Sky and Sea looks to right ship in Lady Slipper
After a starry 3-year-old campaign in 2014, when she ruled Minnesota-bred stakes at Canterbury Park, Sky and Sea fell to earth with a thud at age 4. She went winless in six 2015 races and will try to win for the first time since August 2014 when she starts as the likely favorite in the $60,000 Lady Slipper on Saturday at Canterbury.
Sky and Sea, the 3-2 morning-line favorite, faces just five rivals in this six-furlong dirt race for Minnesota-bred fillies and mares. A Rake Farm homebred by Latent Heat trained by Bernell Rhone, Sky and Sea gave off negative vibes from the start of her 4-year-old season. She finished eighth in her Tampa Bay comeback race last spring, and even if that was merely a prep, one might have expected more. Sure enough, Sky and Sea coughed up a big midstretch lead in the 2015 Lady Slipper, finishing third and never really getting back on track all meet.
But this year’s Tampa Bay comeback start looked far better, with Sky and Sea showing good speed and holding a close third April 24 in an open, second-level allowance race. She’s turned in two sharp works since returning to Canterbury and will be formidable with any improvement at all in her second race back from a winter break.
Sky and Sea faces familiar foes Rockin the Bleus, Thunder and Honey, and Stellabrini, all of whom make their first start of 2016 and none of whom can beat Sky and Sea over six furlongs if the mare is back to her best.