Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Minnesota-breds get spotlight
Regional pride will be on full display Sunday at Canterbury Park when the 24th annual Minnesota Festival of Champions is run at the suburban Minneapolis track.
All 11 races are restricted to horses bred in Minnesota, with purses totaling $585,000. Six races are stakes for Thoroughbreds, with the balance of the card filled out by three overnight races and two stakes for Quarter Horses. First post is 12:50 p.m. Central.
Mac Robertson, the leading trainer in Festival history with 28 wins, will be well represented once again. Robertson said he is hoping Honey’s Sox Appeal and A P Is Loose can become twotime winners in the series and that he also expects good showings from several others.
“It’s a big day here,” Robertson said. “Everybody is looking to take a shot at the big money.”
Here’s a quick look at each of the six Thoroughbred stakes: $60,000 Minnesota Distaff Sprint (race 4): A decisive winner of this six-furlong race last year at 3, Honey’s Sox Appeal figures to appreciate a return to statebred company as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in a field of just five fillies and mares. Alex Canchari gets the call from Robertson.
Rockin the Bleu’s, first or second in 16 of 27 career starts, figures her top threat as the 9-5 second choice.
$60,000 Minnesota Distaff Classic (race 5): She’s a 3-yearold facing older females in this 1 1/16-mile race, yet Double Bee Sting seems to merit her 8-5 program favoritism after a sixlength victory in the Minnesota Oaks three weeks ago. Jareth Loveberry has a return call from trainer Tony Rengstorf.
Some Say So, winner of a statebred stakes on turf in June, is a top challenger, while Pinup Girl, third in the Minnesota Oaks, is the only other 3-year-old in a field of seven. $85,000 Northern Lights Debutante (race 6): Just four of the 11 2-year-old fillies in this six-furlong race are winners, and two of the remaining maidens are first-time starters. Clearly, there are a lot of unknowns that add up to the Debutante actually being one of the more interesting races of
the day for handicappers.
Cheerz to Clare, whose Aug. 3 maiden score resulted in a field-high Beyer Speed Figure (53), is a lukewarm morningline favorite over fellow winner Papa’s Isla Doll. $85,000 Northern Lights
Futurity (race 8): Despite being part of a bulky field of 11 2-year-olds, Mr. Jagermeister could wind up the heaviest favorite of the day on the strength of his eye-popping debut victory July 4 at Canterbury. The effort equated to an 81 Beyer and led to the colt being a 3-10 favorite when finishing second in open company in a stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Trainer Valorie Lund is removing blinkers on Mr. Jagermeister, who retains jockey Andrew Ramgeet for this six-furlong race.
$60,000 Minnesota Sprint (race 9): Robertson said he is “leaning toward” scratching Hot Shot Kid from this six-furlong race in favor of the Brooks Fields on turf next weekend, but the trainer will still have Bourbon County, the 2015 Sprint winner, as the top challenger to Hold for More.
Hold for More, whose 11 triumphs from 20 career starts include the 2016 Sprint, won the July 21 prep for this and could be odds-on if Hot Shot Kid does not start. $60,000 Minnesota Classic
(race 10): A P Is Loose sharpened up with a useful prep last month and could have an edge when favorably drawn on the rail as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven in this 1 1/16-mile race.
Another Robertson trainee, Teddy Time, could emerge as the main threat, along with Vanderbilt Beach and Speed Is Life. All three are going turf to dirt.
Modeled after similar statebred programs such as the Maryland Million, the Minnesota Festival of Champions was first held in 1992 as the final program at Canterbury prior to current owners Curt and Randy Sampson and Dale Schenian buying the track in 1994 and proceeding to revitalize racing in the state.
Purses for all of the Sunday races include substantial enhancements derived from an historic 2012 agreement with the Mystic Lake casino located just a few miles from the track.