SHAKOPEE, MN – When Mr. Jagermeister took to the turf course at Canterbury Park Sunday morning, trainer Valorie Lund was less concerned about how fast the 3-year old Minnesota bred phenom breezed four panels but how the colt looked during the work.  If all went well, Mr. Jagermeister would be pointed to the one mile $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby Saturday evening.

“Honestly,” said Lund “I was less concerned about the distance – I’m sure he can get the mile – than I was about the surface.

“He went nice and easy,” she continued.  “It wasn’t our intent to drill him very hard.  We did that last week and really wanted to get him accustomed to the track and the surroundings.  Leandro [Goncalves] let him jog a little first and let him see the track from this perspective.  He did look around some and was really taking it in – and that’s what we wanted.”

Mr. Jagermeister clocked four furlongs in 51.5 over a turf course rated as good.

“Leandro had a good hold of him during the work,” said Lund. “He handled the turf very well.  He just skipped over the surface.  He didn’t look any different than he does running over the dirt.”

Lund plans to enter the colt Wednesday for the track’s signature event on Saturday.

“I’m 99% sure that he will run Saturday,” said Lund.  “That’s the plan.”

The Mystic Lake Derby will be the center piece of the Northern Stars Racing Festival which will also include the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile and Lady Canterbury Stakes and the $50,000 Dark Star Cup and Hoist Her Flag Stakes.  There will be a special post time of 6 PM on Saturday night.