Prairie meet closes with Oaks, derby

Prairie Meadows concludes its mixed meet Saturday evening with renewals of the Prairie Meadows Oaks and Derby, both $75,000 events contested over 1 1/16 miles.

The Oaks is a wide-open affair and has attracted nine fillies with a mixed bag of credentials. Three shippers, Mindy Queen, Best Lass, and Ravi's Song, should head the betting market but all three are untested over this surface.

Mindy Queen, who will ship in from Arlington Park for trainer Joel Berndt, has never lost a race on dirt in seven tries. She crushed her competition in the Assiniboia Oaks on Aug. 3 by 9 1/4 lengths and has earned this logical rise in class. A Florida-bred daughter of Indy King, Mindy Queen tries to carry her speed a mile for the first time.

Best Lass and Ravi's Song, stabled near each other at Churchill Downs, have talent and are lightly raced. Best Lass, who hails from Kenneth McPeek's string, is ultra-consistent but is unraced since finishing second, beaten a half-length, in the Ocala Breeders' Sale Championship on Feb. 16. The Carl Bowman-trained Ravi's Song, out of the top racemare Lu Ravi, gets tested for class. She dominated allowance company at Ellis Park by 7 1/4 lengths on Aug. 7.

The seven-horse derby appears to have a standout in the McPeek-trained Theregoesjojo. The Brahms colt spent time on the Kentucky Derby trail, mixing it up at Gulfstream Park with Quality Road. His third-place finish in the Florida Derby stands out in this group but he is unraced since being beaten 11 lengths in the Blue Grass Stakes. His steady work pattern at Churchill Downs shows readiness.

Perfect Bull, the best Minnesota-bred 3-year-old in training, may have the best chance of an upset. The Bernell Rhone-trained son of Holy Bull cruised by 5 1/2 lengths versus statebreds in Canterbury Park's closing night Minnesota Classic Championship. His fitness and tactical speed make him a threat.