Bionic Man Adds to Legacy
By Jim Wells Sometimes the spoils go, quite simply, to the fastest horse. Never mind the various handicapping factors under consideration…the fastest, the swiftest, the speediest is often standing in the winner’s circle when all is said and done. Veuve Clicquot is the latest example of that simple truth, validating it with simple clarity on […]
ON A WARM DAY MOJICA GETS HOT
By JIM WELLS There was a heat advisory on Saturday as the area got a taste of what typically doesn’t occur until the depths of summer in the Twin Cities, yet even what Minnesotans refer to as oven-like was mitigated significantly by a stiff breeze. It was warm, 95 degrees at 3 p.m. with a […]
Sunday Saratoga Connections
Most of the attention Sunday in the $20,000-added Cash Caravan Stakes was on defending champion Streak N Hot, Bob Morehouse winner Western Fun and a well-rested Naketa, making her first start in 13 months. That’s the fun of a 440-yard quarter horse dash, as Explosive Guns demonstrated with an explosive burst under Jorge Torres, enabling […]
2013 Derby Day Nears
Occasionally she’ll think about the race and the biggest win of her career, the stuff of warm feelings and pleasant thoughts, except for that interminable wait. “It was intense, wasn’t it though,” says Lori Keith. The subject at hand, of course, is the inaugural Mystic Lake Derby first held in 2012 and Keith’s controversial win […]
Western Fun Takes Morehouse
An appropriate win for an aptly named racehorse in Saturday’s feature event, the $23,200 Bob Morehouse Stakes. Morehouse, a Minnesotan with a Western heart and the experience to go with it, gave quarter horse racing a big jump start in Minnesota, and a horse named Western Fun won the race named in his honor. With Stormy […]
Once the Dress Goes On…
The rain that inundated Shakopee and the turf course at Canterbury Park in particular on Saturday morning had a devastating effect on a premier presentation of racing scheduled for the day. When the turf course began to take on water faster than the Titantic, the Lady Canterbury and the inaugural Mystic Lake Mile were moved […]
Savoring the Moment
The horses had been checked, watered, grazed and mudded down, so a weary husband and wife, still tickled by the evening results, headed home to bed, dead tired, with just enough energy left to issue a few thanks. “Me and Randy were in bed talking,” said Stacy Charette-Hill. “I said that the good Lord has […]
Clean Sweep in Northlands
The best laid plans of mice and men – and quarter horse trainers – don’t always play out as they’re intended. And sometimes they do… just not as expected. Let’s call this one the second no contest of the night. Friday night in the richest quarter horse race in track history, the Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity, […]
15,168 Enjoy July 3rd
Alex Canchari was searching for ice in the jockeys room after the second half of the co-feature Wednesday night. “What’s up?” someone asked. “I’m trying to cool off,” said Canchari. “Oh, wait a minute…” he added. Yes, indeed, wait a minute. Canchari had just won three races in a row, including the Princess Elaine and […]
Feel Good Story Caps Weekend
Feel good stories abound at any racetrack. Stories about horses winning with limited vision, maybe a single working eye. Stories about horses rebounding from near-death experiences with winning efforts, horses with names dedicated to a dying patron or trainer coming through in his memory. But how about this one: A husband-wife training team partnering up […]
