Dame Plata, Mister Banjoman face off in Victor S. Meyers Stakes

Dame Plata and Mister Banjoman, two of the most talented Minnesota-breds of their generation, meet again in the $50,000 Victor S. Myers, one of two six-furlong dirt-sprint stakes on the Thursday program at Canterbury Park.

The Myers (race 9, post time 8:10 Central) also drew El Tizar, who closed strongly over a sloppy Churchill Downs track to beat open maidens June 9 in his only start.

El Tizar might be talented enough to contend but he’s changing venues and barns – moving from Mike Tomlinson to Bernell Rhone – and will be playing catchup against two very quick horses.

Dame Plata, winner of the $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity over Mister Banjoman late in the 2018 Canterbury meet, didn’t disgrace himself when last seen, finishing third to good older Minnesota-bred sprinters May 4, and the move back to a 3-year-old restricted race Thursday boosts his chances. Mister Banjoman performed so far below form last out in the Honor the Hero Stakes that a sloppy track, the first he’d encountered, was almost certainly responsible for the misfire.

The $50,000 Frances Genter, for Minnesota-bred 3-year-old fillies, comes up early on the card as race 2 and figures to have Grand Prize has a favorite for trainer Joel Berndt and local owner Bob Lothenbach’s Lothenbach Stables. Grand Prize won her maiden against $40,000 Minnesota-bred claimers last year at 2, but has moved up this season with a pair of easy wins at the meet. Dangerous Wave won the $100,000 Northern Lights Debutante last Sept. 2 but hasn’t raced since.

Notable late pick five carryover at Arlington

The first Thursday card of the Arlington season lacks much of a feature race but does feature a $46,480 carryover in the 50-cent late pick five, which spans races 4 through 8.

The nominal feature, an Illinois-bred allowance sprint, provides a tricky end to the sequence. Little Mighty Man is listed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite but appears to have no discernible edge on a few others in the race. Rock on Tour, who does all his best work on Arlington’s main track, also is well worth using.

Race 7, a low-level turf route claimer, has a potential single, albeit a short-priced one, in Helen Hayes, who goes for leading trainer Larry Rivelli and leading rider Jose Validivia Jr.

Race 6 is a maiden route carded for turf that demands spreading at least a moderately wide net for coverage, while race 5, a $35,000 conditioned claimer on turf, yields no easy answers. Jockey Chris Emigh, who had 3,999 career wins entering the Thursday program, rides Tough Stuff, comfortably the most likely winner of race 4.