Brother Richie a solid contender in Shakopee Juvenile

The $75,000 Shakopee Juvenile, the closing-day feature at Canterbury Park, looks on paper like a decent race. It stands almost no chance of living up to the 2017 edition.

A year ago, the filly Amy’s Challenge outdueled Minnesota-bred Mr. Jagermeister to win the Shakopee Juvenile by a neck and earn a 92 Beyer Speed Figure, one of the fastest 2-year-old figures of the year. No such animals appear to populate the field of 11 entered to race six furlongs on Saturday, but there’s some talent here.

Though he turned in a disappointing performance fading off the pace to finish a distant last of five July 20 in the Prairie Gold Juvenile at Prairie Meadows, Louisiana-bred Brother Richie could be a key player back on his home track. Brother Richie debuted at Canterbury and scored what might have been the best 2-year-old maiden win of the meeting June 24 when he won by nearly six lengths. Brother Richie, trained by Gary Scherer, has worked four times for Saturday’s race, two of those drills bullets, and figures to go postward lower than his 6-1 morning-line odds.

Mac Robertson, Amy’s Challenge’s trainer, entered two horses in the Shakopee Juvenile, Mister Banjoman and Full of Grace. Mister Banjoman looks considerably more advanced than Full of Grace. He runs back on short rest, having just started Sept. 2 in the $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity for Minnesota-breds. Favored at 6-5 there on the back of a strong debut win, Mister Banjoman set the pace but was hounded throughout by the more experienced Dame Plata, who wore him down and won by three-quarters of a length.

Brother Richie and Mister Banjoman are drawn adjacently in posts 4 and 5 and could get hooked into a taxing early and middle pace. Dress Shopping, a filly by first-crop sire Cross Traffic, stalked, pounced, and drew away to an eight-length debut win in her only start, and a similar trip is possible from post 9. Her trainer, Robertino Diodoro, is trying to catch Robertson for leading trainer at the meet, which concludes after 14 races Saturday afternoon. First post for the marathon program is 12:45 Central with the featured 10th scheduled for 5:05.

◗ Speeding Kid appears to be an odds-on standout in the supporting feature, the $60,000 MTA Stallion Auction. Speeding Kid has run into Mr. Jagermeister in two of his last three starts and takes a steep class drop in this heavily restricted race.