Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup 2024 Analysis

By Jarrod Horak

The Grade 1, $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup will be run at Keeneland on Saturday, October 12, 2024. The ten entrants will travel 1 1/8 miles on the turf course and She Feels Pretty is the 5-2 morning line favorite. The Grade 1 QE II Challenge Cup goes as the eighth race on Saturday with a scheduled post time of 4:44 p.m. EDT.

QE II Challenge Cup Analysis

#6 Oversubscribed (6-1) ran well in her first two starts and jumped into the stakes ranks in her last pair. She was strong from off the pace in the Wild Applause Stakes on June 22, and had an uncomfortable trip when rallying to finish a close second in the Lake George (G3) last time. Chad Brown’s promising filly was the favorite in all four starts and might offer a hint of value this time. The $481k purchase reconnects with Irad Ortiz Jr. and she is bred to enjoy the added ground of this race.

#10 Candala (9-2) won a Group 3 at Longchamp in the spring, and completed the trifecta in her last two Group 2 starts at 1 1/2 miles and 1 1/4 miles in France. Friendly Soul won the latter race and clicked right back in the Prix de l’Opera (G1) on Oct. 6.

#3 She Feels Pretty (5-2) was part of the trifecta in all six career starts. She won the Natalma (G1) last year and ended her juvenile campaign with a wide, close-up show finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). She returned from a layoff and cruised to an easy win in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico on May 17, and hit the board as the beaten favorite in the Belmont Oaks (G1) and Lake Placid (G2). She adds blinkers and projects a stalking trip under her regular rider John Velazquez. She is a logical contender but does not have a speed rating edge over this group and the price might be too low.

QE II Challenge Cup Wagers

 #6 to win

Exacta box 6-10

Trifecta 6-10/3-6-10/3-6-10

Trifecta 6-10/all/3

QE II Challenge Cup Video