SHAKOPEE, MN – A pair of Quarter Horse stakes will close out the card at Canterbury Park tonight, the $25,000 Added Skip Zimmerman Stakes for three-year-olds and up and the $25,000 Added North Star State Futurity for two-year-olds. Owner Tom Maher and trainer Jason Olmstead are in a position to sweep both races.
In the 350-yard Zimmerman, Maher co-owned (with Stephen Williams) Juice is Loose is the 2-1 morning line favorite. Juice is Loose has been very competitive in nearly all his starts and has notched five 80+ speed indexes in his six races of 2021, which included a second place finish in the Grade 3 Canterbury Challenge behind superstar Danjer. He’s hit the board in every race this season, his win coming in a Remington Park allowance in April. He’ll break from the rail with Edwin Escobedo aboard.
In the middle of the field, both Hr Storm On In and Heza Blues Man are capable of jumping up and running a big race. Heza Blues Man just missed beating stakes winner Lynnder 16, putting together a speed index of 94, while Hr Storm On In has run as high as a 102 last season while winning a Remington Park optional claimer.
On the outside is Zoomn On Bye, winner of both the Gopher State Derby and Canterbury Park Derby at three. He started his season tough in a pair of Remington graded stakes, but has improved in his last two starts and could be poised to run a big race tonight.
In the nightcap, Maher has the two prohibitive favorites in the 300-yard North Star State Derby, Relentless Babe and Relentless Courage (with Paul Luedemann).
After a fourth place finish in his debut at Remington in early May, the sorrel gelding won his trial for the MQHRA Futurity before taking the Futurity on July 6.
Filly Relentless Babe, also won a trial for the MQHRA Futurity but, despite qualifying quicker than her stablemate, finished half a length behind Relentless Courage in the finale. Both are trained by Jason Olmstead.
Though the rest don’t seem to come close to the mid-70s speed indexes of the favored duo, you can never count out all time leading Quarter Horse ride Nik Goodwin, which he has already proven on several long shots already this year, who has the mount on Pr Little Miss Guns. She cuts back to 300-yards for this contest, but will need a jump up in speed to catch the stablemates.
Post time for the 10-race card is 5:10 PM with the stakes coming in the last couple of races on the card.
