SHAKOPEE, MN – One of the biggest racing nights of the year at Canterbury Park, the Northern Stars Turf Festival, is set to go this evening with a soft turf course and a muddy dirt track (as of 1:17 PM).
The fifth race, The Dark Star Overnight Handicap will be off the turf, but the remaining four turf stakes will remain over the soft going. Although the original forecast early in the week was for steady rain today, the more recent forecast only calls for occasional scattered showers in the Shakopee area.
Curtis Sampson Oaks Overnight Handicap
The $40,000 overnight will go a mile over the turf.
The 5/2 morning line favorite is Retired Kathy (D. Van Winkle/Lindsay) who is coming off an easy four length score in a state bred allowance. She’s already proven herself against open company at Tampa, scoring in one $32,000 Optional claimer and just missing in another. This will be the first time she tries an off going.
The only miss with a try over a less than firm turf course is recent maiden breaker Hattie Bloom (Scherer/Gallardo). She just missed in a maiden special weight in Chicago on a yielding course in her first turf try and got her maiden breaker next out in gate to wire fashion. Her figures are considerably below her chief rivals, however.
Chicago based trainer Anthony Granitz sends out Omega Miss under Constantino Roman to try and win three in a row. She handled open allowance foes gate to wire here in her last.
With Tour Queen, Omega Miss, Hatties Bloom and perhaps Rainbow Angel all wanting to be near the engine, a stalking Retired Kathy or Pink Lady Lu Sha (Lopez/Pena) should be coming late ti pick up all the marbles.
Lady Canterbury
The $50,000 Lady Canterbury will also go a mile over the turf. SCRATCHES: Virtually (1); Golden Gopher (2).
Last year’s champ, Midnight Current (Berndt/Gallardo), is back to contest this year’s edition. While she dropped her first start of the year last out in an $30,000 Optional here on June 1, you have to think that the connections had this race as the target, though Scent of Success was impressive topping her stablemate with an 85 Beyer in that race.
Thunders Rocknroll (Arnett/Quinonez) is coming off a win in the Lady Slipper stakes on the dirt but does have a turf win to her credit in Tampa last year, though in a $16,000 Optional and did not face this type of company. Her strength in here could be her early spoeed as there does not appear to be anyone to challenge her early in the now five mare affair.
Gypsy Reward’s (Robertson/Roman) first race back this year was a beauty, coming from off the pace to take a $20,000 Optional over this turf course and earned a career best 80 Beyer in the process. If stablemate Scent of Success goes with Thunders Rocknroll, she is another that could swoop in late to ring the bell.
Dark Star Overnight Handicap
The Dark Star five-furlong dash bis the one race thus far that has moved off the turf and on to the muddy main track. SCRATCHES: Jacks Outlaw (2); Diamond City (9); Bad Beat Brian (10).
Although currently there are three defections from the ten-horse field, the race still has formidable shipper Arrest Me Red (Ward/Flores) and speedy local Thealligatorhunter (Padilla/Quinonez).
Thealligatorhunter will look to get the jump on the field when the gates spring and should play catch me if you can. He should have some company on the front end, however, with Twentyone and Change (MA Silva/Barajas) another speedy front end ype. His best performances have been over the turf though he owns a one for one record on an off main track, though in a state bred starter allowance at Remington.
The morning line favorite, Arrest Me Red, should have the trip behind the speed but he has only run once over the dirt and finished off the board in that race. If he handles the dirt well, this classy guy, a graded stakes winner (2022 Grade 2 Turf Sprint at Churchill) should be able to handle this field.
The Brooks Fields
The mile long $50,000 Brooks Fields brings them back on the turf. SCRATCHES: Kennebec (2); Deflater (6). Interestingly, main track only entrant Unified Dreams (Scherer/Da Silva) has NOT been scratched yet.
This very competitive race has plenty of speed with Golden Bandit (Rosin/Fuentes), Drama Chorus (Padilla/Quinonez) and Silent Poet (Tracy/Gallardo) all enjoy being on or near the lead.
Golden Bandit crushed a $20,000 Optional field last out at 7 ½ furlongs and earned a career best 89 Beyer in his second start of the season. Silent Poet was 4th in the Bosselman Stakes at Fonner last out after scoring in an off the turf $80,000 Optional at the Fairgrounds in March.
Drama Chorus has been ultra consistent the last couple of years but was defeated by both Tonka Warrior (Robertson/Roman) and That’s Not Funny (Rosin/L Quinonez), giving way late.
Tonka Warrior’s first start off a layoff was in a $30,000 Optional here at Canterbury at today’s distance and surface. He came from far back after a slow start to come within a half-length of defeating That’s Not Funny and is the value play here.
Canterbury Derby
The Derby, a mile event on the turf, is headlined by the North American debut of Navy Seal (Ward/Quinonez). Coming off a fifth-place finish in the Group 2 UAE Derby, he appears to be the class of the field.
The only other colt in the field that has any stakes experience is Illustrator (Ashford/L Quinonez) who was second in the Texas Turf Mile at Sam Houston in January.
Hold Your Applause took nine tries to break his maiden but quickly followed that up with an open allowance win over a yielding Canterbury turf course making him two for two since returning to the turf in May.
First post for what has become the biggest wagering night of the year at Canterbury is 5:10 PM.
