A P Is Loose can punch it into end zone

A P Is Loose used to be a frontrunning route horse, but over time, he has learned to rate, and his more patient approach can help him win the $50,000 Blair’s Cove Stakes for the third year in a row on Monday night at Canterbury Park.

The Blair’s Cove (race 9, 8:10 Central) shares top billing on a 10-race holiday-week card with the Princess Elaine Stakes (race 4, 5:39). Both races are carded at 1 1/16 miles on turf and restricted to Minnesotabreds.

A P Is Loose, trained by Mac Robertson, pressed the pace and won the 2015 Blair’s Cove by one length, and last year he led all the way en route to a 2 1/4-length tally.

Now 6, A P Is Loose, a Joel Zamzow homebred gelding by Monarchos, is two races into his 2017 campaign, and his win June 10 in another Minnesotabred turf stakes unfolded in a different manner than his typical run. A P Is Loose and jockey Dean Butler tracked from fifth behind a dawdling pace, gearing up in the homestretch for a final push that landed a narrow victory.

A P Is Loose’s 68 Beyer Speed Figure from that performance is lower than his standard, but the extremely slow pace for 7 1/2 furlongs tamped down the number. There is plenty of speed signed on at this longer trip Monday, and a similarly relaxed A P Is Loose ought to run by his rivals to make it three straight Blair’s Cove victories.

On dirt, Hold for More probably would give A P Is Loose a fight, but there is no evidence that Hold for More can produce his best on turf, and as a confirmed front-runner, especially in routes, Hold for More figures to be engaged early by a couple of rivals to his outside. And if those horses fail to go forward, Butler can call on A P Is Loose’s tactical pace to keep the front-runner in range.

Some Say So going well

Mac Robertson trains half of the six-horse field entered in the $50,000 Princess Elaine, and there is no doubt strength in numbers, but Some Say So, who is not among the Robertson trio, might be the one to beat.

Some Say So was gifted an easy lead in winning the $50,000 Minnesota Turf Distaff on June 10, but the filly can succeed under different circumstances. Two starts ago, in an open, first-level turf-route allowance race, Some Say So was 16 lengths behind the leader after a fast opening half-mile and came home strongly to miss by a head.

That was her fifth secondplace finish in six Canterbury turf starts, and Some Say So appears to have a propensity for herd behavior, but if jockey Orlando Mojica can time things right Monday, Some Say So is in line for her second straight victory.

Two of Robertson’s entrants, First Hunter (2-1) and Honey Sox’s Appeal (5-2) are shorter prices on the morning line than Some Say So, but Honey Sox’s Appeal will struggle to stay 1 1/16 miles, and Some Say So has beaten First Hunter home in three of their four common turf starts.