Canterbury: Wednesday’s $610,000 Racing Festival Draws Solid Fields

Canterbury Park's Northern Stars Racing Festival on June 23 has attracted several of the top trainers in the country as well as the Shakopee racetrack's best local trainers in pursuit of $610,000 in purses spread across six stakes.

The tenth running of the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby drew a field of 11. Represented in the one mile turf stake is trainer Brad Cox with 3-year-old T D Dance. Cox is the second leading trainer nationally in purses earned in 2021 with $13.6 million, recently winning the Belmont Stakes with Essential Quality and training Kentucky Derby second-place finisher Mandaloun.

Michael Maker, sixth in the nation in purses with $5.9 million, entered both Grade 3 winner Chess's Dream and Shady McGee. Maker won the Mystic Lake Derby in 2018 and 2019.

Bodenheimer has two turf wins, a maiden race at Canterbury in July of last year and the Indian Summer at Keeneland in October. Trained by Valorie Lund and ridden by Ruben Fuentes, Bodenheimer, who drew post 11, will try a route of ground for the first time in the Derby.

Ian Wilkes attempts to win the Mystic Lake Derby for the second time having trained Giant Payday to a win in 2017 for owner Robert Lothenbach of Wayzata, Minn. Chris Landeros rode then and will have the mount June 23 on Modern Science for Wilkes and Lothenbach.

The field for the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby is as follows:

  1. King of Miami – Jareth Loveberry – Larry Rivelli – 8/1
  2. Chess's Dream – Ricardo Santana, Jr. – Mike Maker – 4/1
  3. Shadizaar – Shannon Uske – Peter Gulyas – 20/1
  4. Sebastian's Boy – Luis Fuentes – Esteban Martinez – 15/1
  5. Holy Vow – Sophie Doyle – Oscar Flores – 10/1
  6. T D Dance – Florent Geroux – Brad Cox – 5/2
  7. Shady McGee – Dean Butler – Mike Maker – 12/1
  8. Modern Science – Chris Landeros – Ian Wilkes – 5/1
  9. Bakwena – Chase Miller – Darrin Miller – 8/1
  10. Go Speed Racer Go – Ezequiel Lara – Miguel Angel Silva – 20/1
  11. Bodenheimer – Ruben Fuentes – Valorie Lund – 8/1

Two of the sport's top jockeys will also compete. Florent Geroux, fifth in the nation in purses earned with $8.7 million, will ride three entries for Cox. Ricardo Santana, Jr., currently seventh in earnings, will ride four for Michael Maker who has a lengthy history at Canterbury dating back to the 2008 Claiming Crown. Maker has won with 16 of 50 starters at Canterbury and earned $1.08 million in purses.

The $100,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks and the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes each has a field of nine and are run at one mile on the turf. The $100,000 Dark Star Turf Sprint at five furlongs has eight. The $60,000 MTA Stallion Auction Stakes, at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track, also has eight entrants.

Giant Payday, still owned by Lothenbach but now trained by Joel Berndt, will face the 2020 Mystic Lake Derby winner Summer Assault, trained by Michele Boyce, in the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile along with defending champion Tut's Revenge who is ridden by Roimes Chirinos and trained by Clint Stuart.

Robertino Diodoro, three times the leading trainer at Canterbury and currently fifth in the nation in total wins with 116, has entries in the Mile and the Sprint. Diodoro is leading the current Canterbury meet with a record of 14 wins from 40 starts.

A night of stakes cannot go by without the involvement of Mac Robertson, 13-time training champion at Canterbury and leader in all-time purse earnings and wins. Robertson has entries in the Lady Canterbury, the Sprint and the Oaks.

The 10-race June 23 program begins at 5:10 p.m. CT. Canterbury offers an industry low 10 percent takeout on its non-jackpot $1 Pick Six and 50 cent Pick Five wagers with each concluding on the final race of the program.

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Kelsi Harr Rides First Stakes Winner In Off-The-Turf Minnesota HBPA Distaff

Weather was no friend on Thursday to Canterbury Park which had three $50,000 turf stakes scheduled. Relentless rain in Shakopee that began in the early morning hours and continued into late afternoon forced those stakes races to be transferred from the soaked grass course to a sloppy main track resulting in numerous scratches in the Brooks Fields, Minnesota HBPA Distaff and Honor the Hero Stakes.

Best Kept Secret and jockey Kelsi Harr led a four-horse field gate to wire in the one-mile Minnesota HBPA Distaff, holding off defending champion Beach Flower. The victory provided jockey Kelsi Harr with her first stakes win. Best Kept Secret is trained by Robert Cline and owned by Tracy Hersman.

“This is a great way to start the meet. We backed off on her after Oaklawn,” Cline said. “I was worried we didn't have her tight enough. It showed in the last sixteenth [of a mile].”

Harr sent Best Kept Secret to the front, setting comfortable fractions early. At the top of the stretch the 2 1/2 length lead began to diminish as Beach Flower gained ground.

“She was drifting out and I could hear [Beach Flower] coming,” Harr said.

Best Kept Secret had just enough left to hold on to win by a head. She paid $2.60 as the prohibitive favorite.

Lord Dragon took advantage of a quick pace set by favorite Hieronymus and Tut's Revenge, closing in the stretch to win the one-mile Brooks Fields Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. Rider Ruben Fuentes and Lord Dragon survived a claim of foul by the rider of Tut's Revenge, the second-place finisher, after bumping between those two and Hieronymus in deep stretch. The stewards ruled there would be no change in the order of finish. Lord Dragon, trained by Chris Richard and owned by Jason Totaram, paid $9.60.

Drena's Star, the 3/5 favorite, won the five-furlong Honor the Hero Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths for trainer Robertino Diodoro and owners Randy Marriot, Clayton Weist and Rick Weist. Lindey Wade guided the winner along the rail to victory, returning $3.40.

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Mr. Jagermeister Sets Stakes Record, Becomes Richest Minnesota-Bred Of All Time

Mr. Jagermeister won the $50,000 10,000 Lakes Stakes on Wednesday night at Canterbury Park by 4 3/4 lengths, covering six furlongs in a stakes record 1:08.54. The 6-year old earned $30,000 and became the richest Minnesota-bred money earner in the history of racing with lifetime earnings of $645,434, surpassing sixth-place finisher Hot Shot Kid, who is the second-richest earner with $618,611. Mr. Jagermeister won the 10,000 Lakes in 2018. Hot Shot Kid won the stake in 2019 and 2020.

Mr. Jagermeister is trained by Valorie Lund who co-owns the horse with Leslie Cummings and Kristin Boice. He was ridden by Ruben Fuentes. Mr. Jagermeister paid $4.20 as the wagering favorite. Drop of Golden Sun, who set the first quarter-mile fraction, held on for second. Cinco Star was third.

The $50,000 Lady Slipper Stakes, also at six furlongs, went to Clickbait and jockey Cecily Evans. This was the first stake victory for Evans, whose riding career began in 2009. Evans let the 5-year-old mare sail to the lead on the backstretch and was never challenged from there, drawing off to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:09.77.

“She wanted to go. She pulled me to the front,” Evans said. “She's my favorite horse.”

Star of the North, the 2 to 1 second choice on the morning line, was scratched shortly after leaving the walking ring.

Clickbait, who paid $4.40, is trained by Mac Robertson and is owned by Hugh Robertson, John Mentz and Jeff Larson. Mentz also owns second-place finisher Ready to Runaway who is trained by Robertson. Rush Hour Traffic was third.

Total handle for the nine-race program was $ 2,418,727 bolstered by $653,521 wagered into the Pick 5 pool that had a carryover from the previous day of $91,333. The handle total is the ninth largest total daily handle in the history of Canterbury Park, and the second largest non-Claiming Crown handle total.

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Canterbury’s Opening Night Handles $1.8 Million; $91,333 Pick 5 Carryover Wednesday

Canterbury's 65-day racing season got underway Tuesday with a small, but very lively crowd capped at somewhere around 2,500. Total handle on the opening night card was $1,845,976.

The 50 cent Pick 5 was elusive to bettors who wagered $135,332 into the pool. With no winning tickets, the carryover into Wednesday evening is $91,333.

“People, the fans, seem so happy to be back,” trainer Valorie Lund said. “I had complete strangers wishing me luck.”

Masks are no longer required for the fully vaccinated, so smiling faces could be seen everywhere.

One of those smiling faces was owner Peter Mattson of Prior Lake, Minn. His Elusive Amelia won the first race, Astronaut Oscar the second and Owen's Pleasure the third.

Had he ever won three races in one night?

“Not that I recall,” said Mattson. “I haven't won three races in a month,” said the self-deprecating Mattson, who was third leading owner in 2020.

Mattson's horses were not done yet however. Minnesota Lucky finished off the board in the fifth but Thealligatorhunter, who Mattson co-owns with trainer Tim Padilla, won the eighth race by open lengths.

Jockey Alonso Quinonez was aboard three of the Mattson winners and Chad Lindsay another. Quincy Hamilton brought in the longest price of the night, taking Papa Rizzo gate to wire at 37 to 1 and paying $77.20.

Three riders new to the jockey colony this season, Lindey Wade , Ruben Fuentes and Luis Negron, had one win each.

The $1 Pick 6 also went un-hit. The carryover into Wednesday is $7,714.87. First post is 5PM CDT.

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