If you weren’t there, you missed what arguably was the best card of the summer, taking into account the hoopla, number of thrilling finishes for big money and general pulse rate of the participants.
It was not unlike a family reunion, uniting as it did folks from the far reaches of the state and in between, people who gather once a year to match the best of their barns against the best of other Minnesota stables.
The Festival of Champions is just that, a race card that determines the state’s kings and queens for the meet.
As it happened, the 2014 Festival on Sunday, the 21st rendition, also determined the champion quarter horse trainer of the year, provided the opportunities for defending riding champ Dean Butler to take over the riding lead with three wins and very likely determined Canterbury’s Horse of the Meet.
As it turned out, the spotlight was squarely on owner Scott Rake, owner of potential horse of the year Sky and Sea in addition to Bourbon County who established himself as the sprint king of Shakopee by defeating two-time horse of the year Heliskier. Thus, Rake’s horses swept the sprints.
All in all, it was a stellar show, with races among the best of the summer, unanswered questions answered and new possibilities rendered for the future.
$60,000 GUARANTEED DISTAFF SPRINT
There are ways to wake up some days that beat others by a country mile, perhaps a strange choice of words considering that Scott Rake had just watched his potential horse of the year, Sky and Sea, hold off fast-closing Polar Plunge to win by a short neck.
Country mile had no application in this particular case.
Horse of the year?
“I sure hope so,” said Rake. “She deserves it.”
Deserve indeed.
With this win the 3-year-old daughter of Latent Heat applied some additional heat on would be challengers for Canterbury’s top horse of 2014, winning her fourth race in five starts, a list that includes the Minnesota Oaks and the Frances Genter Stakes.
Sky and Sea, ridden by Dean Butler and trained by Bernell Rhone, stuck her head in front of front-running Happy Hour Honey at the head of the stretch and then held off a strong stretch bid from the second place horse. Happy Hour Honey was next.
Rhone now would like to turn out the filly and bring her back fresh in the spring.
“That would be my choice,” he said. “I’d like to park her in Florida.”
Maybe, just maybe the Horse of the Year deserves a short vacation.
Rake had caught an early flight from Idaho and was surviving on a couple hours of sleep. This particular victory and its potential ramifications for Sky and Sea was enough to keep him upright awhile longer.
$60,000 DISTAFF CLASSIC
Everybody was Talkin Bout this one after Eddie Martin, Jr. attacked frontrunning Congrats and Roses, who had been worn down by Talkin Bout’s stablemate, Nokomis, and was ripe for the taking with a furlong to run.
Talkin Bout, a five-year-old mare from Yonaguska, ran clear in the stretch drive, finishing 7 ½ lengths in front of Blues Edge and 10 plus in front of Congrats and Roses, the odds-on favorite.
After fractions of :24, :47.2 and 1:12, trainer Gary Scheer was elated . “I loved it,” he said. Everything set up for the dominating close for Talkin Bout and Martin.
“They were just going too fast up front,” said Martin when congratulated for the win.
Talkin Bout is owned by Hall of Fame owner Cam Casby.
Congrats and Roses was attempting to make it three straight in this race.
$75,000 NORTHERN LIGHTS DEBUTANTE
Flashbacks abounded after this race, for trainer Mac Robertson in particular. In what was indisputably the race of the day _ until the ninth race _ Alex Canchari demonstrated that he was in fact back from a seven-day suspension with a hellacious, all-out drive aboard Sioux Appeal to nip 9/5 favorite Castle Queen in a head bob finish that had Robertson reminiscing about the finish in last year’s Northern Lights Futurity.
In that race, the Robertson trained You Be Gator Bait lost a head bob in a thrilling duel with Appeal to the King.
He was thinking about that once again after Sioux Appeal and Castle Queen finished in what appeared to announcer Paul Allen as a possible dead heat.
“It started out bad, got a little better and then the head bob (again),” said Robertson.
After an interminable, excruciating 30 seconds or so, Sioux Appeal got the call by an ever-so-tiny margin.
The official margin was a head but nostril was probably closer to the facts. But either way, Robertson was relieved to have this one done and with a different outcome than a year ago on Festival Day.
Seth Martinez was aboard Castle Queen, the favorite, who finished 4 ¼ lengths in front of Silver Magna.
Robertson was not the only one with flashbacks to last year’s finish with You Be Gator Bait. Jeff Larson, one of the horse’s owners, also owns Sioux Appeal and was shaking his head, trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed.
As they say, that’s horse racing.
$75,000 NORTHERN LIGHTS FUTURITY
There was a stewards inquiry in this one that was dismissed, and when it was all said and done, Hold for More, owned by Canterbury director and investor Dale Schenian, had a clear 5 ½ length victory over Prayintheprairie.
It was not much of a race after Butler guided to the horse to a two-length lead at the head of the stretch and then lengthened it with each stride on the run to the wire.
Butler’s third win on the card lifted him to a one-win lead in the rider standings over Ry Eikleberry, who was riding in New Mexico on Sunday, and Alex Canchari, who returned after a seven-day suspension and had two winners on the card.
There was not much surprising about Hold for More’s win. The two-year-old gelding, trained by Franciso Bravo, was sent off the even-money favorite and easily lived up to the backing.
The distance between him and the third place horse, Chris Mars, was 15 ¾ lengths.
$60,000 MINNESOTA SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP
The gunslingers of Canterbury’s stables lined up for this one, creating all sorts of speculation and conjecture.
Was two-time horse of the year Heliskier back on his game after a freshening up trip to Arlington? Had he recovered from whatever it was that ailed him; had he regained the form that made him the best in Shakopee two straight meets?
Or would it be Bourbon County, this year’s 10,000 Lakes Winner out of the Scott Rake barn.
Ten horses lined up but it was really a two-horse race, and Bourbon County held off a spirited stretch challenge from Heliskier to win by 1 ¾ lengths. For his part, Heliskier finished 4 ¾ lengths in front of Shangrila Bar.
Rake naturally was pleased with sweeping the sprints. Afterward, he talked about the differences between the two horses.
“Bourbon County is easy going and relaxed in the barn. Sky and Sea is usually kind of wired.”
Bounty County also provided another shot of adrenaline for Rake, who said, “I am pretty much awake right now.”
$60,000 CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP
In a race that equaled any seen in Shakopee this summer Coconino Slim performed as smoothly and slickly as a card sharp, never blinking, raising the stakes with each stride.
The seven-year-old son of Slew city Slew, trained by Robertson and ridden by Seth Martinez, went head to head with Affirmed Cure and Alex Canchari every step of the way, exchanging leads twice and then putting on a final finish to win by a head.
Whew!
What it meant at the finish line was a third straight win in this race for Slim, owned by Catherine DeCourcy and trained by Robertson.
The winning margin? A nose.
Or as detailed by Equibase: “Edged clear a nose.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjgeEgXmagk&w=560&h=315]
THE DAILY DOUBLE, ER…TRIPLE
The Daily Double was actually a daily triple with both races won by the same trainer, owner and rider.
Teaming up to win the Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby and the Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity, both $35,000 added events, the first at 400 yards and the second at 350 yards, were owner Rodney Von Ohlen, trainer Ed Ross Harding and jockey Nik Goodwin.
The horses that made that possible were Furys Folly, by Furyofthewind from Aikazam, in the opener and TTY From Mr Pye, by Pyc Paint Your Wagon from Miss Eyewear.
“They both had good mamas. That’s the key. You need a good mama,” said Von Ohlen.
Dirt Road Queen was four-for-five and chasing her fourth consecutive stakes win as the odds-on favorite but was simply outrun by the winner.
“Not taking anything away from that filly,” Goodwin said, “but mine has been training really well. I’ve been on her recently and she was ready.”
Hardy was back on top of the local quarter horse scene after sweeping the Festival Day daily double, his sixteenth and seventeenth winners of the season. That enabled him to finish one win in front of defending training champion Stacy Charette-Hill and claim his 12th title in Shakopee. It also extended his win total as leading trainer in Festival races to 19.
BY JIM WELLS
