SHAKOPEE, MN – Minnesota Festival of Champions Day is one of the most anticipated days on the Canterbury Park racing calendar. The fans turn out for the state championships and wagering is usually robust. Leading owner Bob Lothenbach’s Lothenbach Stables came into Festival Day loaded and did not disappoint.
Horses owned by Lothenbach of Wayzata, Minn. won four of the six $100,000 thoroughbred races and also won a $36,000 allowance. Joel Berndt trained all Lothenbach winners. Lothenbach also bred the winner of another Festival race, giving him a hand in five of the six stakes’ winners.
Here is a recap of the day.
$100,000 Northern Lights Debutante – 6 Furlongs Dirt
While the upset parade started right out of the gate Saturday night at Canterbury Park, the first stake, the Northern Lights Debutante, saw a 2-5 favorite get beat late, continuing the early parade of upsets.
Gary and Brenda Bergsrud’s homebred, Lover Girl, sat just off the early pace set by the two favorites, Thunders Rocknroll and Cupid’s Crush, and then burst late as the pair tired to take the $100,000 stake by two lengths under Karlo Lopez.
“We knew right from the start that she was special,” said Brenda Bergsrud. “She had the attitude from the time she was a foal that she was special.”
“This is what we were pointing for,” said Gary Bergsrud. “After her maiden win, she wasn’t even tired. She barely drank water afterward and was just in great shape. She wasn’t all out so we knew she could go faster.”
Trained by Matt Williams, she stopped the time at 1:12.86 and paid $28.80. Odds on favorite, Thunders Rocknroll ($2.40), was second and Cupid’s Crush ($2.40) was third.
$100,000 Blairs Cove – 1 1/16 Turf
Hot Shot Kid came into the race with a shot at becoming the all-time money earning Minnesota bred with a victory, but was denied by 5th Street Stables’ Stitzy. Stitzy ($17.80), under Ezequiel Lara, broke on top and never looked back, taking the Blairs Cove by a length over Hot Shot Kid’s stablemate Xavey Dave ($6.60), with the Kid ($6.00) fishing third.
“He ran really great,” said Lara. “I got to know him better and better with each race and that really helped. I wanted to try and control the pace and go from there.
Stitzy was bred by Lothenbach Stables. Adding to their accomplishments for the evening.
$100,000 Princess Elaine – 1 1/16 Turf
Lothenbach Stables cam into the race with a possible Horse of the Meet candidate in homebred Midnight Current, and she and jockey Harry Hernandez did not disappoint.
The pair broke well land settled in to stalk the pace through most of the race, letting Scent of Success lead the way. As the field turned for home, Midnight Current seized command and outfinished stablemate Let’s Skedaddle in 1:41.28, winning by a length and paying $3.20 as the odds on favorite.
“I felt the pace and I felt like I wanted to take her off that,” said the victorious Hernandez. “The 6 (It’s Her Time) had me in for a while, but once she had room, we we re able to get by.”
Let’s Skedaddle paid $3.80 to place while Scent of Success ($2.20) had to settle for third.
$100,000 Northern Lights Futurity – 6 Furlongs Dirt
Lothenbach Stables came into the Futurity with another odds-on favorite, It’s Bobs Business, and, after an enterprising trip, won going away, stamping himself as one to watch next year – and not just locally.
It’s Bobs Business followed up his very professional debut hopping at the start and spotting the field about six lengths. Constantino Roman gave Bob his head and started making up ground immediately. Heading through the turn he made an eye-popping move four lanes wide to swing around the entire field. By the time the duo got to the wire, they were 7 ¼ lengths in front of Hand Pay.
“He’s a really smart horse,” said Roman. “He’s really easy to ride and lets you do whatever you’d like.”
It’s Bobs Business, another Lothenbach homebred, paid $2.80 as the prohibitive favorite and covered the six furlongs in 1:11.72. Hand Pay paid $7.80 place and Sam Sez ($4.60) was third.
$100,000 Crocrock Sprint – 6 Furlongs Dirt
The Crocrock looked like it was going to shape up to be a duel between talented, but sometimes erratic, older horse, Thealligatorhunter, and Lothenbach 3-year-old phenom, Love the Nest. Both horses were bred by Pete Mattson, who also co-owns Thealligatorhunter as well as 3-year-old Doctor Oscar back to doing what he does best – sprinting.
Curiously, a speed duel developed between the pair of Mattson owned, but separately trained, horses, with Thealligatorhunter and Doctor Oscar going at it down the backstretch and through the turn.
Leaving the turn, Thealligatorhunter was finsihed and Doctor Oscar had won the battle but was about to lose the war. Love the Nest, under a brilliant stalking trip by Ry Eikleberry, went past the tiring Doctor and was able to pull away and win by 2 ¾ lengths.
Love the Nest finished the six furlongs in 1:09.71 and paid $7.00 to win. Doctor Oscar ($4.40) held on for second while Prince Rama ($11.40) was third.
“He’s such an easy horse to ride,” said Eikleberry. “He just runs.”
$100,000 Distaff Sprint – 6 Furlongs Dirt
Two years ago, one of the most anticipated Minnesota bred filly matchup was going to be the then undefeated Star of the North, who was decimating competition in Texas and then tore through her first races back at Canterbury that three-year-old season, and Charlie’s Penny, a filly who debuted her three-year-old season in Louisiana winning the Silverbulletday Stakes and looking like a Kentucky Oaks bound filly until she was injured.
Star of the North finished her three-year-old season with seconds in the Minnesota Oaks and Sprint. As four-year-olds they were finally on a collision course. The youngsters were going to have to contend with a couple of older mares out of the Mac Robertson barn who have dominated the filly and mare divisions the last three years, Clickbait and Ready to Runaway.
At the start of the race, the pair of would-be rivals were one-two, with Star of the North putting a quick two lengths on Charlie’s Penny. As Ry Eikleberry guided Charlie’s Penny through the turn, she closed the gap, went by and steadily pulled away, the old veterans chasing futility.
Charlie’s Penny won by 5 ¼ lengths in 1:10 and paid $3.80. Ready to Runaway ($3.80) was second and Clickbait ($2.10) was third.
“Having these horses in for the same guy and being able to win is really special,” said the winning trainer of all the Lothenbach horses, Joel Berndt. “The Colonial race really sharpened her up and Chris Block did a nice job and the timing was really good. We had a month to settle her in and get a couple of works over the track.”
Berndt went on to praise the meet’s leading owner, Bob Lothenbach.
“Mr. Lothenbach is a national owner but running here and winning means the world to him,” Berndt said. “He’s invested a lot of money here in the breeding program and it’s great for him to see results like this.”
$70,000 Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity – 350 Yards
Summer Run Inc’s homebred, Beep Beep Rev Rev, was clearly the horse to beat coming into the Futurity and she was bet like it…and ran like it.
She broke sharply and darted to a half-length lead which she maintained all the way to the wire under Edwin Escobedo for trainer Jason Olmstead.
“Basically, tonight she just did her job,” said Escobedo.
The odds-on favorite paid $3.00 and stopped the timer at 17.93. Seis It Ain’t So ($12.40) was second and Blu Bye U ($5.00) was third.
$70,000 Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby – 400 Yards
Third choice, Relentless Courage, owned by Tom Maher and Paul Luedemann, capped off the evening with a mild upset in the Derby.
Breaking in third on the far outside, the sorrel Hes Relentless gelding steadily made up ground throughout the 400 yards and prevailed by a half-length over stablemate Relentless Babe. Ridden by Jesus Salazar and trained by Jason Olmstead, Relentless Courage paid $8.40 to win and covered the distance in 20.06. Relentless Bab ($20.80) was second and Chloes Magic ($11.80) was third.
Festival Day handled a total of $2,446,940 bet, the fourth largest handle total of the season and the highest ever for Festival of Champions Day. The previous Festival handle record was the 2020 total of $2,048,915.
Racing concludes this week in Shakopee with racing on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, post time 5:00 PM, and the 2022 finale, Saturday evening, with a first post of 4:00 PM.
Wednesday night features a $23,218 Post Time Pick 4 carryover and 10 races while the Thursday card has twelve. On Saturday the thirteen race card includes the Shakopee Juvenile and Tom Metzen HBPA Sprint.
