By JIM WELLS
There is a photo of Bob Morehouse in the Canterbury Park media guide. He is wearing his western hat and strumming the guitar, one of the many country-western tunes he penned perhaps.
There is also a photo of a horse named Cash Caravan. Morehouse bred the horse, and both of them are in the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame.
At one time, horse and breeder were honored with separate races named for each, but a shortage of horses and purse concerns led to a consolidation. So the race that honored horse and breeder on Sunday was the Bob Morehouse Memorial/Cash Caravan Stakes.
There wasn’t much doubt about which of the seven horses in the field would claim this year’s trophy a couple of jumps out of the gate. Six It Up, with Thomas Wellington Up, made it three straight over the Canterbury racing strip, finishing 1/1/4 lengths in front of Oak Tree Boulevard in :19.901, with Dashing Big Bud third in the 400-yard dash.
The Brent Clay- trainee , a 1-5 favorite, is now 4-0-1 from eight career starts. “Obviously, you always have the concern that your horse will step well and run his race,” said Clay. ”You need some luck. She’s also a nice filly.”
Owned by Steven Pribyl, Six It Up, a daughter of Tres Seis, claimed the winner’s share of the $18,100 purse.
On hand to present the trophy was Bobbi Morehouse, daughter to the late breeder and two of his grandsons, Cody Boll and Garnett Stubbs.
The boys were teenagers when their grandfather died, but both have an interest in horses, sports and even rodeo. Cody at one time steer wrestled. Garnett has hopes of getting into sports broadcasting or something akin.
“He was the one in the family who was whipping that spring horse of his as a little boy,” Bobbi recalled. “He’s really into sports and horse racing.”
So, too, was his grandfather…and the Hall of Fame horse he bred.
BIDDING UNDER WAY ON BENEFIT
Bidding got under way Sunday on items that are part of the silent auction for the jockeys in the spill at Canterbury on July 2, Scott Stevens, Paul Nolan and Don Proctor.
The auction will continue at 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Monday at the Shakopee American Legion, where the spaghetti benefit is also planned.
Sunday’s bidding was conducted on the first level of the grandstand just inside the main entrance. Among the items up for bid are some Fred Stone prints, some of the signed by jockeys who rode the horses pictured.
Those prints include The American Triple Crown series. The print that depicts the 1919-19-35 era is of Sir Barton, Omaha and Galant Fox.
The era from 1937-46 is of War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet and Assault; the 1948-78 time frame includes Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed.
Also up for bid is a photograph of Rachel Alexander winning the 135th Kentucky Oaks signed by winning jockey, Calvin Borel. Sports fans might
prefer taking a shot at a Harmon Killebrew baseball bat or the jersey worn by Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek in their loss in the Stanley Cup final to the Dallas Stars.
Also up for bid is a breeding to Shot of Gold, Canterbury’s Horse of the Year in 2001. In addition two mares in foal to Shot of Gold, Allies and Miz Day Jur, are up for bid. The bidding does not include the foals. A breeding to Kipling is also up for bids.
The Fair Grounds donated a package for three nights at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter with a $200 certificate for a nearby restaurant.
Monday’s spaghetti dinner will be held from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
