SHAKOPEE, MN – The fireworks at Canterbury Park were not contained to just Friday night. On Sunday afternoon the Quarter Horses took center stage and set off a few of their own in the Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby and the Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity.
In the Derby, odds on BPs Cartel Policy, the fastest qualifier in the trials, broke from the inside and never got untracked. Instead, all the action took place on the outside with filly Fortune in a Wagon and Feature a Runaway battling it out to the wire in the $50,000 four hundred yard championship.
After a very long examination, the placing judges determined that both the filly and gelding hit the wire together resulting in a dead heat. A very high priced dead heat. Fortune in a Wagon left the starting gate at 12-1 while Feature a Runaway went off at 25-1. Honeymoon Candy finished third.
Fortune in a Wagon, ridden by Cody Smith, trained by Stacy Charette-Hill and owned by Terry and Mary Louise Pursel, paid $13.20 to win. Feature a Runaway, $25.00 to win, is trained by Edward Ross Hardy, owned by Reliance Ranches, and was ridden by David Pinon. The pair stopped the clock in :20.500.
Feature a Runaway was the slowest of the ten qualifiers from the trials and entered the Derby as a maiden giving Hardy pause about starting him.
“I thought about scratching him and finding a maiden race,” Hardy said. “But I remembered my clients once won the All-American Derby with the tenth fastest qualifier. It turned out well today.”
The $141,000 Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity had its own drama heading into the race. While the horses were getting ready to load it was learned that there was an issue with the photo finish equipment that resulted in a delay of nearly 30 minutes.
When they loaded up, the 4/5 favorite was Jason Olmstead trainee, filly Gone All In. Though she broke well, she couldn’t quite catch the horse on the rail, Eagles Span, who, at 23-1 was one of the longest shots in the race. Fortunately for Olmstead, he also trains Eagles Span.
“He gutted it out and he got there,” Olmstead said. “I don’t think he wanted to go much further. The filly [Gone All In] was coming.”
Eagles Span, one of five in the 10-horse Northlands field trained by Jason Olmstead, was ridden by Berkley Packer and is owned by Tom and Bill Maher. The 2-year-old colt was the seventh fastest qualifier from the trials held June 14. The 28th running of the Northlands Futurity offered a record purse. Eagles Span, who broke from the inside post, paid $48.80 to win. Streakin Wagon finished third.
“He came through. He’s just a gutty horse. He’s real strong.” Tom Maher said.
