Post time: 1 p.m. Lock of the day: Crocodile Tears (1st race). Value play of the day: Saint Charles (3rd race). Big score: 50-cent Pick 5 ticket— Race 4 (2,5,6,7/1,2,4/1,2,7/2/1,2,4), $54.
Jay Lietzau's Canterbury Park line for Sunday, July 9
The Star Tribune handicapper makes his picks for Sunday's eight-race card.
By Star Tribune
1. 5 furlongs on turf. Open. 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds. Maiden special weight. Purse: $27,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Crocodile Tears (Lopez, Rarick) 119/2-1
2: Cowboy Jack (Murray, Sweere) 119/12-1
3: Harleezy (Wade, Rosin) 119/5-1
4: Jackson Action (Ulloa, Berndt) 124/4-1
5: Victoryfortheposse (Santos, Biehler) 119/8-1
6: Positive Petey (Gallardo, Litfin) 124/15-1
7: Pride of Argyle (Quinonez, Biehler) 119/7-2
8: Palace Attained (Hernandez, Donlin) 119/8-1
9: Big Muckity (Hernandez, Biehler) 119/5-1
10: Stability (Bridgmohan, Martinez) 124/6-1
CROCODILE TEARS (1) lightning quick and gets the rail to utilize his speed. Lost by a neck in last and was three-lengths clear of third place. Adds blinkers to increase his focus. PRIDE OF ARGYLE (7) is a first-time starter for Biehler who wins with 15% of newcomers. Well-bred for grass sprints. POSITIVE PETEY (6) makes his second career start after popping and stopping in his career debut. Bred for the surface.
2. 1 mile. Open. 3-year-olds and up. Claiming: $4,000. Purse: $10,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Release the Beast (Valenzuela, Hanson) 124/15-1
2: Eisenstaedt (Wade, Litfin) 124/3-1
3: Mishko (Barajas, Silva) 124/8-1
4: Chest Candy (Hernandez, Woolley Jr.) 124/5-1
5: Push Through (Glass, Silva Jr.) 119/5-2
6: Feeding Frenzy (Bridgmohan, Berndt) 124/9-2
7: Last Martini (Murray, Rosin) 124/7-2
EISENSTAEDT (2) drops drastically in class after a good try against better. A repeat effort today could be good enough for the victory. PUSH THROUGH (5) also drops down the claiming ladder. Returns after a refreshing break but has never won on dirt. FEEDING FRENZY (6) needs a quick early pace to setup his good closing kick like he showed in his seasonal debut at Hawthorne.
3. 5 furlongs on turf. Open. 3-year-olds and up. Claiming: $16,000. Purse: $14,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Notacry (Lopez, Kenney) 124/10-1
2: Summer All Year (Quinonez, Padilla) 119/7-2
3: Sam Sez (Lara, Biehler) 119/8-1
4: Scatamaran (Wade, Richard) 119/8-1
5: Scaryatcanterbury (Barajas, Silva) 124/12-1
6: Wind River (Valenzuela, Martinez) 124/4-1
7: Direct Action (Santos, Silva) 124/9-2
8: Saint Charles (Hernandez, Richard) 124/5-2
SAINT CHARLES (8) showed early speed in last on dirt but was pressured and tired late. His speed and the outside post give the top jockey options. DIRECT ACTION (7) is in good form after romping against easier on dirt in last. Moves substantially up in class and his turf form has been questionable. SCARYATCANTERBURY (5) displayed some early zip last year but hasn't shown that same speed recently.
4. 7½ furlongs on turf. Fillies and mares. 3-year-olds and up. Allowance optional claiming: $25,000. Purse: $28,500.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Sea Level (Quinonez, Biehler) 122/6-1
2: Gypsy Wife (Bridgmohan, Eikleberry) 124/2-1
3: It's Her Time (Gallardo, Robertson) 122/9-2
4: Desert Glow (Wade, Rengstorf) 124/8-1
5: Latin Nikkita (Santos, Sweere) 122/5-1
6: Chica Boom (Valenzuela, Rhone) 122/9-2
7: Diplomatica (Hernandez, Martinez) 124/3-1
8: Founder's Day (Lopez, Richard) 122/6-1
9: Fall Moon (Quinonez, Padilla) 122/10-1
DIPLOMATICA (7) is on quite a roll, having won or placed in her past seven turf starts, including a victory last out on the local lawn. Hernandez is most dangerous when alone on the lead and that could happen here. GYPSY WIFE (2) won going wire-to-wire on the turf in last but that was atypical. Will most likely try to stalk the top pick and wear her down late. LATIN NIKKITA (5) raced extremely well on the Shakopee sod last summer but has yet to find that form in 2023.
5. 6 furlongs. Open. 3-year-olds and up. Allowance. Purse: $28,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Hap Hot (Quinonez, Rengstorf) 124/5-2
2: Happy Dancer (Lopez, Lund) 119/9-2
3: Roman Pharoah (Wade, Russell) 124/12-1
4: American Refugee (Santos, Silva Jr.) 124/7-2
5: Street Commander (Hernandez, Richard) 124/8-1
6: Emmitts Royal Echo (Harr, Backhaus) 119/15-1
7: Yo Dawg (Ulloa, Berndt) 124/4-1
8: Casey's Law (Gallardo, Robertson) 124/6-1
HAP HOT (1) exhibited good early speed in seasonal debut in the mud before succumbing late. Aggressive rider Quinonez will attempt to establish a lead and improve his position. AMERICAN REFUGEE (4) ran evenly in his first local start. Comes from a good barn and most likely needed a race before we see his best. HAPPY DANCER (2) chased the top pick in seasonal debut before trying a turf route stakes race in last. Returns to sprinting on the dirt, which is where he broke his maiden.
6. 5 furlongs. Fillies. 2-year-olds. Maiden special weight. Purse: $27,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Forgot the Roses (Lopez, Williams) 118/7-2
2: Saved by Grace (Wade, Scherer) 118/9-2
3: Foxy Elaine (Barajas, Silva) 118/4-1
4: Sassy Mama (Gallardo, Bethke) 118/10-1
5: Rockinmyfeatherboa (Lara, Rarick) 118/5-1
6: Twas (Valenzuela, Hanson) 118/8-1
7: Run With Pride (Murray, Bethke) 118/5-2
FORGOT THE ROSES (1) was bet down in career debut down at Prairie Meadows but she broke slowly and never recovered. Gets the advantageous rail draw and adds blinkers. SAVED BY GRACE (2) makes her first start for a barn that wins with 17% of their debuters. Bred to be a runner. RUN WITH PRIDE (7) beat the top pick in debut effort in Iowa after showing good early speed. Will need to finish stronger.
7. 7½ furlongs on turf. Open. 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds. Maiden claiming: $10,000. Purse: $10,500.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Mr Insensitive (Barajas, Silva) 119/7-2
2: Back to Selling (Wade, Berndt) 124/9-5
3: A Lot of Heat (Quinonez, Chleborad) 124/5-1
4: Ll's Classy Dude (Valenzuela, McKinley) 124/8-1
5: Score McCoy (Lindsay, Sheehan) 119/10-1
6: Burn Boss (Glass, Bedford) 119/12-1
7: Class Compounds (Hernandez, Woolley Jr.) 124/3-1
BACK TO SELLING (2) drops from maiden special weights to maiden claimers, although now he faces open company vs. state-restricted. Has tactical speed and has hit the board in all four turf tries. MR INSENSITIVE (1) ran well at this level two back before regressing last time out. Could see improvement third off the bench. SCORE MCCOY (5) made a nice move on the grass last fall as a two-year-old. Might need a race.
8. 6 furlongs. State bred. Open. 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds. Maiden claiming: $7,500. Purse: $10,000.
#: Horse (Jockey, Trainer) Wt./Odds
1: Como Estas (Quinonez, Chleborad) 119/9-2
2: Red Cents (Hernandez, Berndt) 119/8-5
3: Red's Mr Z (Wade, Rarick) 119/10-1
4: Ring Tailed Tooter (Lindsay, Van Winkle) 124/7-2
5: Ka Pow (Lopez, Smith) 119/12-1
6: Silent Sailor (Santos, Biehler) 124/5-2
RED CENTS (2) plunges down the claiming ladder dropping to the lowest level. Ran evenly against special weights in last and top barn know how to play the claiming game. COMO ESTAS (1) woke up in last after dropping in class and now faces state competition for the first time. Early speed and the rail are dangerous. RING TAILED TOOTER (4) has produced competitive speed figures but as five-year-old, don't see a lot of upside.
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