Mystic Lake Milers back in allowance

Hay Dakota, Majestic Pride, Ibaka, and Patriots Rule – all of whom raced June 23 in the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile – are matched in race 4, a high-end turf allowance feature, Friday night at Canterbury Park.

Hay Dakota won the 2017 Mystic Lake Mile and finished second in last month’s edition, beaten a half-length by My Bariley. He deserves to be favored in the Friday feature, but lacks positional speed and is back on relatively short rest following one of the stronger races of his career.

Majestic Pride finished third in the Mystic Lake Mile but was convincingly beaten by Hay Dakota and is a 6-year-old who is entirely exposed after 29 career starts. Ibaka led and tired to finish a decent fourth last month and could prove difficult to catch if left loose on the lead Friday.

But the pick to post the upset is Patriots Rule, who was hurt by a wide draw and failed to fire his best shot finishing sixth in the Mystic Lake Mile. He’ll be the longest price among the horses exiting that race and has the most room to improve Friday evening.