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RACING NEWS
Danjer’s winning connections include owners Dean Frey, Pat Guthrie’s Downtime Enterprises LLC, and Billy G. Smith, trainer Dean Frey, and jockey Cody Smith.
not far off the track record of :21.611. He earned a 108 speed index.
Danjer is the first World Champion to win the Challenge Championship since Streakin Sin Tacha in 2002. He is also pushing his total bank- roll up the list of all-time leading Quarter Horse earners. The $124,028 winner’s share from the Challenge Championship boosted his earnings
to $1,967,068, which could climb even higher
in his next scheduled race, the Champion of Champions-G1 at Los Alamitos on December 10.
The milestone wasn’t easy. The Challenge Championships, for older horses at 440 yards, occur at various tracks around the coun-
try, and often older horses don’t remain in training long enough to even compete in the biggest race on the card multiple times. Prior to Danjer’s triple, only the mare Kool Kue Baby had ever won the race twice, and then non-consecutively, in 1996 and 1998.
Danjer, owned by Dean Frey, Pat Guthrie’s Downtime Enterprises LLC, and Billy G. Smith, is coming off his 2021 World Champion season in excellent form. Frey also bred and trains the 6-year-old gelding, who is riding a four-race winning streak. Danjer this year has also won the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship Stakes-G1, Bank of America Canterbury Park Championship Challenge Stakes-G3, and Downs at Albuquerque Fall Championship-G1.
Danjer has won 19 of 31 races while competing at eight racetracks in five states. In addition to his 2021 World Champion title, he
is the Champion Aged Horse and Aged Gelding of 2020 and 2021. He hasn’t yet started at Los Alamitos in California, but the Oklahoma-bred gelding has roots on the West Coast.
Frey claimed Dashing Fly Lady, Danjer’s second dam, for $2,500. For Frey, she produced Shez Jess Toxic, who set a track record in winning the 2011 Evergreen Park Juvenile Challenge and also captured the 2011 AQHA Juvenile Challenge Championship-G2 and 2013 Remington Distaff Challenge. Shez Jess Toxic placed in 10 other stakes and earned a total of $235,296. The mare has produced four winners from six starters.
John Hammes owns and trains second-place Purty Darn Quick (Jess Louisiana Blue-Now Margaret) and bred him with Tom Bradbury. Stormy Smith rode the 4-year-old gelding,
who won the 2020 Prairie Meadows Juvenile Challenge Stakes.
Apollitical Hero (Apollitical Jess-Belle Of Valor), owned by Tom Maher, Paul Luedemann, and Richard Tobin, ran third. Edwin Escobedo rode the 4-year-old gelding for trainer
Jason Olmstead. Apollitical Hero won this year’s Bank of America Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge-G2.
Completing the field were His Time To Deal (Dealagame-Lady Lilia), Fly The Coup (Favorite Cartel-Babe On The Fly), Hez Our Money Secret (Hez Our Secret-Gotta Money Pop), DF Storm Tales (Wagon Tales-Storm’s Promise-TB), Speed Dynasty (FDD Dynasty-Jess Sass Me), Dr Tool (Kiss My Hocks-Where Eagles Soar), and Gias Fred (Paint Me Perry-Miss Game Tee).
Breeder/co-owner/trainer Dean Frey congratulating Danjer.
SPEEDHORSE November 2022 165
Coady Photography Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse