Retap, Hoya tangle in Riley Allison

The Riley Allison Futurity will be run for the 46th time on Tuesday as Sunland Park cards its final racing program of 2008. A field of eight 2-year-olds will do battle for the $100,000 purse at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Heading up this years edition of the Riley Allison is Retap. A well-traveled son of Tapit who is trained by omnipresent Steve Asmussen, Retap will be making his sixth start on Tuesday, all at different tracks.

Retap most recently reported home fourth in the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs in that events deepest field ever. It was Retaps second appearance in graded company as he finished second in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turfway Park over Polytrack in late September. He graduated at first asking at Churchill Downs in mid-May before finishing second in stakes at Prairie Meadows and Mountaineer Park. Asmussen has given the call on Tuesday to Luis Contreras.

Hoya, trained by Chris Hartman, is also one of the few with stakes experience in the Riley Allison. Like Retap, Hoya won his debut at Churchill while under Asmussens care before moving to the Hartman barn for the Dale Wood Stakes at Ruidoso in early September.

A Cat Thief colt, Hoya made his first start for his new connections a winning one, narrowly prevailing in the Wood. A third in the A. C. Kemp at Albuquerque followed, then came a seventh-place finish in the Remington Park MEC Mile in mid-October.

In his only race since the MEC Mile, Hoya finished second in optional-claiming company at Remington going seven furlongs, and should be tighter for his performance on Tuesday. Ken Tohill will be in the saddle.

Lady Hi Teck, one of two fillies in the Riley Allison, will look to keep her record perfect in her third start. Trained by Johnnie Nall, Lady Hi Teck won a maiden race against Texas-breds at Lone Star Park in late June. After taking the rest of the summer off, she returned to action in mid-October to take down top honors in the Permian Basin Stakes at Zia Park. A. J. Martinez has the return call.

Come on Flyer, another trained by Asmussen, comes into the Riley Allison off a convincing maiden score at Remington Park late last month. Come on Flyer appears to be the controlling speed of the race and will have Glenn Murphy in the irons.