SHAKOPEE, MN – A late afternoon deluge wreaked havoc with the Northern Stars Turf Festival at Canterbury Park Saturday night eventually taking all the stakes action off the turf and on to a sloppy, then muddy, main track.
$40,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks Overnight Handicap – 1 Mile OFF THE TURF
Long shot Hattie Bloom battled on the lead throughout most of the race at 19-1. After putting away Xtreme Smoke, eventual winner Tour Queen ranged up beside her. The Bloom refused to wilt but battled on gamely to the wire with jocks Eduardo Gallardo and Luis Fuentes riding the hair of their respective mounts to the wire with Tour Queen ($18.20) finishing a length ahead of Hattie Bloom ($22.20) and then a mile back to Barbsdreamcomestrue ($3.00).
“Once we got on the track I could tell that she wasn’t going to like dirt in her face,” said Fuentes. “Once the two horses cleared me I was able to guide her outside, she took the bit and she did the rest.”
Tour Queen, trained by Ty Garrett, ran the mile in 1:39.66.
$50,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes – 1 Mile OFF THE TURF
The Lady Canterbury was decimated when the race came off the turf, leaving only three starters: Big Bad Diva, Scent of Success and Thunders Rocknroll.
When the gates opened, 3/5 Thunders Rocknroll ($3.20) seized the lead and dared the other two to catch her. Heading into the final turn, Scent of Success ranged up on her outside to close within a length but that was as close as she would get as the favorite, under Alonso Quinonez. Big Bad Diva was two lengths back in second and Scent of Success was third.
The Lady Canterbury was the Bob Lindgren homebred’s second stakes victory of the season.
“It wasn’t hard to figure out that we were the only speed in the race,” said Quinonez. “I just wanted a clean break and get on the lead, put them to sleep and take her around without falling off.”
$40,000 Dark Star Sprint – 5F OFF THE TURF
There looked to be a lot of speed in the Dark Star which could have led to an off the pace winner. While the speed materialized with Thealligatorhunter, Twentyone and Change and Plane Talk vied for the lead into the stretch, Thealligatorhunter ($3.20) under Alonso Quinonez put away Twentyone and Change ($8.00) late in the stretch to win by a length in 57.48. Hi Yah ($2.80) passed Plane Talk late for third.
“This horse just has a big heart,” said owner/breeder Pete Mattson. “Once he learned to run straight, he’s been pretty hard to beat.”
$50,000 Brooks Fields Stakes – 1 Mile OFF THE TURF
The late money turned out to be the smart money in the Brooks Fields as Unified Dreams, who dropped from 7/2 to 7/5 in the late wagering, stalked the pace, took command under Fausto DaSilva heading into the far turn and prevailed over a hard charging but erratically running Tonka Warrior. Unified Dreams ($4.80) is trained by Gary Scherer. Tonka Warrior ($3.20) was two lengths back in second while Drama Chorus ($3.00) was third.
Claimed for $30,000 last year, Unified Dreams has now won four times for the new connections with the Fields being his first stakes win.
“Patrice [Sutherland, the owner] was looking for a horse and he looked pretty solid,” said Scherer. “No more turf for this guy though. He’s a good horse. He’s been a good claim.”
$50,000 Canterbury Derby – 1 Mile OFF THE TURF
Heading into the Canterbury Park Derby, Navy Seal looked to be the cream of the crop having come in from a 5th place finish in the UAE Derby. A nagging question, however, would be why this horse would come to a $50,000 stake?
That question was answered early as Navy Seal never really got into the race while Freeze Em seized the lead early and Flat Hanby sat off his flank. Heading into the far turn, Flat Hanby and Eduardo Gallardo were sandwiched between horses but by the time they turned for home, the duo was all alone in front and continued to widen their lead to the wire, finishing in 1:36.96.
Flat Hanby ($21.80) finished six lengths ahead of Bourbon Afficionado ($5.20) and Navy Seal ($2.20) was third.
“We were in uncharted territory here,” said winning trainer Boyd Caster. “We were going long for the first time, would have been his first time on the turf – I’m kind of glad it came off, actually. He answered a few questions for us today. In racing, you’re up, you’re down and moments like this make up for all the downs.”
