Majestic Pride earns first stakes victory in Brooks Fields
SHAKOPEE, Minnesota – The long Canterbury Park race meet begins in May and wraps up in September, and a period of stability has worked well for the 4-year-old colt Majestic Pride, whose third straight victory here this summer yielded his first stakes win, a narrow score over odds-on Go Around in the $75,000 Brooks Fields Stakes.
Majestic Pride broke from the fence and went to the lead under Dean Butler, took pace pressure from Red Zeus and Peyton around the first turn and down the backstretch, shrugged off his front-running rivals and then held off an outside run from 4-5 favorite Go Around.
Nun the Less was another three-quarters of a length back in third, a nose better than Broken Key. The timing system didn’t properly deploy in the race and no fractions were available. Majestic Pride clocked 1:37.93 for one mile on good turf. Majestic Pride paid $8 to win.
Majestic Pride, by Artie Schiller and out of the Theatrical mare Blush On Cue, made four starts at 2 and looked like a potentially useful horse, but last summer at age 3, after one race at Canterbury and one at Delaware, Majestic Pride got time off.
“He had some problems, got turned out, had a rest,” said Mac Robertson, who trains Majestic Pride for his father, Hugh Robertson, and partners Jeff Ryan and Gary Change. “He was bleeding. He does well here, gets to graze, and likes it here. They’re real bleeding-friendly barns here. The barns have got the Dutch windows, get a lot of air. Canterbury Park is a great place for horses with respiratory problems.”
Majestic Pride was a close fourth in the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile earlier this meet, but had since gone straight to the lead and won two straight allowance races before his front-running tally Saturday night.
Go Around, dropping from graded stakes for trainer Bill Mott, stalked the pace from fourth, came four paths wide on the second part of the far turn and into the homestretch, and had aim on the winner while not quite good enough.
“I was in a position to get there,” jockey Robby Albarado said. “That local horse got to galloping a little out there.”
Prado’s Sweet Ride breaks losing streak
Getting a perfect pressing trip under Cisco Torres, Prado’s Sweet Ride had just enough to hold off fellow Chicago raider Meshell in the $75,000 Minnesota HBPA Distaff on Saturday night. The win for the 4-year-old filly was her first since she finished first in the Grade 3 Regret Stakes eight starts ago in June 2015 at Churchill Downs.
No fractional times were recorded in the Distaff, but the pace surely was moderate at best with Prado’s Sweet Ride, typically a stalker, perched two wide around the first turn and down the backstretch of the one-mile grass race. Torres, ever aggressive, made an early move, letting Prado’s Sweet Ride make the lead before running six furlongs, and his mount responded with a resilient sustained run good enough to stave off Meshell.
The latter, making her turf debut, stalked the leaders, came under heavy pressure with three furlongs left to run, but stayed on gamely and tried hard before falling a half-length short. America Mon Amie was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third.
Prado’s Sweet Ride was timed in 1:38.43 over good turf and paid $7.40. Favored Calypso Run faded to seventh.
Prado’s Sweet Ride, trained by Chris Block, is a 4-year-old Illinois homebred owned by Darrell and Sadie Bromer. She’s by Fort Prado out of the General Meeting mare Excellent Idea, and won for the fifth time in 13 starts.