Quarter Horse Trials Wednesday; Grade 3 Distaff Challenge Thursday at Canterbury Park

Twenty-one 2-year-olds compete to qualify for $80,400 Northland Futurity

Following a nine-day break, live racing resumes at Canterbury Park on Wednesday with a 10-race program including three quarter horse trials for the $80,400 Northlands Futurity and two for the $50,075 Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby. Thoroughbred races comprise the first half of the card beginning at 5:10 p.m. central. Thursday’s program offers nine races, the final three being quarter horses including the Grade 3 Canterbury Park Distaff Challenge.

Jason Olmstead, leading quarter horse trainer the past nine seasons, has nine of the 21 entrants in the Northlands Futurity Trials. Da Lie Lah, a Minnesota-bred full sister to 2016 Northlands winner PYC Jess Bite Mydust, is the 2 to 1 morning line favorite in the first trial. Leading jockey Armando Alvidrez has the mount.

Olmstead has won what is annually Canterbury’s richest quarter horse race four times, most recently in 2019. Last year Olmstead qualified six of the 10 finalists for the Northlands but was upset by trainer Tyler Stein and Relentlessly Fast who will compete in this year’s Derby Trials. Stein has four entered in the Northlands Trials including Swimsuit Model, a maiden winner at Canterbury June 20.

Two races and just 12 horses make up the Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby Trials. Olmstead again has the numbers with seven entered including Sugar Rushh, winner of the June 6 North Star State Derby. Sugar Rushh is one of two entered in the 400-yard trials to have won at the distance. Shes Sumoke Stacked, trained by Olmstead, won at 400 yards on July 3 at Canterbury beating stablemate Relentless Corona, also entered Wednesday. Olmstead notched his first Quarter Horse Derby win in 2023 with Beep Beep Rev Rev.

In addition to Relentlessly Fast (pictured above), the 9 to 5 favorite in the second trial, Stein entered Peepl R Political who has one win from two starts. Trainer Haley Hobbs has three in the

Northlands Trials and Presido Pete in the first trial for the Derby.

Thursday’s feature is the $35,904 Canterbury Park Distaff Challenge, a 400-yard race that will qualify the winner to the Oct. 26 Grade 1 Cox Ranch Distaff Challenge Championship at Albuquerque Downs. Olmstead will saddle three of the five fillies and mares including the 8 to 5 favorite Fox News, a graded stakes winner with $187,996 in career earnings. The 4-year-old filly is owned by Tom Maher and will be ridden by Ramiro Garcia. Olmstead also entered Aj Fast Corona and Beep Beep Rev Rev who was defeated as the odds-on favorite July 3 at 350 yards by Five Bar Fantasy who drew the outside in Thursday’s Challenge. Five Bar Fantasy, a 5-year-old mare owned by Joy Gorra’s Tailored for Gold Stables, is trained by Jerry Livingston and will be ridden by Kelsi Harr.

Following Thursday’s program that begins at 5:10 p.m., racing continues Saturday at 5:10 and Sunday at 1 p.m.

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