SHAKOPEE, MN – Saturday night at Canterbury Park is the return of the Northern Stars Turf Festival, a night of three turf stakes and one named allowance that, once again, drew entries from throughout the Midwest.
The biggest question on Northern Stars night is which shippers are actual coming and which will scratch, requiring the horseplayer to be agile on race day. In a few past editions, rain kept some contenders away with the fear of the race coming off the turf, but Saturday night is projected to be warm and dry.
Here is a look at each race.
$50,000 Lady Canterbury – 1 Mile
Morning Line favorite Tirupati (Thomas/Equivel) is listed as 2-1 but she is also cross entered in the Anchorage Stakes at Churchill Downs. The difference in purse is substantial, $275,000 to $50,000, but she’s also 12-1 at Churchill. If she comes to Shakopee, the graded stakes winner will be tough to beat.
Tough, but not impossible. Local legend, Thunders Rocknroll (Swan/Americano), will look to win her second Lady Canterbury but her first over the grass. The speedy Minnesotan will stretch out to a mile and move to the turf after wins in the Lady Slipper here and the Prairie Rose a week later at Prairie Meadows.
Thunders likes the front end, but she should have company there with two invaders also looking to possibly take the field gate to wire: Michael Maker trained Salty Seniorita and Tom Proctor’s Wrigleyville. Both will be looking for their first stakes win in the Lady Canterbury.
$50,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks – 1 Mile
Trainer Coty Rosin is looking to get back-to-back wins from Clearly Authentic (Gallardo) in the Oaks after scorching an open allowance field here on May 25th. She should stalk the early pace and will look to blow by the front runners in the stretch.
Essential Lady (Thomas/Esquivel) has it in her power to take the field from gate to wire and if she can sneak out early and Esquivel can control the pace, she’ll be tough to catch late.
$50,000 Canterbury Derby – 1 Mile
Locally based Ultra Extreme (Robertson/Americano) could be a champion in the making. She debuted last out and took it to a field of maidens, earning an impressive 83 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.
Trainer Lynn Rarick has a pair of contenders in the Derby with Knick’s Honor (Gallardo) and Mr. Mo’s Magic (Roman). Knick’s Honor should ensure a fair early pace while his stakes winning stablemate will look to come hard late.
$50,000 Brooks Fields Memorial – 1 Mile
Tonka Warrior (Robertson/Americano) and Frosty View (Berndt/Fuentes) will lock horns for the second time in three weeks. In an optional claiming race over this course and distance, Tonka Warrior ran down and ran past Frosty View in the lane to win. Tonka Warrior was running his fifth race of the season while Frosty View was making his seasonal debut. It could be expected that race tightened him up and that Berndt was looking toward this race as the target.
A point of stress for Frosty View could be the Jose Silva Jr. trained Silent Runner (Esquivel). A solid performer and an Arizona stakes winner, should be right there on Frosty View’s flank, possibly loosening him up for the late attacking Tonka Warrior.
$30,000 Dark Star Turf Sprint – 5 Furlongs
Trainer Larry Rivelli has a solid 1-2 punch in the Dark Star with Monsieur Candy (Gallardo) and Can’t Deny It. Can’t Deny It brings the return of former Canterbury leading rider and fan favorite Jareth Loveberry. He has the opportunity to sit just behind his stablemate and some of the other speed and see if he has enough horse to persevere late.
Much of that speed is going to come from Minnesotan Street Warrior (Berndt/Roman). He blistered the field in the 10,000 Lakes while earning a career and field high Beyer Speed Figure of 95. The question for the local is whether or not he can prevail in the face of pressure from the likes of Monsieur Candy, Finster and longshot Moral Dilemma.
Kicking off the evening at 5:10 PM will be a field of seven first time starters in the first 2-year old race of the season for Minnesota breds featuring some of the leading owners and breeders in the state.
