SHAKOPEE, MN – A pair of dominating performances closed out the season at Canterbury Park in the Shakopee Juvenile and the Tom Metzen HBPA Sprint.
In the six-furlong $50,000 Juvenile, highly touted shipper Two Phil’s broke a bit slowly but soon was on the bit and in command. By the half mile he had seized the lead and from there it was all over but the payouts.
The Larry Rivelli trained Two Phil’s ran the six furlongs in 1:11.78 and won by 9 ¾ lengths, paying $4.20. Runtoday ($2.40) was second and longshot Coffee Caliente ($5.20) was third.
“He came out of the last race really good,” said emotional winning jockey Jareth Loveberry. “Even in the post parade I could tell he was looking at the shadows and when we came out the gate he kind of hesitated but two jumps out of the gate and I was loaded for bear.”
“It’s really emotional being here,” said Loveberry as he dedicated the race to his father-in-law. “He was diagnosed with leukemia this week and it’s been a tough week and to be able to come here and be with familiar faces makes it really nice.”
Loveberry was a top five jockey in each of his three seasons at Canterbury before shifting his tack to Chicago. In 2017 he topped the standings with 74 wins. A favorite among fans and horsemen alike, Loveberry is always welcomed with open arms whenever he returns to Shakopee.
The six-furlong, $50,000 Tom Metzen HBPA Sprint finished off the Canterbury stakes season as another odds on favorite, Tony’s Tapit, dominated the race, albeit not as completely as Two Phil’s won his.
Jockey Ezequiel Lara kept Jose Silva, Jr. trained Tony’s Tapit just off the pace for the first part of the race and as the field straightened out for home, the colt dug in and began to close in on the early leader, defending Metzen champion Minister of Soul. Jockey Harry Hernandez, tough to beat once he’s on the front end, just did not have enough firepower to hold off Tony’s Tapit ($3.80) who surged to a 2 ¼ length victory.
Minster of Soul ($3.20) was second and Exxel ($3.00) was third.
“He’s a pretty honest horse,” said Lara. “He’ll do anything you want. Inside, outside, from behind, up front, he just gives you everything he’s got.”
Jockey Ry Eikleberry had quite a final night of race riding. The three time leading jockey at Canterbury – both with thoroughbreds and quarter horses – hung up his tack after the meet to go into private industry.
Eikleberry had four wins on the card including an emotional win on the final race of the season aboard Last Martini.
“I got a really good opportunity to work for an explosives company called Dyno Nobel,” Eikleberry told Canterbury’s Kevin Gorg after winning race six. “It will be a different move with normal hours and I’ll be able to get my family settle somewhere, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Before racing, Eikleberry said that he wanted to get his girls situated somewhere before they got to middle school so they could be settled through high school.
Eikleberry finished his career with a running line of:
14,877 rides: 2,568 wins; 2,277 seconds; 2,115 thirds; $45,714,193 in career purse earnings.
We wish Ry and his family all the best going forward.
