The 2006 Minnesota Festival Day of Racing has created several new races this year and none are more anticipated then the 1st running of The Minnesota Turf. With global warming being factored in, this will be the first time in track history that the new Supertoy Turf Course will not have 2 feet of perma frost set in for the xmas racing season. The $500,000 purse has attracted the best turfers from the Minny barns and should provide a solid test going 1 1\/4 miles over the new green course.<\/P>
Let’s take a look at today’s field,<\/P>
1)THE TWO<\/STRONG>—New resident trainer Fred brings this 4 year old colt to the big turf race with 2 previous stakes tries but no top 3 finishes in either of them. He does have 4 wins this year on the turf and has shown that he enjoys the distance. This one usually runs midfield pack and closes in the stretch. Fred did run this one for a 75k tag last time but there were no takers which allowed him to be entered today.<\/P> 2)DROP GOLD<\/STRONG>—Local trainer Cothill looks to get a humungous return on his dollar with this $2500 claim trying to score big in this half million dollar stakes race. Since the brilliant claim this horse has not missed the board while running out his tag in starter allowance races. The competition here may be a tad bit higher then the 2500 claimer ranks but in Minnesota strange things have been know to happen before.<\/P> 3)TENPIN GOLD<\/STRONG>—Trainer JKJ admitted in an interview earlier this week that his $500,000 winning 4 year old may have peaked earlier this year while stringing an impressive group of stakes races including a Grade II win in Northern California. But, the lure of the new slot machine induced purse increases in the Festival Day races was to hard to resist so he has this one here coming off his worst lifetime performance. The drop back down to 10 furlongs should help along with the crafty talents of veteran Aussie rider J Ritorto who is rumored to know a thing or two about grass. (er racing that is?).<\/P> 4)KISSIN’ FREE<\/STRONG>—Fred’s second entry into this fray on the lawn would make a pretty large exactor if they both came in one-two. This 3 year old will try his luck against older horses today and no matter what the finish will certainly be regarded as a shrewd $25,000 claim by the new Minny horseman as he has already won at the $35,000 level since that claim. Will be interesting to see if the trainer decides to run this one on the front end or from behind as he has shown some success with both styles.<\/P> 5)ALL FED UP<\/STRONG>—Veteran Minnesota Richgins sends out this\u00ff4 year old colt looking to repeat and hopefully improve on last years 3rd place finish in the St Legless festival race. This front runner may enjoy the shortened distance for this match as he has been fading in the late stretch in alot of his races which have ranged from 12 to 16 furlongs. Perhaps the 10 furlong distance today will prompt a wire to wire result for this contender.<\/P> 6)GOP SWEEP<\/STRONG>—Local track manager Theo hopes the recent midterm election results don’t put bad karma on his 4 year old colt’s chances today. This $25,000 claim earlier this year has turned out to be a good one with 2 allowance and 1 stakes victory in the books since then. The trainer has admitted that a Graded Stakes try after those wins took a lot out of his horse resulting in some mediocre performances but that he his starting to bounce back into form and expects a good performance on Saturday.<\/P> 7)FORMER ACTOR(GB)<\/STRONG>—Minnesota’s own New Zealand connections are well represented by their local trainer Rharfo. He enters this 5 year old on Festival Day for the second year in a row. Rharfo stated that after fading badly to finish 15th in the Race of Champions last year he would try the turf in the big day this time around. This one has been bouncing back and forth between turf and dirt races as his connections try to refind the winners circle that has eluded them since early last year. But, this one does seem to show up in the exotic bets quite often and any who leave this one out in their tri wagers may have to wallpaper their bathrooms with the losing tickets should this one sneak into the top 3.<\/P> 8)ORGULLO CUIDADANO<\/STRONG>—Trainer Species48 sure hopes to not see a repeat of last years performance when this one ended up 14th at 6-1 in the St Legless race on Festival Day. With a 4-2-1 in 8 starts this year this one looks to be a very strong entry in this field today. He has won at this distance previously in his career and has received a perfect racing schedule this year and is very sharp. He returns with a 6-1 morning line today and good represent good value should any take up the chance with a wager.<\/P> 9)ELECTORDYNAMICS<\/STRONG>—The trainer with the most horses on the Minnesota Downs backstretch barns is Chuckrock. He returns his 4 year old colt to the Festival Day after a 10th place finish in the St Legless last year. This grass runner has been running for a tag as of late with no takers and usually gets a good saving ground rail trip behind the front runners. If he is able to save ground and keep up he is a possible choice for earning a cheque in this race today.<\/P> 10)FESTIVAL DAY(IRE)<\/STRONG>—Chuckrock’s other entry here seems to have been specially named for this race card today. Many are questioning his decision to run a 3 year old filly against the older boy’s but then again Chuckrock has not earned his succesfull reputation at Minnesota by going with the flow. He is leading in both the homebred and Minnesota stallion challenges at the track this year so who are we to question the motives behind this move. One thing is for sure and that is that this girl’s performances have vastly inproved since the swith to the turf.<\/P> 11)PEPE’S PIPES<\/STRONG>—This 5 year old Millionaire winning Bargain Bred horse is out for the ever dangerous\u00ffminnesota division of the Dundey stables. While winless this year after a 10 race winning season last year, Dundey has decided to try to give him one more shot at some crystal hardware in today’s Turf race. This Graded Stakes winner has shown some life in some starts this year, and any horse that has won before as he has can alway’s surprise the public with a big run at any time.<\/P> 12)WOODLY<\/STRONG>—Local veteran trainer Randy sends out this 6 year old in the Festival Turf race today after scoring in a Grade III event last time out. The switch to the turf in his 4 year old season by Randy was a sharp move that has resulted in some fine payday’s for the TurfSurf barn. The 107 speed rating last race was the best since his 4 year old campaign and may point out to this one being in prime condition for today’s race. Randy has alway’s stated the Minnesota Festival Day is one of his favorite racing days of the year and he would love to be able to take down the innaugural Turf with this horse today.<\/P> 13)BIG ELF(IRE)<\/STRONG>—The Pict sends out this 3 year old colt today who finally scored his MSW win on his 12th try last time out. Minnesota’s scottish import saw enough in this one to race him here in the Turf stakes today. His wire to wire effort last time was dominant when he took a 7 lenght lead in the stretch and was hand ridden home. Minnesota morning line handicapper Joe (Can you Lend Me a Dollar) Buck was not quite as impressed at The Pict with that race making him a 75\/1 morning line long shot.<\/P> 14)THE AUS BOSS(AUS)<\/STRONG>—Track founder Supertoy7 sends out his 5 year old millionaire mare in this one today. It will mark the first time that he is starting a horse on the Turf course named after him. Her previous race was an impressive 3rd in the Grade I Queen Ascot Stakes, but that one was over 3 months ago. Supertoy7’s barns have been very inactive this year due to the State Thoroughbred Racing Commissions inquiry about his racing practices, but as he fully declared he was able to clear his name with the board and has stated that he will be back running his horses under the Minny banner again. If this one runs to the back class that she has the early line favorite tag may be well deserved.<\/P> 15)GALLIC CHARM(FR)<\/STRONG>—The 2nd half of the entry saddled by The Pict is coming off an impressive win in The Bargain Bred Stakes racing series by winning with a 101 speed rating over the same distance as today’s race in Ohio. That lifetime best race may show that this one is in the best shape of his life and could make this one a prime contender in this race today.<\/P> 16)JUST A WISH AWAY<\/STRONG>—Trainer BigRick was not happy with the post position draw today as his entry will have to start from the auxillary gate which has been know to malfunction every now and then at Minnesota Downs. Track mechanic Fred (I will fix it tommorrow) Flinstone refused to respond to any enquiries about the auxillary gate which is used when there are more than 14 horses in a race. This 4 year old colt is a steady cheque earner for the bigrick syndicate but has been a little win shy as of late.<\/P> 17)INDY DESIGN<\/STRONG>—The other half of the Dundey entry is this 5 year old horse looking to repeat on last years Festival Race Day when he finished 2nd in the Turf Surf race. This dynamic closer does have some speed to chase in this one today and hopes to add to his 3 race winning total for the season here today.<\/P> \u00ff<\/P> A great field for the 1st Minnesota Turf. While I am not sure who will win the race I am pretty confident that it will be a number equal to or higher than #1 and equal to or lesser than #17. Hope that narrows it down for all of you.<\/P> \u00ff<\/P> Have a great day at THE MINNESOTA FESTIVAL DAY OF RACING.<\/P> \u00ff<\/P> THEO<\/P> MINNESOTA DOWNS RESIDENT MANAGER<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EL NINO EFFECTS ALLOW FOR MINNY TURF RACING IN DECEMBER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}