AQHA Racing Challenge Championship Preview

Saturday’s $1-million AQHA Racing Challenge Championships at The Downs at Albuquerque will conclude with a powerful field of older horses running a quarter-mile in the $265,000 AQHA Racing Challenge Championship (G1). Set as the final event on the 10-race card, the horses are scheduled to enter the gate at approximately 9:50 p.m. MDT. 

Among the numerous graded stakes winners in the field of nine is 9-5 morning line favorite Scoops Dynasty, who is coming in from California after taking the $75,000 Go Man Go Handicap (G1) on August 24 at Los Alamitos. That followed a victory for the 6-year-old FDD Dynasty gelding in the $53,014 AQHA Racing Turf Paradise Championship Challenge in Arizona in April. 

Owned by Edward McNelis, who also bred the horse in Idaho with Von Zae McNelis, Scoops Dynasty has won 10 of 29 career starts and his earnings stand at $675,261. His previous graded stakes wins include the 2023 Go Man Go Handicap (G1), 2022 Golden State Derby (G2) and 2022 Los Alamitos Winter Derby (G1). The Diego Cervantes trainee drew post 8 and will be ridden by Jaco Enriquez. 

Breaking from the rail will be Regina Laymon’s homebred Hooked N Gone, who is riding a two-race winning streak that includes the $54,510 AQHA Racing Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge (G2) and $255,680 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship Stakes (G1). A gelding by PYC Paint Your Wagon with earnings of $762,443, Hooked N Gone will be ridden by Jesus Ayala for trainer Dean Frey. 

Js On Fire, also a winner of two straight graded stakes including the $68,535 AQHA Racing Remington Championship Challenge (G2), will break from the outside post 9 with Bryan Candanosa up for conditioner Michael Joiner. The Hes Relentless stallion has earned $182,358 in 15 starts for owner Joshua Owens. 

Mystic Paint, last year’s champion 3-year-old colt, comes in from Prairie Meadows after a win and two seconds against graded stakes foes in his last three starts at the Iowa track. Owned by Stone Chase Stables LLC and Solo Select Horses LLC, the now 4-year-old by PYC Paint Your Wagon has post 6 with Ramiro Garcia named to ride for trainer Jason Olmstead. 

Lance Bland’s Relentless Eagle, a 4-year-old by Hes Relentless who was last year's champion 3-year-old gelding, brings in a resume that includes wins in last year’s Texas Classic Derby (G1) and Dash For Cash Derby (G2) at Lone Star Park. He will break from post 2 for reigning AQHA champion trainer Marc Jungers and reigning AQHA champion jockey Christian Ramos. 

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