SHAKOPEE, MN – A large crowd gathered on Saturday night at Canterbury Park for Made in Minnesota Night, an evening featuring four Minnesota bred stakes, including the Minnesota Oaks and Derby.

The most emotional race of the night was the $100,000 Minnesota Oaks.  The Oaks was a wide open affair with the favorites heading in, Brewhouse and Royal’s Lil Diva, never having gone two turns and leaving handicappers wondering if there was a closer that could make a difference late in the race.

Speed did prove to be key, but it did not come from either of the more fancied runners, but from the late Warren Bush homebred, It’s Her Time.

Breaking from post 3 under Constantino Roman, It’s Her Time broke on top and battled with Northern Lights Debutante champion She’s My Warrior for a half a mile before pulling away and winning easily, paying $19.00.

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“To be able to come up here after dad passed this summer and getting a win…..nothing replaces getting your picture taken,” said son Chad Bush, “and hey, we got our picture taken, so thanks dad.”

“What is the definition of ‘bittersweet’?”, said Bush’s widow, Linda, amid tears of both joy and loss.

“He spent so much time on the matings,” said breeding farm owner and longtime Bush friend, Lisa Duuos Smrekar.

“He really worked hard on that,” agreed Linda.  “We had so much fun together with the horses.”

Honey Bella ($10.20) was second and Start Singing ($9.00) was third.  It’s Her Time covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:44.31.

In the Minnesota Derby, Lothernbach Stables had a pair of contenders, the accomplished Love the Nest, winner of Norther Lights Futurity and the Vic Myers and Cousinvinnysacanuck, a gelding that generated a lot buzz in the week before the race.

The duo didn’t disappoint.  Love the Nest cleared the field early but held only a ½ length lead over Doctor Oscar in the stretch as Cousinvinnysacanuck began to unwind from the middle of the pack.

By deep stretch, the only question was which Lothenbach owned, Joel Berndt trained entry would win: could Love the Next prevail or would Vinny, gaining with every stride, get to the wire first?

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Love the Nest ($5.20) was able to win by a head under Ry Eikleberry in 1:42.93.  Cousinvinnysacanuck paid $4.40 for second, while late closing Ben’s Malice ($5.00) was third.

Earlier in the card, in the mile and a sixteenth Glitter Star, stablemates Clickbait and Ready to Runaway both went off at 6-5 and it was expected that Clickbait would get the lead and Ready to Runaway would be coming late.

“It turned out that it was just the opposite,” said John Mentz, who owns Ready to Runaway solo and Clickbait with partners Jeff Larson and Hugh Robertson.

Ready to Runaway ($4.40), under Ry Eikleberry, took the lead early and slowed down the pace, leaving plenty in the tank to hold off her hard charging stablemate. Clickbait ($2.40) was able to outfinish third place Molly’s Angel ($2.10).  She covered the distance in 1:46.18.

“We’re going to keep running her for a while but we’ll eventually breed her,” said Mentz.

Before the mile and sixteenth Wally’s Choice, the all-time Minnesota bred money winner, Mr. Jagermeister, led the horses put of the paddock and the post parade.

The race was a bit anti-climactic, as odds on favorite Thealligatorhunter took the field from gate to wire.  As he lengthened his lead heading down the stretch under Alonso Quinonez, the crowd was waiting to see if trainer Tim Padilla was able to cure him of his tendency to run erratically down the lane.

“I told Alonso to try not to hit him, but if he did, definitely not on the left side,” said Padilla.  “He ducked in from the right hand at the gap [where the chute connects to the main track], which was fine.  He doesn’t really need to be got after too much – he’s too fast.”

Thealligatorhunter paid $5.00 for the win in 1:43.22.  Bayou Benny ($2.80) was second and Hot Shot Kid ($3.00) was third.