The winner and runner-up from the Inaugural Mystic Lake Derby held this summer at Canterbury Park will both make appearances at Woodbine Race Course in Toronto this weekend on a huge day of racing featuring over $3 million in stakes purses.
Interestingly, both Hammers Terror and Delegation ran at Woodbine prior to shipping into Shakopee for the $161,000 Mystic Lake Derby. Now, they’re back at Woodbine with a chance to add to their career bankrolls.
The runner-up in the Mystic Lake Derby, Delegation returned to Woodbine immediately following his sojourn to the south. He came back to the races on August 26 in the Grade II Play King Stakes at Woodbine where he ran third in his first effort against older horses. Subsequently, he crushed allowance foes at Woodbine on September 23 when he drew off going a mile and seventy yards over the Polytrack to win by five widening lengths.
Patrick Husbands, a perennial top Canadian rider was aboard for the most recent victory and retains the mount on Delegation on Sunday when he faces five rivals in the $150,000 Grade III Durham Cup over one mile and one eighth on the Polytrack.
Installed as the 9/5 morning line favorite, Delegation should be able to grab the early lead if he so chooses. It appears to be a good spot for the son of Speightstown to capture his first graded stakes victory for owner Gary Barber and trainer Mark Casse.
Post time for the Durham Cup is 1:31 p.m. central.
Hammers Terror (pictured above), the inaugural Mystic Lake Derby Champion, will try steeper competition when he takes on a field of 10 competitors in the $500,000 Grade I Nearctic Stakes.
Following his victory in the Mystic Lake Derby, Hammers Terror traveled south to Arlington Park where he ran in an undercard race on Arlington Million day. He finished a disappointing fourth as the even-money favorite (a length and three-quarters behind 2011 Brian Barenscheer Juvenile Champion Hogy).
That effort was over one mile on the Polytrack and Sunday he shortens up for a six-furlong turf sprint. This is a little bit of a new wrinkle for the three-year-old Mike Stidham trainee. Thus far in his career, Hammers Terror has only run three races at a distance shorter than one mile with two of those coming in his first two career starts. It will be interesting to see how he will handle the shorter course.
Garrett Gomez, Eclipse Award Winner in 2007 and 2008 as the Nation’s best jockey, has the call on Hammers Terror who has been installed at 12-1 on the morning line.
Currently based at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, KY, Hammers Terror has put in two monster workouts for this firing bullet drills on both September 30 and October 6 when he covered four furlongs in 46 and 3/5 seconds.
Post time for the Nearctic Stakes is 2:04 p.m. central time.
