QE II Challenge Cup (Grade 1)- $750.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
October 12, 2024

Superface Party may have gone off at odds of nearly 20/1, but the betting public must not have read the SRF. We expected the filly to do very well, and had her as our second choice, behind Lakota Wind, who ended up finishing second. Hopefully, whatever reasons were out there that Superface Party would not be a threat can be put to bed with this effort. We had the exacta if you boxed it, but since Lakota Wind was the post time favorite, it did not pay as much as it could with a longshot being on top. Superface came into the race winning the JC Oaks and second in the DMR Oaks right before this, but 20/1 it was. Celebrating this victory the most is trainer Mb Stables, who wins the race for the third time, all coming in the last four years. The winning jockey is W T Buick, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:45.66, the fourth fastest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it now:

(½ Mile- :47.00)- As she typically does, our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Superface Party, wastes no time getting out to the lead, nearly getting clear of the field prior to entering the first turn. She will have some company entering the backstretch, and that is in the form of Mo Mentum Farm’s Lakota Wind. Behind these two, we have three that are stalking the pace, with Pragmatic having the upper hand between them, while on the outside for Mb Stables. She’s about a half length ahead of Smokey Stover’s Cacciadiavola, who is on the rail, and the Team 7 Illusions entry, Supine, who is between horses. After about a length and a half, Spirit Storm (Nakamura Stables) leads the rest of the field, with Right As Rain (Alydar Stables) beside her. In close proximity are Exulted Rene (TwinTowersRacing) and Magic Dust (Fractious), with Tokushima (Nakamura Stables) trailing the field.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.48)- There is not much that changes down the backstretch. Up front, Superface Party and Lakota Wind are still side by side but not beating each other up in process. Pragmatic pulls a full length ahead of Supine and Cacciaviadola while taking the turn in the third lane. Further back, Spirit Storm drops back, making Right As Rain and Magic Dust the leaders of the rest of the pack.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Around the turn, and entering the stretch, it’s Lakota Wind now in front, making some wonder if she has gotten the better of Superface Party at this point, although Superface Party is still running well. The other Mb Stables entry is as well, as Pragmatic inches closer to them while pulling away from the others. She’s set up to move by the top two to the outside if she is able to. Supine and Cacciadiavola were not able to keep up, and were about to see a few go by, starting with Magic Dust, and soon after both Right As Rain and Tokushima. Spirit Storm and Exulted Rene were done for the day.

(Finish- 1:45.66)- It would be with a little less than a furlong to go that Superface Party recaptured the lead from Lakota Wind, and she did this while drifting to the outside a bit, possibly hindering her stablemate’s progress. Lakota Wind was running well enough, and that would get her second in a photo over Pragmatic. The steady stride of Superface Party, running gamely all the way to the wire gets her the win and unexpectedly lights up the tote board due to her inexplicable odds of nearly 20/1. Magic Dust ran well to the wire, as did Tokushima, but for them, that gets them a fourth-place check, and nothing. It was another length to Right As Rain, who tops Cacciadiavola, Supine, Spirit Storm, and Exulted Rene.

About The Winner- Superface Party, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by W T Buick, is a three-year-old filly by Face Your Fears and is out of Supercede. She was bred by Martyparty in Louisiana as a first quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Mb Stables, via Arkansas Elite, for $15.000 in a May 2023 private sale. She had made just one start at the time of purchase. The win is her sixth in 14 starts, her fourth stake win, and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,215.600.

Track: Firm
Time: :47  1:10²  1:34  1:45³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 10 – 7 Paid 77.90
$1 Trifecta: 10 – 7 – 9 Paid 1,668.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES