Preview Racing


Four Stakes Scheduled on Prairie Meadows' Friday Program
Stakes winner and fastest qualifier Surprise Surprise drew post 6 for the $224,720 Valley Junction Futurity (G3) for 2-year-olds on Friday's 11-race card at Prairie Meadows.

© Coady Photography
Four Stakes Scheduled on Prairie Meadows' Friday Program

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI

ALTOONA, IA–SEPTEMBER 27, 2022–
Four stakes, topped by the 350-yard, $224,720 Valley Junction Futurity (G3) for 2-year-olds, will be contested during Friday's 11-race card at Prairie Meadows.

Surprise Surprise, a stakes-winning daughter of Corona Cartel trained by Ed Hardy for owner Xcel Partners 22, drew post 6 and will be ridden by Angel O. Ramirez. A $40,000 purchase at last year's Heritage Place Yearling Sale in Oklahoma City, the sorrel filly has won two of her three starts at Prairie Meadows this season, including the 350-yard, $164,000 Prairie Meadows Gold Futurity on July 10.

Trainer Stacy Charette-Hill will send out four finalists, topped by Martin Stacy's Curls Patty Wagon. A homebred son of Pyc Paint Your Wagon, the brown colt brings in a three-race win streak that includes a wire-to-wire, 1 1/4-length victory in one of six Valley Junction Futurity trials on September 11.

Curls Patty Wagon drew the rail post and will be ridden by Cristian Esqueda.

Ten sophomores are entered back in the 400-yard, $113,840 Altoona Derby.

Fastest qualifier Nothin Like You boasts a four-race win streak that includes victories in the July 10, $103,000 Prairie Meadows Gold Derby, and August 21, $43,000 Adequan Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge. The homebred Favorite Cartel gelding is coming off of a 1 1/4-length win in the second of three trials on September 16.

Nothin Like You is trained by John Hammes for owner Bradbury Racing. The gelding drew post 6 and will be ridden by Stormy Smith.

Also on Friday, the 440-yard, $35,000 Two Rivers Stakes (G3) has drawn seven aged runners. Apollitical Hero, a 4-year-old son of world champion Apollitical Jess racing for Tom Maher, Paul Luedemann, and Richard L. Tobin, is coming off of a neck victory in the 440-yard, $49,000 Bank of America Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge on August 20.

Apollitical Hero drew post 2 and will be ridden by Armando Alvidrez.

Ten 2-year-olds will match strides in Friday's 350-yard, $20,000 Valley Junction Juvenile Stakes. The highest earner in the field, Brenda Reiswig's My VGW Hero, has banked $15,123 from five starts in Iowa and Oklahoma, and he scored a 1 1/2-length victory in a 330-yard, $13,500 maiden-special-weight dash at Prairie Meadows on July 25.

My VGW Hero is a homebred Valiant Hero gelding. My VGW Hero drew post 8 and will be ridden by Armando Alvidrez for trainer Jason Olmstead.

All Prairie Meadows races can be seen at Q-Racing Video.com