SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Made in Minnesota Night offered a delightful blend of horse racing, Minnesota foods, Minnesota trivia, and a celebration of everything that makes the North Star State unique.
On the track, the spotlight shined on four races restricted to Minnesota-bred horses, featuring the $75,000 Minnesota Derby and $75,000 Minnesota Oaks.
Minnesota Derby
In the Minnesota Derby, How Bout That Curt (Rengstorf/Roman), winner of the Vic Myers Stakes, was sent off as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite. However, the favorite never mounted a serious threat as the race unfolded.
Navarre (Bethke/Quinonez) unexpectedly seized the early lead and set the pace before being challenged turning for home. Perfect Gamble (Goodwin/Williams) enjoyed a ground-saving trip and appeared poised for victory after taking command in the stretch, but That Type Ofa Deal (Berndt/Americano), sent off at 8-1, unleashed a strong late rally and drew away to win by a length.
The final time for the mile and 70-yard distance was 1:43.89.
“That is kind of how we thought it would go,” said winning jockey Manny Americano. “He’s a good horse. I just let him settle and run late.”
Trainer Joel Berndt believes the colt continues to improve with experience.
“He is definitely a dirt router,” Berndt said. “He is a late bloomer, but with every work and every race he just kept getting better and better.”
That Type Ofa Deal returned $19.80 to win, while Perfect Gamble paid $14.60 to place.
Minnesota Oaks
The Minnesota Oaks belonged to breeder and owner Pete Mattson.
Summer Winner, co-bred by Mattson and trainer Tim Padilla, broke sharply and immediately established control. In deep stretch, she was confronted by stablemate Nancy’s Shawl, and the two fillies battled all the way to the wire before Summer Winner held on for the victory.
“That was absolutely perfect,” said Padilla.
Both fillies had previously displayed front-end speed, but neither Padilla nor Mattson wanted to see a speed duel develop early.
“Our biggest concern was dueling on the front end,” Mattson said. “We were able to have Nancy’s Shawl close, but not duel with Summer Winner.”
Summer Winner paid $4.60 to win and covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:42.00. Nancy’s Shawl returned $9.40 to place, while Heavenly Captive ($2.80) finished third.
In addition to winning the Minnesota Derby, leading jockey Manny Americano rode three other winners on the card.
In the day’s finale, Thunders Rocknroll, bred and owned by Bob Lindgren, won a state bred allowance, bringing her total earnings over $500,000 and making her one of the richest Minnesota bred in history.
