Mr. Jagermeister back with his friends in 10,000 Lakes Stakes

The 3-year-old Mr. Jagermeister faces older rivals for the first time when he starts Saturday at Canterbury Park in the $50,000 10,000 Lakes Stakes.

But that’s nothing, really, compared to what Mr. Jagermeister ran up against in the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes on April 12 at Oaklawn Park.

Mr. Jagermeister finished a distant second to Mitole, who at the moment looks like the fastest 3-year-old dirt sprinter in North America.

Mr. Jagermeister was no match for Mitole, but drops back into Minnesota-bred competition in the 10,000 Lakes. He’d be formidable in this company even without getting a five-pound weight break, 123 to 118, from his older rivals.

Trained by Valorie Lund, Mr. Jagermeister is a son of Atta Boy Roy, the best horse Lund has trained. Mr. Jagermeister was a fast and precocious, if somewhat physically immature, 2-year-old, slightly overshadowed last summer at Canterbury by the 2-year-old filly Amy’s Challenge, who was bigger, stronger, and a little faster than Mr. Jagermeister through late summer and fall.

Mr. Jagermeister ambitiously began his 3-year-old season in the Grade 2 San Vicente on Feb. 10 at Sant Anita, where he got into a wicked speed duel with favored Ax Man that cooked both horses. Lund gave Mr. Jagermeister a gimme allowance win at Turf Paradise before trying the Bachelor, and Mr. Jagermeister on Saturday should handle the likes of Hold for More, who won this 10,000 Lakes one year ago, and A P Is Loose, who needs more distance to be most effective.

The 10,000 Lakes goes as race 9 and immediately follows its sister race, the $50,000 Lady Slipper for Minnesota-bred female sprinters. Honey’s Sox Appeal makes her first start since September but returned from a nearly identical layoff last May to capture the Lady Slipper by more than two lengths for trainer Mac Robertson and owner Bob Lindgren. Pinup Girl and Double Bee Sting were capable Minnesota-bred 3-year-old fillies of 2017, and both might eventually challenge Honey’s Sox Appeal, but Honey’s Sox Appeal appears to have logged ample work for this comeback run and is likely to wear the Lady Slipper again this year.

Prairie: John Wayne wide open

They’re probably better than you think, these Iowa-breds, and there are several of them that, with luck, look good enough to win the $50,000 John Wayne Stakes on Saturday at Prairie Meadows.

The John Wayne is carded for six furlongs on dirt and restricted to Iowa-bred males. Four of the nine entrants are 3 or 4 years old, but it’s still surprising none of the entrants raced in the 2017 John Wayne.

Three of them, however, raced April 29 in an allowance-race prep for the John Wayne – Itsallaboutyou won, followed by Basic Chance and Scrutinizer. But that result came down mainly to trip, as Itsallaboutyou stalked and pounced on a quick, contested pace that had swept up the eventual second- and third-place finishers. Four-year-old Basic Chance drew the rail for the John Wayne and just might be quick enough to make a clear early lead this time.

Worth considering is No Holds Barred, who makes his first start since Sept. 24, when he set the pace and held admirably for fourth in the $100,000 Remington Green Stakes. The Remington Green is a turf route, but the versatile No Holds Barred – bred, owned, and trained by Lynn Chleborad – does dirt sprints, as well.