pricey Courage Challenge was not run in 2006.\u00a0Last year, a mere 5 runners entered the starting gate, 2 were winners, one was stakes placed.\u00a0<\/I> Flying Academy<\/I><\/B> stopped the clock in 2:49 1\/5 with an 85 speed figure after taking the lead early in the race and running home by nearly 5 lengths.\u00a0<\/I> <\/P> In 2008, the race has 3 graded winners loading into the gate on Saturday and what appears to be a lack of early speed which may force one or two of the stalkers to take command which in my book could only mean trouble for those deep closers of the field.\u00a0Let\u2019s check out the horses by post positions first\u2026<\/I> <\/P> PP1: WESTERN SCULPTURE <\/B>(6yoH by Statue of Liberty, out of Vacheron<\/U>, Gone West x Unfuwain): G1 Winner<\/I> <\/P> Breaking on the rail is co-2nd<\/SUP>-choice Western Sculpture<\/B>.\u00a0The weathered bay son of Statue of Liberty reigns from the Ridgecrest Champion Stables, trained by dorrin<\/I>.\u00a0He is a co-entry of Camaron<\/B>.\u00a0Western Sculpture<\/B> does his best running when the jockey keeps him within 4 lengths of the frontrunners.\u00a0He last ran on December 29th<\/SUP>, 2007 in the overnight Stormy Sea Adle Challenge<\/I> where we saw him racing close up early on before fading through the deep stretch to finish 4th<\/SUP>.\u00a0The 12F specialist is capable of getting 13F as he demonstrated back in September.\u00a0If he can repeat his performance from two back then he will be in the mix at the finish.\u00a0However, it appears that good old age has caught up with Western Sculpture<\/B> with 43 starts to his credit.\u00a0Can he find his fountain of youth?<\/P> PP2: SIMULATION KING(ire) <\/B>(5yoH by Desert King, out of With Approval x Alleged): G1 Winner<\/I> <\/P> Coming out of the gate as the 2\/1 favorite is the light grey Simulation King(ire)<\/B>.\u00a0Simulation King<\/B> is now trained by champions4<\/I> after a stable transfer from legends2 back in the August auction.\u00a0Both stables are listed under the It\u2019s A New Day stables<\/I>.\u00a0Simulation King<\/B> has a mere 16 starts to his name, 10 of which have been ITM finishes, however, the last 5 races have been out of the top money spots.\u00a0It appears that the colt needs a bit of a push from his jockey sooner rather than later in order to make up the distance between him and the wire.\u00a0Simulation King<\/B> lasted raced 10 weeks ago in the Japan Classic-G1<\/I>, finished 6th.\u00a0Prior to that race, the colt closed from nearly 22 lengths back in the Breeders Bowl Turf-G1<\/I> to finish 4th<\/SUP>.\u00a0Oddly enough, five starts ago he attempted to wire the field, darting off to an 11 length lead at one point before fading to 4th<\/SUP> in the Sword Swallower-G1<\/I>.\u00a0The 10 week layoff may either prove to be the downfall of Simulation King<\/B> or it may prove to be just what the doctor ordered after his past 5 lackluster performances.<\/P> PP3: DUBFLY\u2019S WELLS<\/B> (6yoH by E Dubai, out of Mike\u2019s First,<\/U> Sadler\u2019s Wells x Seattle Slew): Stakes Winner<\/I> <\/P> This regally bred horse is trained by charliefly<\/I> and owned by Brundlefly Stables<\/I>, a large stable operation of 50 working stables and 466 horses.\u00a0Dubfly\u2019s Wells<\/B> is one of only two horses in this field coming into this race off of a trip to the winner\u2019s enclosure; the chestnut took the 13F Senior Rizzo Challenge<\/I> by 1 \u00bd lengths after keeping close company early on in the short 4-horse field.\u00a0Dubfly\u2019s Wells<\/B> prefers to keep within 7 to 8 lengths of the leader prior to making a quick bid for the lead.\u00a0He has brought home a paycheck in 5 of his last 6 trips to the starting gate, 3 of the last 5 have been ITM.\u00a0Coming into this race in winning form is a plus, however, 42 races under his belt is a minus.<\/P> PP4: SAGE(ire)<\/B> (5yoH by Great Pyramid, out of Storm Angel<\/U>, Storm Cat x Lyphard): Allowance Winner, Stakes Placed<\/I> <\/P> Trained by sterlingra<\/I>, Sage(ire)<\/B> is relatively new to stakes company & marathon distances.\u00a0Two back in the 12F Ridge Coming stakes<\/I>, the colt only managed to pass 4 horses in the stretch to finish 6th<\/SUP> after racing in last most of the way.\u00a0Last time out, on January 5th<\/SUP>, Sage(ire)<\/B> took on 3 other horses in the 14F Desert Warrior stakes<\/I>; he raced much closer to the pace and closed quickly to finish 2nd<\/SUP> beaten 3 \u00be lengths with a 94 speed figure.\u00a0The horse will need to flash much faster speed figures in order to keep up with some of the others in this race, however, Sage(ire)<\/B> appears to have heart, having finished ITM in 4 of his last 5, including a win in a restricted 10F allowance.<\/P> PP5: FREEZE(nz)<\/B> (5yoH by Zabeel, out of Barathea x Saint Ballado): G1 Winner<\/I> <\/P> Loading into the 5-spot is the co-2nd<\/SUP> choice, Freeze(nz)<\/B>.\u00a0Trained by aggots<\/I> and owned by Briant Breeding & Racing Empire (ladofmanor)<\/I>.\u00a0It appears that the big bay may have been injured last time out on November 24th<\/SUP> in the Japan Classic-G1<\/I>, finishing a distanced 13th<\/SUP> with a poor 73 speed figure.\u00a0Freeze(nz)<\/B> has had 10 weeks to recuperate and may be needing Saturday\u2019s race to get back on track.\u00a0Prior to the Japan Classic<\/I> was a dismal performance in the Coffeefields Cup-G1<\/I> which was run over an off-track.\u00a0In order to see his last top run you have to look all the way back to September 8th<\/SUP> \u2013 Freeze(nz)<\/B> fought hard to finish 3rd<\/SUP> in the Man of War-G1<\/I>.\u00a0To his credit, he did finish 1st<\/SUP> in the Sword Swallower-G1<\/I> by \u00bd length and with a 108sp after a furious late charge down the lane, beating Saturday\u2019s favorite, Simulation King<\/B>.\u00a0All-in-all, however, the colt needs to rediscover his 2007 summer form to steal the show.\u00a0Freeze(nz)<\/B> is definitely the class of the field based on performances in graded company.<\/P> PP6: CARAMON(ire)<\/B> (4yoC by Desert King, out of Sadler\u2019s Wells x Mr. Prospector): Stakes Winner<\/I> <\/P> The youngest horse in the field is Caramon(ire),<\/B> trained by cyprus<\/I>, and owned by Ridgecrest Champion Stable<\/I> which makes him the co-entry of Western Sculpture<\/B>.\u00a0The strapping chestnut colt was introduced to stakes company last time out in the 12F Mambo Jumbo Special<\/I>.\u00a0It proved to be just the right move as the colt raced within 8 of the leader before displaying a gritty fight for the wire to win by \u00bc lengths with a 101 speed figure.\u00a0Two back was another victory for the colt in a restricted 10F allowance against 11 other entries; Caramon(ire)<\/B> raced within 1 \u00bd lengths of the leader before taking command and pulling off by 3 lengths for a trip to the winner\u2019s enclosure with a 97 speed figure.\u00a0This will be his first race of the New Year.\u00a0Positives for Caramon(ire)<\/B> are that he has youth on his side with only 15 starts to his name, and he is riding on a 2-race-confidence-boosting win streak\u00a0Another plus is Caramon\u2019s<\/B> running preference, as most of the others prefer to close from 15 to 20 lengths back, Caramon(ire)<\/B> will have a few steps up on the field racing within 2 to 6 lengths behind the leader.\u00a0A minus is the fact that the colt\u2019s speed figures must improve in order to match strides with the 3-graded winners in this field.\u00a0Could be the upset winner\u2026<\/P> PP7: OFF THE BLOCK(fr)<\/B> (5yoH by Highest Honor, out of Woodchip<\/U>, Woodman x Nureyev): Allowance Winner, Stakes Placed, Graded Placed<\/I> <\/P> Loading into the last stall is Off The Block(fr),<\/B> the 14\/1 longshot of the field.\u00a0The roan is trained by lgbost2yo<\/I> and has been racing in restricted allowance company of late in attempts to rebuild his confidence after several so-so runs in stakes company.\u00a0Off The Block(fr)<\/B> is a deep closer that appears to run out of ground \u2013 he may be another that needs a little pushing to move sooner rather than later in order to improve.\u00a0The nearly white gelding has finished ITM in 4 of his last 6 starts; however, he has not seen the winner\u2019s enclosure since March 24th<\/SUP> of 2007 \u2013 nearly a year ago.\u00a0Off The Block(fr)<\/B> will need to see at least a 20 point jump in his speed figures before he makes a dent in the top 3 finishing positions.<\/P> BY SPEED FIGURES\u2026<\/U><\/B> <\/P> Freeze(nz)<\/B> followed by Simulation King(ire)<\/B> and then Western Sculpture<\/B> lead the field by speed figures. Next in line is Dubfly\u2019s Wells<\/B> who\u2019s seen speed figures in the low 100s much more frequently than Caramon(ire)<\/B> and Sage(ire)<\/B>; however, Caramon(ire)<\/B> is showing signs of being on the improve\u2026\u00a0Off The Block<\/B> pulls up the rear with speed figures that average in the 80s and low 90s.\u00a0<\/P> RACING PREFERENCE\u2026<\/U><\/B> <\/P> As I\u2019ve mentioned earlier, there is a large lack of early speed in Saturday\u2019s line-up and a plethora of deep closers.\u00a0Western Sculpture<\/B> looks to inherit the early lead (unless Simulation King(ire)<\/B> pulls another 180 and tries to wire the field as he attempted in the Sword Swallower<\/I>).\u00a0Caramon(ire)<\/B> and Dubfly\u2019s Wells<\/B> look to keep pressure on Western Sculpture<\/B> in the early going.\u00a0The other four will be hanging back in the rear bidding their time.\u00a0They will have to make their runs early to run down the leaders who will most likely dictate a slow speed up front, saving energy for the run to the wire.<\/P> I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we saw a new stakes record set on Saturday.\u00a0Happy racing\/betting to all & Good Luck!!<\/P> ~Keely ☺<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Freeze Hopes To Take Down The King<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"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],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383","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\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17033,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383\/revisions\/17033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}