Challenge


Regional Challenge Action Heats Up Saturday at Prairie Meadows
Eagles Fly Higher will try for his third stakes win of the season in Saturday’s 440-yard, $56,007 Bank of America Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge (G2).

© Coady Photography
Regional Challenge Action Heats Up Saturday at Prairie Meadows

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI

ALTOONA, IA—AUGUST 12, 2020—Darling Farms’ Eagles Fly Higher will try for his third stakes win of the season in Saturday’s 440-yard, $56,007 Bank of America Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge (G2).

A 4-year-old son of One Famous Eagle trained by Casey Black, Eagles Fly Higher won two graded stakes during the Remington Park spring meet -- the 350-yard, $50,000 Eastex Stakes (G2) on March 21, and the 400-yard, $84,000 Sooner State Stakes (RG1) on April 18. The stallion drew post 3 and will be ridden by Cristian Esqueda.

Darling Farms and Casey Black will also be represented by contender DF Lord Garvan, a stakes-winning 4-year-old son of world champion Apollitical Jess and a $100,000 purchase at the 2017 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale. DF Lord Garvan has earned $56,652 from four starts this season, and his three wins include a head victory in the 400-yard, $50,000 Boyd Morris Memorial Stakes (R) at Remington Park.

DF Lord Garvan drew post 5 and will be ridden by Jonathan Dominguez.

The complete lineup, in post-position order including jockey assignments:

  1. Fast Flash Gordon (Jorge Torres)
  2. Three Olives N Smoke (Eugenio Navarrete Jr.)
  3. Eagles Fly Higher (Cristian Esqueda)
  4. Charlies Fury (Agustin Silva)
  5. DF Lord Garvan (Jonathan Dominguez)
  6. Faster Than Hasta (Uriel Cervantes)
  7. Heza Blues Man (Ramiro H. Garcia)

A total of four regional Challenge stakes will be run at Prairie Meadows on Saturday. Kent Jackson’s Apollitical J Julia drew post 4 for Saturday’s 400-yard, $43,010 Adequan Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge (G3). A bay daughter of Apollitical Jess trained by Stacy Charette-Hill, the filly has banked $22,152 from five outs this season, and she was a finalist in the 400-yard, $232,000 Heritage Place Derby (G2) at Remington Park on May 30. Apollitical J Julia will be ridden by Agustin Silva.

Fosse, a stakes-placed 5-year-old daughter of champion Foose trained by Allen Hybsha for owner Mitch Milliron, heads a field of six fillies and mares entered in Saturday’s 400-yard, $21,879 ARC Prairie Meadows Distaff Challenge (G3). Fosse is coming off of a second-place finish, a neck behind winner Lynnder 16, in the July 7, $34,000 ARC Canterbury Park Distaff Challenge. Fosse drew post 5 and will be ridden by Cristian Esqueda.

Fastest qualifier Signs Of Blue Moon is one of 10 2-year-olds entered back in Saturday’s 350-yard, $64,889 John Deere Prairie Meadows Juvenile Challenge. A homebred daughter of champion Tres Seis trained by Jason Olmstead for owner Tom Lepic, Signs Of A Blue Moon has won both of his starts this season at Prairie Meadows, including the last of three trials on July 25. The filly drew the rail post and will be ridden by Jesus Salazar.

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