Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
CANTERBURY
Minnesota-breds get their day, but maybe not in sun
There’s plenty of uncertainty, including the weather, Wednesday evening at Canterbury Park, which hosts the season’s most important night of Minnesota-bred racing. But you probably can count on a win from Ready to Runaway.
Since owner John Mentz and trainer Mac Robertson claimed this filly for $25,000 in June 2019, she has made 11 starts with six wins, including five in Minnesota-bred stakes competition. Ready to Runaway has dominated her Minnesota-bred peers on dirt, whether the races are short or long, finishing a close second earlier this summer while making her turf debut in another Minnesota-bred stakes. She’s won three statebred stakes with $50,000 purses and two worth $100,000, and will be an odds-on favorite to take down the $100,000 Minnesota Distaff Sprint on Wednesday evening.
The race is the first of six Thoroughbred stakes on a 12-race card (10 Thoroughbred, two Quarter Horses at card’s end) that begins at 4:10 p.m. Central. Rain was all but certain at Canterbury early this week and could continue through midday Wednesday, imperiling the two grass stakes on the program. The limited ontrack patrons will want to bring more than a windbreaker, too, with temperatures Wednesday night forecast to dip to a very unseasonable 40 degrees.
Ready to Runaway will be a much hotter favorite facing just five foes. And she handles a wet track, too.
Here’s a look at the other five $100,000 stakes on the card.
Blair’s Cove
Whether it stays on turf or gets rained onto dirt, Drop of Golden Sun should prove formidable in the 1 1/16-mile Blair’s Cove. Drop of Golden Sun, a 5-year-old by Neko Bay, has hit career form this summer for owner-trainer Tony Rengstorf, two peak performances – the first on turf, more recently on dirt – coming after he was stretched from sprints to routes. In the $50,000 Wally’s Choice on Aug. 19, Drop of Golden Sun went to the lead and never was challenged, coasting home over leading Minnesota-bred Hot Shot Kid.
Hot Shot Kid won this race a year ago when it was rained onto turf and, while he prefers dirt, might be at his very best sprinting, Hot Shot Kid, with a record of 15-8-1 from 33 starts, always shows up.
Dame Plata disappointed in the Wally’s Choice but did beat a field of similar quality on turf two starts back.
Princess Elaine Distaff
Here’s a race where a decent price stands an excellent chance, provided the Princess Elaine remains on turf. Firstmate has made only three of her 16 career starts on grass, but definitely favors the surface, with her only grass loss in three Canterbury starts a close, commendable fifth racing in open company in the Lady Canterbury Stakes earlier this meet. She exits a pair of poor performances on dirt, which can help boost her odds Wednesday evening.
Clickbait, the 5-2 morningline favorite and most likely winner on dirt, and Honey’s Sox Appeal provide the primary opposition.
Futurity/Debutante
It’s a game of jockeys’ musical chairs in the $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity, for Minnesota-bred 2-year-olds over six furlongs.
Westa Waverly and Sneeky Diversion appear to be two of the more likely winners, yet the riders who were aboard in their most recent start land elsewhere, surely due to longerterm commitments. Alonso Quinonez rode Westa Waverly to an easy win in a sales futurity last out, but gives way to Roimes Chirinos in order to ride debut winner Alligator
Hunter. Ry Eikleberry rode Sneeky Diversion to a sharp debut win Sept. 1. Sneeky Diversion got a 70 Beyer Speed Figure for that win, but Eikleberry sticks with Prince Rama, who won a maiden race by 12 lengths but earned only a 39 Beyer.
Franciso Bravo trains Prince Rama, and the top pick here is another Bravo-trained entrant, debut winner Fire Extinguisher.
In the Northern Lights Debutante for fillies, Bravo and Eikleberry team up with Star of the North, a second-out fourlength maiden winner in her last race. She’s the choice over Hell of the North and Molly’s Angel in what looks like a competitive race.
Minnesota Sprint
Mr. Jagermeister won this race by more than five lengths last summer but isn’t entered Wednesday, leaving the sixfurlong dirt sprint to a pair of Mac Robertson-trained runners, with Cinco Star preferred over Mister Banjoman, if only tepidly.