SHAKOPEE, MN – Saturday night brings the biggest stakes races for the season to Canterbury Park. The Mystic Lake Northern Lights Racing Festival features five stakes races worth $500,000 over both dirt and turf. The stakes will kick off in race 4 with the six-furlong $50,000 Hoist Her Flag stakes over the dirt, perhaps the most compelling of the five stakes. The fifth race is the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes at a mile on the turf. The sixth is the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile (dirt) while the seventh is the feature and Canterbury’s richest race of the season, the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby at a mile on the turf. The final stake of the evening is the $50,000 Dark Star Cup at 6 ½ furlongs over the main track.
HOIST HER FLAG
Puntsville is looking to win her third Hoist Her Flag in a row and, in the process, breaking a tie between her, Katy Smiles and Valid Leader for the most wins in the main track sprint.
This will be Puntsville’s second race of the season, her first being a fifth-place finish in the Prairie Rose Stakes at Prairie Meadows behind Lake Ponchatrain who will line up next to her in the center of the nine horse field.
In addition to the Prairie Rose, Lake Ponchatrain sports a win in a $93,000 Oaklawn Park allowance and a Charles Town overnight stake. She already has $119,450 in earnings this season in her 3 for 4 start.
This is far from a two-horse race, however. Hot Shot Anna is riding a four-race winning street including a pair of graded stakes, the Grade 3 Chicago Handicap and the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters with the $100,000 Satin and Lace Stakes in between. The five-year-old mare is two of three over the Canterbury surface with a second.
LADY CANTERBURY
Graded Stakes winner Goodyearforroses (Gr 2 Santa Ana) moves down to listed stakes company for the first time since 2017. After being off fifteen months she returned to the races in graded stakes company but has not had the same level of competitiveness. The relative class relief may be helpful for her as she’s lost to such powerhouses as Rymska and Rushing Fall.
Beach Flower is officially graded stakes placed but actually crossed the wire first in the Grade 3 Dowager Stakes at Keeneland last fall. Since her freshening, she has a 7th at Keeneland and fifth here behind Lady Canterbury contender Remember Daisy last out in a $35,000 optional claimer in preparation for this spot.
Remember Daisy is locally owned (Al & Bill Ulwelling) started this season off with a win and also closed out her 2018 season winning three out of four including a pair of Louisiana bred stakes, the Benson Memorial and off-the-turf Louisiana Ladies, at Fairgrounds. Her prep race was gutsy effort getting up in the final strides. Winning jock Eddie Martin Jr. returns.
Graded stakes placed Lovely Loyree, shipping in from Chicago, was fourth in this race last year and is making her seasonal debut in the Lady Canterbury.
MYSTIC LAKE MILE
A full field of 13 heads postward in the Mystic Lake Mile featuring speedsters, closers, locals and shippers.
Leading the local contingent is the winningest horse in Canterbury history in terms of money won here in Shakopee, A P is Loose. A P, a Minnesota bred, won three of six last year pushing his career earnings toward the $500,000 mark. He’ll be closing late in his seasonal debut.
He’ll be up against defending champion, My Bariley, a Chicago shipper out of Anthony Granitz stable. Off since February, Granitz is 23% off the layoff and My Bariley has a series of nicely spaced works.
2017 Mystic Lake Derby winner Giant Payday is back for the first time since that win – and looking for his next win as well.
Last year’s Mystic Lake Derby runner up, Nobrag Justfact is making his 2nd start off a short layoff. His last start he came up just short to speedster Ibaka and should stalk and try and pounce late.
Ibaka made his seasonal debut last out and wired a field of $25,000 optional claimers in preparation for this race. He won the 2018 edition of the Brooks Field at a mile over this course.
Ibaka should have company on the front end this time, though, with Belmont shipper California Night. The other Maker shipper, Han Sense, showed speed wiring a field of optional $62,500 at Churchill in his seasonal bow but is only trying the turf for the second time.
Spooky Channel is riding a five race winning streak including the Wildcat and Hasta La Vista stakes at Turf Paradise. He cuts back to a mile again and will try and get first jump on the field.
MYSTIC LAKE DERBY
Dunph, on the Derby trail earlier this year, has run in a series of graded stakes before moving to the turf for the second time last out in the Tale of the Cat stakes at Monmouth where he pushed a blistering pace before fading late.
Spectralight is making her North American debut in the Derby having won three of six races, including beating the boys twice, in Italy.
Michael Maker, who is shipping in several for the stakes card at Canterbury, will be leading over stakes placed Faraway Kitten, a Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred in the Derby.
Thetrashmanscoming broke his maiden in his 15th try by eight lengths when he shifted to Prairie Meadows from Florida and Kentucky. He came right back next out and took the Prairie Mile at Prairie Meadows and returns to the turf for the first time since a maiden effort at Gulfstream.
Undefeated Winning Number (2-2) will be stretching out and trying the turf for the first time after notching field high Beyer Speed Figures of 90 and 83 over muddy racetracks at Keeneland and Canterbury. He made one work over the local turf and covered five furlongs in :59.2.
DARK STAR CUP
Graded stakes winner Chief Cicatriz leads the field in the Dark Star with a top tier of closely matched contenders. The Chief closed out the 2018 season with a win in the Grade 3 Aristides at Churchill Downs. In his last, first back after a brief freshener, he just missed in the Ed Skinner at Prairie Meadows and now adds a half furlong in the Dark Star.
Speedy graded stakes winner (Grade 1 Iroquois) The Tabulator, defeated local hero Mr. Jagermeister in the Prairie Juvenile in 2017. He won the Golden Circle in the slop at Prairie Meadows last season and kicked off 2019 with a win in a $50,000 optional at Arlington where he led from gate to wire.
Minnesota bred Hot Shot Kid is riding a two game winning street capturing the a state bred allowance dash as well as the 10,000 Lakes Stakes to start the local 2019 season.
Cowboy Creed is making his return to the races since April. While he hasn’t won since last summer, he has been competitive in $50,000 optionals at Oaklawn Park in the spring.
Malibu Max ran off a string of 2nd place finishes at Oaklawn to start the 2019 season before finishing 5th in the Oaklawn Mile. His local debut was a 4th in a $35,000 optional where he stumbled at the start and lost all chance. A line through that effort and he fits right in here.
Post time for the Mystic Lake Northern Stars Racing Festival is 5 PM. There is also a Northern Stars live bankroll handicapping contest Saturday evening. Latest weather forecast show the best chance of rain well into the evening which would be great news for the turf stakes in particular and the big night in general.
