QEII Challenge Cup guide: Odds, PPs, more for Keeneland feature
Three year-old turf fillies will be front and center at Keeneland on Saturday in the featured Grade 1, $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes.
Two intriguing shippers in Soprano (7-2) and Candala (9-2) will try their hand vs. eight domestic rivals, but She Feels Pretty is carrying the flag for Team USA as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/8-mile event.
Post time for the QEII Challenge Cup, race 8 of 10, is Saturday at 4:44 p.m. EDT. FanDuel TV will show it live.
Check out Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for downloadable PPs for the QEII Challenge Cup and more courtesy of our partners at Brisnet.
We also have Super Screener picks and analysis for the QEII Challenge Cup as well as recent top speed figures for each contender including Beyer Speed Figures from Daily Racing Form.
Best speed figures
| Post | Horse | ML | Beyer | TimeformUS | HRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pin Up Betty | 20-1 | 87 | 113 | 101 |
| 2 | Caitlinhergrtness | 12-1 | 88 | 106 | 95 |
| 3 | She Feels Pretty | 5-2 | 90 | 120 | 106 |
| 4 | Waves of Mischief | 12-1 | 88 | 111 | 100 |
| 5 | Soprano | 7-2 | |||
| 6 | Oversubscribed | 6-1 | 91 | 107 | 97 |
| 7 | Buchu | 15-1 | 86 | 110 | 98 |
| 8 | Pounce | 12-1 | 90 | 108 | 101 |
| 9 | Grayosh | 8-1 | 91 | 116 | 99 |
| 10 | Candala | 9-2 |
Looking at the pace
Pounce is projected to make a narrow lead through moderate fractions, with Caitlinhergrtness and She Feels Pretty in close pursuit.
Pace data is not available for foreign shippers Soprano and Candala but past performances suggest they will both be toward the back of the pack.
Pace Projector appears courtesy of TimeformUS.
HRN picks
This week’s Super Screener is excited about Sunday’s Franklin Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, where Dontlookbackatall is the top win contender and top value horse at 8-1 on the morning-line.
"She has not missed the exacta in her last ten starts, and I doubt she’ll miss it here," Super Screener creator Mike Shutty said. "That consistency is thanks to her superior balanced energy distribution profile. She’ll be one of the fastest movers late and will be difficult to get past as they approach the wire."
Buy the special now through Breeders’ Cup Super Screener package for just $77, a value of over $400, and get analysis for the QEII Challenge Cup and more.
Shutty also acknowledges that Star of Mystery is tough to dismiss in the Franklin, and that’s just one of horses in the spotlight in J. Keeler Johnson’s latest Horses to Watch column.
Getting back to Saturday’s big race, Ed DeRosa’s QEII fair odds are finding it tough to fade the top two favorites in She Feels Pretty and Soprano, even though it feels like a cringe. However, DeRosa thinks the value could come in the lower rungs of the exotics by dismissing Candala.
For more QEII Challenge Cup thoughts, check out Matt Shifman’s selections.
The Breeders’ Cup is the focus of this week’s edition of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod as NBC Sports’ Nick Luck offers his thoughts on some of the international contenders gearing up for a start at Del Mar. She Feels Pretty's trainer Cherie DeVaux discusses the QEII.
One shipper that won’t be on top of Flatter’s tickets this November is City of Troy, about whom he’s ready to be "loud wrong." Find out why Flatter believes City Of Troy will not win the Breeders’ Cup Classic.