Faster Than Hasta gets Ed Burgart's nod in Saturday's $27,626 AQHA Energy Downs Distance Challenge.

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Q-RACING—JUNE 19 2021—Showing an affinity for 870 yards when trying the marathon distance for the initial time in 2020, Faster Than Hasta gets my nod as the horse to beat in Saturday's $27,626 AQHA Energy Downs Distance Challenge.

Mahoney N Tacklebery and SW Bullet Proof are legitimate threats while Dance The Dust Off and JB Gray Dawn are possible contenders. The winner secures a berth in the Cox Ranch Distance Challenge Championship (G1) finals to be conducted at The Downs at Albuquerque on October 23.

Based on handicapping angles I utilize, such as post-position draw, past class, distance preference and prior race strength, I prefer Faster Than Hasta over Mahoney N Tacklebery and SW Bullet Proof on the 5/8th-mile Energy Downs oval.

Post draw is not as critical on a 5/8-mile oval as it is on a 1-mile oval, because of the 870-yard starting position. Over the Energy Downs 5/8-mile surface, the 870-yard race starts nearly 440 yards before the horses hit the far turn. Thus, most distance runners have a fair chance to get favorable position before the turn. On a 1-mile oval, 870-yard runners start near the 1/2-mile marker, which is situated near the far turn, and horses drawn toward the inside have a key ground-saving advantage.

In the Energy Downs Distance Challenge, Faster Than Hasta is comfortably drawn in Post 4. He started four times at 870 yards last year, posting three wins and one troubled second last October when extremely wide throughout the far turn over the Albuquerque 1-mile oval. He showed his class when winning an 870-yard stakes at Prairie Meadows last year and was second in the AQHA Derby Challenge Championship at 400 yards in 2017.

Mahoney N Tacklebery has a recent racing advantage over Faster Than Hasta and is drawn in Post 5. Mahoney N Tacklebery won 350- and 400-yard allowance races at Pocatello Downs last month, but finished 1-1/2 lengths behind Faster Than Hasta when fourth in his 2020 finale at Albuquerque. Mahoney N Tacklebery’s last 870-yard victory came nearly three years ago when victorious in a distance challenge trial at Albuquerque.

SW Bullet Proof benefits by a recent 870-yard allowance setback over the Energy Downs oval and was third in last year's AQHA Distance Challenge Championship at Albuquerque. However, his two lone 870-yard victories came versus softer allowance company.

Dance The Dust Off starts from Post 6 and gets an outside look based on a 4-length win in an 870-yard Wyoming allowance race two outs ago. In that race, he defeated Drop A Corona, who since captured that Energy Downs 870-yard allowance over SW Bullet Proof last month. JB Gray Dawn has the speed to flee Post 8 and is well suited to a 5/8-mile oval. He won a division of the 870-yard Snowbound Superstar Stakes on the 5/8-mile Los Alamitos surface in 2019.

Thus, I like No. 4 Faster Than Hasta as my AQHA Energy Downs Distance Challenge selection. My picks in order are Faster Than Hasta, No. 5 Mahoney N Tacklebery and No. 7 SW Bullet Proof.

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