SHAKOPEE, MN – Canterbury Park will showcase a high quality Quarter Horse card on Tuesday evening featuring six stakes including the $62,739 Grade III Bank of America Canterbury Park Championship Challenge.
RACE 4 – $34,315 Canterbury Park Distaff Challenge
The Distaff Challenge features multiple graded stakes winner Curls Happy Wagon. Breaking from post 1, the 5-year old daughter of Pyc Paint Your Wagon is coming into the race off three consecutive graded stakes tries, including a win in the Grade 2 Decketta Stakes to start her 2020 season at Remington. Trainer Stacy Charette-Hill and jockey Jorge Torres have been spectacular at Canterbury over the past two seasons, winning together at a 26% clip.
Close on her heels is the Jason Olmstead trained, Tom Maher owned, duo of Lynnder 16 and Apollitical Mogul.
Lyndnder 16 stepped out of graded stakes company (where she finished behind the favorite in the Decketta) to close out the Remington Park meet with a win in a $75,000 optional claiming race. She came out of that race with the highest last race Speed Index figure of 98 and will be ridden by the red hot Berkley Packer.
Apollitical Mogul hasn’t been able to step up in stakes company but won six of twelve races last season including five at today’s distance of 400 yards.
RACE 5 – $49,575 Gopher State Futurity
The field of ten only features three trainers with qualifiers: Jason Olmstead with five; Ed Ross Hardy with three and Clinton Crawford with two. Overall, Hardy has won this race seven times, Olmstead five and while Crawford has only won once, he is the defending champion trainer.
The race appears to be an open affair with six maidens and no youngster standing over the field in terms of accomplishment or speed index.
Jess Rocket Man really stepped up in his qualifying heat, ripping off an 81 speed index, nearly 30 points higher than previous efforts. Jess Rocket Man has a legacy to live up to as well. He is the younger full brother of multiple stakes winners Dickie Bob and Pyc Jess Bitemydust, bred by owner Lunderborg LLC.
Fly Miss Corona Jess, one of the Crawford trainees, has been improving with each start. The inside filly, Western Reserve, popped smartly in her career debut to beat her rivals by a length and a quarter for Canterbury Hall of Famers Ed Ross Hardy and owner/breeders Bob and Julie Peterson.
RACE 7 – $67,335 MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity
After a maiden palate cleanser in race six, stakes action resumes in the seventh with the Minnesota Quarter Horse Racing Association Stallion Auction Futurity.
Vic Hanson trained Jess One Lane really stepped up in his second career start, notching a field best 91 Speed Index . He made his first start in April and had a real rough go of it but after some time off he came back very strong in his trial.
Relentless Seis also improved greatly from his first to his second start, finishing behind Jess One Lane by a length in the trial. Trainer Jason Olmstead has a way of building up to a final and shouldn’t be discounted.
RACE 8 – $45,075 Gopher State Derby
The 2-1 morning line favorite for the Gopher State Derby is top qualifier Tipsy Girl B. She glided over a muddy track in the trial, qualifying in 19.79 for the 400 yards. Packer and Olmstead have combined for 43% winners in the last two years at Canterbury and both have come our firing in the 2020 meet.
Bob Johnson trains Divas First Moon, 8-1 on the morning line, with four wins in nine career starts including a dominating win here last season in the 1889 Futurity. She matched the favorite’s top Speed Index of 91 last season. The trial was her first start of the season and was beaten by Tipsy Girl B by only 3/4 length. She may be the value play in the race in her second start back.
Zoomn On Bye and Sweet Wild Time are also stakes winners in the competitive field.
RACE 9 – $62,739 Grade III Bank of America Canterbury Park Championship Challenge
The only graded stake to be run at Canterbury for either breed this season, the Championship Challenge is a series of races that culminates in the Bank of America Challenge Championship races in Albuquerque on October 24, 2020.
Defending Canterbury Challenge champion Pyc Jess Bite Mydust drew the rail position for this year’s renewal. The connections will be trying to get back to the Championships after a disappointing finish in the finals last year.
The top threat is Danjer, an ultra consistent four year old bred, co-owned and trained by Dean Frye has hit the board in 13 of 15 lifetime starts and kicked off his 2020 campaign with a win in a Remington Park optional claiming race before faltering in the Grade I Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational. With Speed Indices consistently in the upper 90s and over 100, he looks to be the one to beat.
Casey Black trainee, Eagles Fly Higher, is a multiple graded stakes winner including back to back graded stakes wins at Remington Park earlier this year.
The hot horse is Lord Garvan. The Apollitical Jess gelding is riding a three race winning streak, undefeated in 2020, his last win was in the Grade III Boyd Morris Memorial at Remington.
RACE 10 – $26,648 Canterbury Park Distance Challenge
The only 870 yard race on the card is popular with fans but was light in the entry box, with only five participants.
The 8/5 morning line favorite is Summerhills Hero who had a 2 length score at the distance at Prairie Meadows to finish his 2019 campaign. His prep for this race was a “hook” allowance at Remington and he finished third.
Distance specialist Edleman has three starts to his credit in 2020, all in Oklahoma, with his best placing a third two starts back.
High on Chablis launched his 2020 campaign qualifying for the Grade II Remington Park Distance Challenge where he finished sixth.
First post on Tuesday will be 4:40 PM and the stakes action will kick off with race four.
