Jess F Y I enters the AQHA Adequan Derby Challenge Final at Grants Pass as the 5-2 morning-line favorite.

© Grants Pass

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

GRANTS PASS, OR–JULY 4, 2026–The Sunday card at Grants Pass features an eight-race program starting at 1:00 p.m., highlighted by the $39,644 AQHA Adequan Derby Challenge Final. A competitive field of ten 3-year-olds will line up to run 400 yards in the featured event at approximately 3:48 p.m., with a berth in the AQHA Challenge Championships on the line.

Jess F Y I has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. The three-year-old gelding enters the final off a strong runner-up finish in the Los Alamitos Derby Challenge Stakes, where he battled to the wire and was narrowly defeated by a nose. Through nine career starts, he has compiled four wins, two seconds, and one third, earning $74,295.

Owned and bred in Oregon by Michael S. and Shannon McKay, Jess F Y I is by Gold Heart Eagle V and out of the Splash Bac mare Time To Splash Bac. Hector Magallanes trains the gelding, who will break from post six with Jake Samuels aboard.

Kr Cartels Calamity is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line after finishing third in the Gary & Sherilyn Blattner Memorial Derby Final. The colt has been a consistent performer throughout his career, with four wins, two seconds, and two thirds in ten starts, earning $66,477 for owner Luis A. Gonzales, who purchased him for $12,000 at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale.

The son of Five Bar Cartel, out of the Foose mare Kr Calamity, was bred in Colorado by Kidd Ranch. Jose A. Rosales Gomez sends him out from post three, with Jose Garcia-Segura in the saddle.

The rest of the field adds depth to an evenly matched final, giving fans and bettors several legitimate contenders in one of the day's most competitive races. More than the purse is at stake, as the winner will earn a coveted starting position in the AQHA Adequan Derby Challenge Championship on October 17 at Albuquerque Downs, making Sunday's feature an important stepping stone on the national Challenge schedule.

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