SHAKOPEE, MN – The $100,000 Minnesota Oaks and Minnesota Derby highlight this year’s Made in Minnesota night at Canterbury Park. The evening will feature five stakes for Minnesota bred horses , all part of the 10% takeout Pick Five wager. The stakes are worth a total of $350,000 and also include the MTA Sales Graduate Futurity, the Glitter Star and the Wally’s Choice, all $50,000.
The Pick Five sequence kicks off with the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association Sales Graduate Futurity. The race is for two-year olds contested at five furlongs over the main track for horses which passed through the sales ring in the 2019 MTA Yearling Sale.
The nine-horse field includes Well Pro, the only winner in the gate, who scored a cruising 8 ½ length victory in his career debut on June 30 for trainer and co-owner Tony Rengstorf. Ry Eikleberry will get the call with debut rider Julio Felix in Chicago.
The morning line favorite is Westa Waverly who had opened up a clear lead in his career bow before being worn down late by Fire Extinguisher through the stretch. Alonso Quinonez gets the return call for trainer Coty Rosin.
The Oaks and Derby, the most contentious races of the stakes quintet, both are slated for a mile and 70 yards over the main track and are for Minnesota bred three-year old fillies and colts and geldings, respectively.
In the Oaks, Defend the Rose is the 5/2 morning line favorite for trainer Mac Robertson who, with Rental Pool, has a formidable duo for Novogratz Racing Stables.
Defend the Rose captured the traditional Oaks prep, the Frances Genter, in gate to wire fashion and was never really threatened throughout the race. After a pair of solid turf efforts in the Northbound Pride and an open allowance, Defend the Rose will return to the dirt in the Oaks and retains the services of Roimes Chirinos.
Rental Pool debuted with a second place finish in a state bred allowance sprint then stretched out to a mile to capture a state bred allowance leading every step of the wire. She tried to wire the field in another route turf, this time the same open allowance race as her stablemate, but faltered late to finish fifth, beaten five and a half lengths but only one and a quarter behind Defend the Rose who tracked her throughout. Leslie Mawing takes over for Alex Canchari and Miguel Arroyo in the irons.
Trainer Gary Scherer will stretch out Rush Hour Traffic, the Genter runner up, from six furlongs to a mile 70 for the Oaks. In the Genter, while she didn’t threaten, she did move up through the race and seemed to have more in the tank late which could signal a potential mild upset in the offering. Francisco Arrieta has the ride.
Madisonian, who shocked the Shakopee faithful at 46-1 in her career debut with a tremendous driving finish, will start from the outside for trainer Bruce Riecken and rider Chad Lindsay.
Dreaming of Blue will be looking for three in a row in the Oaks with leading rider Ry Eikleberry while Hotasapistol will be looking to score back to back wins after storming past the field in a state bred allowance.
Imminent Threat and maiden Stylin N Profilin round out the Oaks field.
The Minnesota Derby could feature an Oaks/Derby double for trainer Gary Scherer. If he can get Rush Hour Traffic home in the Oaks, he trains the morning line favorite, Weekend Ride, in the Derby.
Weekend Ride captured the Derby prep race, the Vic Myers, leading from gate to wire. He followed up that effort with a second-place finish in an open allowance, where he was clearly second best, finishing over four lengths clear of the third place finisher. The Midshipman colt will be trying two turns for the first time in the Derby under Arrieta.
Public Safety, third in the Myers behind Weekend ride and maiden Myname is Prince, prepped for the Derby in a state bred allowance going a mile where he finished second, three clear of third, to veteran Sweeping Edge. Alonso Quinonez gets the ride from Alex Canchari who shifted his tack to Prairie Meadows.
David Van Winkle teams with Chad Lindsay again in the Derby with Lil’ Ninja, second in the MTA Stallion Auction Stakes last out to heavily favored Chicago shipper He’s Smokin Now. Another who will be stretching out for the first time in the Derby.
Leading trainer Joel Berndt sends out Where’d the Day Go, who broke through at a mile over the turf last out for his maiden victory.
Northern Playboy and Devil Vision are both coming in off of their maiden breaking performances and are certainly eligible to step up with only three career races between them. Devil Vision has the added bonus of having proved he can handle the distance, capturing his maiden win over a mile on the main track.
Though a maiden, Myname is Prince has been very effective with a pair of seconds in three starts including a runner up finish in the Myers.
Big Falcon Rocket, who removes the blinkers for the Derby, and Love My Boss complete the starting lineup.
The evening concludes with a pair of $50,000 mile and sixteenth stakes for older Minnesota breds, the Wally’s Choice, for colts and geldings, and the Glitter Star, for fillies and mares. Both could conceivably be chalky affairs as each field has a stellar favorite.
In the Wally’s Choice, superstar Hot Shot Kid is the morning line favorite. The 2019 Canterbury Horse of the Meet, Hot Shot Kid won the 10,000 Lakes to start the meet and, in his last, dominated a field of open optional claiming horses. His only local misstep this year was in the Ralph Strangis. He was beaten by several in here, though that was over the turf course and, while he has won over the turf, it is clearly not his favorite surface. The return to the dirt will make him very tough to beat.
If there is to be an upset, it’s possible that 17-1 Strangis winner Cinco Star or the red hot Dame Plata, looking for three in a row, could be the culprits. Cinco Star on the front end and Dame Plata running late.
In a short, but classy, field in the Glitter Star, Ready to Runaway is clearly the filly to beat, Installed as the 2/5 morning line favorite, the Mac Robertson trainee hasn’t lost a race on the dirt to fellow Minnesota breds since May of 2019. She did miss by a neck at even money, caught late by Firstmate in the Minnesota Distaff Turf. She bounced back over the dirt, however, to best that one, and several others in here, in an $50,000 optional claimer in which she dominated by eleven lengths.
While it is always folly to count out veteran Honey’s Sox Appeal, the all-time money winning filly or mare at Canterbury ($434,648), her best races have come on the turf this season and Ready to Runaway may be too tough to handle tonight.
Racing begins at 4:40 PM this evening. The all stakes, 10% takeout out .50 pick five begins in race six, scheduled for 6:10 PM.
