Lookinforthesecret comes home for the holiday

Trainer Jamie Ness decided to give the home folks a treat and has entered Lookinforthesecret in Monday's $50,000 Honor the Hero Turf Express at Canterbury Park. A winner of the $214,000 Turf Sprint Handicap at Calder in his last start, Lookinforthesecret should prove a prohibitive favorite in the Honor the Hero, which will be contested at five furlongs on the Canterbury Park turf.

When asked why he chose this contest for a horse who might otherwise run at Churchill Downs in Kentucky or Chicago's Arlington Park, Ness said: "This is my home and the owner's home, and this is where he'll be all summer. We were looking for a race on the turf, and that's where he needs to be, so this worked out as the perfect spot for us."

Lookinforthesecret is owned by Balo Sukharan.

Ness's ultimate summer goal for Lookinforthesecret is the Claiming Crown.

"I ran him pretty hard this winter at Tampa and Calder," Ness said. "We are going to pick our spots, and the main summer goal is the Claiming Crown, of course. After this race we might look at few spots at Churchill later, but we'll try to take it easy on him. After the Claiming Crown, we'll turn him out and give him some time off to get him ready to run him next year at Tampa."

Ness has engaged Daniel Centeno to ride Lookinforthesecret, who will have six opponents. The main danger appears to be Magnus One, who captured the Prairie Express Stakes in his most recent start. Jesse Gacia will ride Magnus One.

Trainer Terry Gestes shipped Pimm's O'Clock from his Prairie Meadows base, and the 5-year-old gelding might be the runner who benefits should the pace prove too taxing. Paul Nolan - who has captured this race in two of its last three renewals - has been engaged to ride.