Sassy Seneca won the $75,000 Shakopee Juvenile on closing day of the 2019 Canterbury Park meet, her second win in as many starts. The 3-year-old filly owned by Novogratz Racing Stables Inc. has been training well for Mac Robertson, working a bullet six furlongs at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 9.
Robertson entered Sassy Seneca along with stablemate Ring Leader, also owned by Novogratz, for Saturday’s $125,000 Dixie Belle six furlong stake restricted to 3-year-old fillies. Ring Leader broke her maiden in one try on a June evening in Shakopee. She returned to action January 24 at Oaklawn and won on the lead at 12 to 1 odds. Only three others are entered in the Dixie Belle. That a Shakopee Juvenile winner might go on to bigger things is not out of the question based on past performances.
General Jack won the first Shakopee Juvenile in 2013, a race for some reason run on the turf. He eventually won a $200,000 stake at Indiana Grand and $278,358 in total earnings. Native American dead heated with Grand Full Moon in 2014 when the race became a sprint. Both were trained by Robertino Diodoro. The former retired undefeated in five starts with $110,280 in purses, while the latter never won a stakes again but had a long career on the East Coast earning $122,759.
Stormation was the sensation in the 2015 Shakopee Juvenile. He entered the race three for three winning a maiden at Canterbury followed by a stake at Prairie Meadows and another here. He never regained the glory of that 2-year-old season but raced 32 times into 2019 with earnings of $217,121.
Even Thunder, the 2016 winner, is still racing and scheduled to start Friday at Laurel for trainer Jamie Ness. He was trained by Dan McFarlane in 2016 when he won the Shakopee. He was sold privately and won a $100,000 stake at Aqueduct that December. He also has earned six figures with a total of $296,466 in purses.
Amy’s Challenge battled with Mr. Jagermeister in 2017. The careers of both have been well chronicled here. She is a multiple stakes winner of $474,406 and Mr. Jagermeister last Saturday became the all-time leading Minnesota bred money earner with $547,460.
Mister Banjoman victorious in 2018, went on as a 3-year-old to win the Minnesota Derby. He is entered to run Saturday at Oaklawn in the race prior to the Dixie Belle and has amassed $203,121 in purses.
Robertson won his third consecutive Shakopee with Sassy Seneca. A win Saturday would put her into six figure earnings, a number that is now expected of the winner of the Shakopee Juvenile.
