Robertson takes multiple shots in Minnesota-bred stakes
When Minnesota-bred stakes come around at Canterbury Park, be sure that trainer Mac Robertson has suitable horses ready to roll, and Robertson has four chances to win two such races Wednesday.
Robertson entered Hot Shot Kid and Cinco Star in the $50,000 10,000 Lakes Stakes over six furlongs and has Ready to Runaway and Clickbait for the $50,000 Lady Slipper, another six-furlong dirt dash, this one restricted to fillies and mares.
Hot Shot Kid is a minor legend at Canterbury, where he has raced 19 times, winning 13 of those starts and finishing second in four others. A Warren Bush homebred, Hot Shot Kid has won the 10,000 Lakes two years in a row, and while he finished a well-beaten fifth of six on April 19 in an Oaklawn allowance race, Robertson always has used a more prominent racing venue to give Hot Shot Kid a spring comeback run or two following a winter break and preparing for the annual Canterbury assault.
In the 2018 10,000 Lakes, Hot Shot Kid got run silly by Mr. Jagermeister, who won by eight lengths, but in the 2020 renewal it was Hot Shot Kid getting the better of Mr. Jagermeister, the 1-10 favorite but beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Hot Shot Kid.
Mr. Jagermeister also sports a gaudy Canterbury record, 7-2-0 from nine starts, and can bounce back on a considerable class drop. But after finishing a good third at Oaklawn in his 2021 debut, Mr. Jagermeister has thrown three clunkers, this after a quiet end to his 2020 campaign. We’ll see how much 6-year-old Mr. Jagermeister has left, but he could go postward at deflated odds Wednesday.
Ready to Runaway is the 8-5 favorite to win her second straight Lady Slipper. Since being claimed by Robertson and owner John Mentz two seasons ago, the mare has gone 5 for 5 in Minnesota-bred dirt stakes. She’s a nine-time winner from 11 Canterbury starts, but following flat performances in a pair of Oaklawn allowance races this spring, she might be worth opposing. Her stablemate, Clickbait, is 9-2 on the track’s morning line and had a more encouraging Oaklawn comeback run in her 2021 debut. Clickbait is a 5-year-old but is lightly raced and ought to get a favorable outside stalking trip Wednesday.
First post for this card, which is quite playable, is 5:10 p.m. Central. The stakes go as races 4 and 5.