Gjr Rooster headlines the Q-Racing Video Distance Challenge trials on Friday at Sam Houston Race Park.

© Jack Coady Photogrpahy

By Stallionesearch / Louanne Wainscott

HOUSTON, TX–April 20, 2026—The Friday card at Sam Houston Race Park brings together a full slate of AQHA Challenge Trials, highlighted by the Q-Racing Video Distance Challenge, the Adequan Derby, and the John Deere Juvenile, offering a competitive night across multiple division.

The opening two races will feature twelve distance specialists competing in a pair of 870-yard trials, with the fastest eight advancing to the $30,000 added Q-Racing Video Distance Challenge final. Despite the compact field size, the group is loaded with proven runners, setting up a highly competitive pair of heats.

Headlining the second trial is Gjr Rooster, who enters as the 2-5 morning line favorite. The five-year-old gelding enjoyed a standout campaign last season, capturing the G2 Benny Pennington Memorial Stakes and the G3 Lone Star Park Distance Championship Stakes, while also finishing second in the G1 AQHA Distance Challenge Championship. With four career victories and seven runner-up finishes, he has compiled earnings of $162,379.

Sired by This Is an Eagle and out of the A Little Illegal (TB) mare Granny Grump (TB), Gjr Rooster was bred in Texas by Gerald Rich. He races for owners Richard D. Young, Joe David Yates, and Zack Stinebaugh, who also serves as trainer. Purchased for $15,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale, he will break from post two under Gilberto Linares, who takes the call for the first time. While several accomplished distance runners line up across both trials, Gjr Rooster’s resume makes him the one to beat as the field looks to secure a spot in the May 9 final.

The third and fourth races shift the focus to the three-year-old division, where seventeen sophomores will compete in two 400-yard trials, with the ten fastest times advancing to the $40,000 added Adequan Derby final. The group appears evenly matched on paper, adding intrigue to both heats.

In the second trial, The Valiant Flame enters as the 2-1 morning line choice. The filly has made five career starts, recording two wins and one second-place finish while qualifying for both the G3 Sam Houston Juvenile Challenge and the G2 TQHA Sires Cup Futurity. With $33,436 in earnings, she returns for her first start of the year, looking to establish herself early in her sophomore campaign.

The Texas-bred filly, owned by Torres Buildings, is sired by The Louisiana Cartel and out of the Valiant Hero mare Valiant Flame. Trainer Brian Stroud will saddle her from post four with Jose R. Herbert aboard. With several lightly raced but capable runners entered, both trials present opportunities for emerging talent to step forward and earn a place in the May 9 final.

Juvenile action begins in race five, where the first of six 350-yard trials will determine qualifiers for the $40,000 John Deere Juvenile. A total of fifty-four two-year-olds will compete, with many making their first career start, creating a wide-open, unpredictable series of heats.

Among the standouts is Kissem and Leavum, who is entered in the eighth race as the 8-5 morning line favorite. The colt exits the Oklahoma Futurity trials, where he finished a strong second after a late duel, showing both early ability and competitiveness. That effort provides him with one of the more established profiles in a field dominated by first-time starters, giving him an edge as he looks to post a qualifying time.

Sired by Kiss My Hocks and out of the Tac It Like a Man mare Made to Dash, Kissem and Leavum was bred in Oklahoma by Randy J. Davis. He races for owner Jose U. Pepe Lopez, who purchased him for $53,000 at the Heritage Place Sale, and is trained by Jose U. Lopez. He will break from post three under Noe Castaneda.

While Kissem and Leavum brings proven form into his trial, the remainder of the juvenile division offers a blend of promising newcomers and lightly raced runners, many of whom will be making their first start under the lights.

With six trial heats to navigate, the 350-yard dashes are expected to produce fast times and potentially unveil several emerging contenders aiming to return for the May 9 final of the $40,000 John Deere Juvenile.

The races at Sam Houston Race Park can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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