Racing the best of the best
Firstly I must start by stating that my experience in this area is very limited, having so far only ever been lucky enough to own the one horse capable of racing at this level.
Challenge races may only be entered by horses that have had their Supplementary Fee paid and the sexes race in separate Series. Each Challenge Series consists of a number of Qualifiers, in which horses earn points based on the size of the field and their finishing position. Once all Qualifiers for a particular Challenge Series have been run the 14 horses with the most accumulated points table are automatically entered into the Final for that Challenge Series. All other point scoring horses gain automatic entry into Consolation races in groups of 14 or part thereof (providing there are enough to fulfill the minimum number of entries criteria of 3) based on the order of their accumulated points. A series of rules are used to determine the order in the of horses accumulated points table for those that finish on the same number of points. These rules also detail provisos for ensuring that the general rule that no owner may have more than 4 runners in any one race are complied with for the Final and Consolations.
Most Challenge Series take place over the entire Season, with Finals being run in the last few days of the Season. For 2yos there are also 4 extra Monthly Challenge series, one per month.
At ages 2 and 4-7 the Challenge Series involve weight penalties in Qualifiers, Finals and Consolations for the number of wins each horse has accumulated in all Stakes races. For the 3yo Challenge Series all horses race off of level weights (120lbs) throughout the Season.
It is therefore very important in the 2yo and 4-7yo Challenge Series to try to reach the Final with as few wins as possible in order to limit the weight carried. To this end a large number of 2yos race below full-fitness or untacked (commonly referred to as 'sandbagging') in the Qualifiers and are only seen racing to their full potential in the Series Final or Consolations. As such an owner of a potential Challenge horse has the option of holding their horse back in the hope of reaching and winning the Final or race it fully fit and gather as much cash as possible from these lucrative races, almost certainly foregoing the chance to win the Final event. This also opens a possible opportunity for horses slightly below the best to race at full fitness in Qualifiers to try to 'steal' some win or place prize money.
Another decision that owners of potential Challenge horse may need to make is whether to hold the horse back until the age of 4 (thus keeping a minimum weight for the 4-7yo Challenge Series) or to let the horse take its chance at ages 2 and 3. Holding a horse back until the age of 4 can provide a distinct advantage but with 2 unknown Age Changes between 2 and 4 it can prove a risky business as a potential Challenge horse at age 2 can be turned into 'a run-of-the-mill' horse at age 4 by two successive poor age changes.
Racing a horse in the Challenge series can prove to be a very lucrative affair, but with some of the most expensive nominations it can also prove a very expensive business for horses that fail to earn a share of the prize monies along the way.
A final decision that owners of potential Challenge horses face is whether to keep the horse or sell it at Auction. Naturally potential or proven Challenge horses command the highest prices at Auction, with a number of owners prepared to invest in trying to own the best of the best. I'm sure nothing can beat the thrill of winning or placing in one of the blue-riband events but I also fully understand that a large cash injection from a sale can provide enough money to fund a stable for quite some time.
If you are fortunate enough to land a potential Challenge horse from the Sales Ring I wish you well with whatever route you choose. I've no doubt if it's the first one you have owned you will spend some not inconsiderable time making up your mind what to do lol.