Never Retreat captures Lady Canterbury

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Shane Sellers was late to ride Saturday at Canterbury Park because of a travel delay from Chicago. But once on the grounds, the veteran jockey was as punctual as ever, coaxing Never Retreat to the lead in midstretch and drawing clear to capture the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Breeders' Cup Stakes.

"We sat on a plane for a long time before the good Lord finally got us over here safely," said Sellers, who earlier missed riding two earlier winners because of the snafu.

Over a Canterbury Park turf course rated good, Never Retreat got a terrific off-the-pace trip in the one-mile race, circling past a pair of tiring leaders, Closeout and Mizzcan'tbewrong, speeding to the front and finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Danzon, the 3-2 favorite in a field of 10 fillies and mares.

Never Retreat, based in Chicago with owner Team Block and trainer Chris Block, returned $9.40 as third choice after finishing in 1:35.53. She now has won 5 of 19 career starts and earned $348,355.

Danzon, a multiple graded winner shipping in from Kentucky, trailed early under Julien Leparoux before steadily picking off rivals while clearly second-best. War Tigress ran third, another 1 3/4 lengths back.

The Lady Canterbury, a proud and longstanding fixture here, directly followed the six-race Claiming Crown series on an 11-race card attended by 11,473.