AQHA Challenge Finals Bring Championship Day Berths Into Focus Monday At Will Rogers Downs

The road to AQHA Challenge Championship Day will pass through Will Rogers Downs on Monday afternoon, as three Challenge finals headline the card. The Grade 3 Cox Ranch AQHA Distaff Challenge Final, Adequan AQHA Derby Challenge Final and John Deere AQHA Juvenile Challenge Final will be run in consecutive races, with the winners’ earning berths to AQHA Challenge Championship Day on October 18 at Albuquerque Downs.

The Challenge action begins in the sixth race with the Grade 3 $20,000 Cox Ranch AQHA Distaff Challenge Final. Seven fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and older, will line up at 400 yards with an approximate post time of 2:05 p.m.

Flying Bandida leads the field as 8-5 morning line favorite. The four-year-old mare recently finished second in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Distaff Challenge in a duel down the final strides late. She has won six races in her career, earning $214,671.

Shari Burger and Vickie McBee’s Oklahoma homebred filly is the daughter of Flying Cowboy 123 and out of the Pyc Paint Your Wagon mare Meaningful Memories. She is trained by Jason L. Omstead to race from the outside post seven with jockey Ramiro H. Garcia up.

The 3-year-olds take over in race seven for the $30,000 Adequan AQHA Derby Challenge Final. A full field of ten will cover 400 yards at approximately 2:30 p.m., with another coveted Championship Day berth awaiting the winner.

Notoryous will be one to watch as the 3-year-old enters as the 8-5 morning line favorite. The colt was the winner of the Gillespie County Fair Derby. He has four wins, with three this season, sending his bankroll to $98,543.

The son of One Famous Eagle is out of the Mr Eye Opener mare Eye Popping; he was bred in Texas by Bobby D. Cox; he races for owners LA Racing Stables LLC, who purchased him from the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale for $80,000. He is prepared to race by Samuel Mendoza to race from post six with Juan Pulido.

The final leg of Monday’s AQHA Challenge tripleheader is race eight, the $30,000 John Deere AQHA Juvenile Challenge Final. Ten 2-year-olds will race 350 yards, with an approximate post time of 2:55 p.m.

Hardtohock draws post two for trainer Samuel Mendoza, with Juan Pulido in the irons. The juvenile enters as the 2-1 morning line favorite, as he looks to punch his ticket to Championship Day. He won his trial by 2 ¼ lengths, securing the fastest qualifying time. He has four starts, a win, and a second, earning $8,085 for owner Marisol Alvarado, who purchased the gelding from the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale for $50,000.

The son of Kiss My Hocks is out of the Foose mare Hardtoget; he was bred in Oklahoma by Louis A. Malechek, III. He is prepared by Samuel Mendoza to race from post two, with jockey Gilberto Linares up.

With three Challenge titles and three final chances to advance, Monday’s sixth through eighth races will carry added importance at Will Rogers Downs. The winners of the Cox Ranch Distaff, Adequan Derby, and John Deere Juvenile will leave Claremore with their respective Challenge victories and berths to the AQHA Challenge Championship Day on October 18 at Albuquerque Downs, adding another chapter to the road to one of the AQHA Racing Challenge program’s biggest days of the season.

The races at Will Rogers Downs can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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