Can't wait for the big showdown...

[cmorioles]

...at Canterbury! Heliskier vs Bourbon County should be a doozy. The two Minnesota bred geldings are destined to see each other before the meet ends. Heliskier is undefeated in 7 starts from 5.5f to 1m70y and has never really been asked to run.

Bourbon County flopped first out at Penn, then went to Canterbury and exploded with crushing wins of 14 and 9 lengths, earning 95 and 93 Beyer figures. You can have the Belmont, I love this stuff.

[JerseyJ]

Another spectacular performance outside of a big track tonight at Penn in the 5th Race. Pennsylvania-bred 4YO filly Evening Show absolutely demolished albeit a weak field of State-Bred NW1X allowance foes by 18 3/4 lengths in 1:09.4. Came off a layoff last time at Penn to beat State-Bred Maidens by 10 lengths with a 92 beyer. Came back tonight with another awesome effort. I know the waters will get deeper, but this looks like a serious talented filly. Always nice to see talented horses coming from nowhere.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

...at Canterbury! Heliskier vs Bourbon County should be a doozy. The two Minnesota bred geldings are destined to see each other before the meet ends. Heliskier is undefeated in 7 starts from 5.5f to 1m70y and has never really been asked to run.

Bourbon County flopped first out at Penn, then went to Canterbury and exploded with crushing wins of 14 and 9 lengths, earning 95 and 93 Beyer figures. You can have the Belmont, I love this stuff.

Those have to be the fast figs in Canterbury history who is the trainer?

[rgustafson]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Those have to be the fast figs in Canterbury history who is the trainer?

Freddy,
Heliskier's best Beyer is a 94. He is trained by Mac Robertson. Bourbon County is trained by Bernell Rhone who has been at Canterbury from day one in 1985. The only faster Beyer I could find was by Onlynurimagination who owns the track record for six furlongs at 108.04. The then six year old gelding by Marfa, a Texas bred, was given a 104 Beyer. He set the record in one of the claiming crown races on July 16, 2005.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by rgustafson

Freddy,
Heliskier's best Beyer is a 94. He is trained by Mac Robertson. Bourbon County is trained by Bernell Rhone who has been at Canterbury from day one in 1985. The only faster Beyer I could find was by Onlynurimagination who owns the track record for six furlongs at 108.04. The then six year old gelding by Marfa, a Texas bred, was given a 104 Beyer. He set the record in one of the claiming crown races on July 16, 2005.

Mr Rhone must be a heck of a trainer

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Mr Rhone must be a heck of a trainer

I think I could have trained that horse to win. He wins a pole or so.

[pmayjr]

Helliskier has only run against MN breds. I was disappointed after the CBY meet ended last fall, that Robertson didn't try running him against open company at Hawthorne or Oaklawn last fall or this past winter.

MN breds are pretty funky, so he's beating up on not much. The thing that kinda doesn't motivate Robertson to branch out against open company, is in the middle of the Canterbury meet last year was when they struck the purse agreement/partnership with Mystic Lake Casino. So the purses immediately went up, and will continue this way for years to come. So with all that money infused into the purses, what motivation do they have to run him against open company?

He could seriously become a poor-man's Star Guitar lol. I'm hoping that if he keeps dominating MN-breds, and he's seriously not just beating them, he's dominating them- that his connections will at least try him in an open allowance race somewhere. If he does well in that, try and move him up a little further. It's just tough to tell how good he actually is if he only runs against MN Breds. Let's see how this summer goes and see if its still worth discussing at that point.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Those have to be the fast figs in Canterbury history who is the trainer?

Probably Minnesota breds. Cheapskate surely had a big one when he beat my favorite horse Broad Brush in the St. Paul Derby, but that was before they were published.

[rgustafson]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Probably Minnesota breds. Cheapskate surely had a big one when he beat my favorite horse Broad Brush in the St. Paul Derby, but that was before they were published.

Craig, another pre Beyer that had to be big was when Olympio set the track record for 1 1/8 miles in 146 2/5 in 1991 when he got up by a head at the wire under Edddie Delahoussaye to beat Julie Krone on Richman, in the then named Minnesota Derby.

[JohnGalt1]

Sunday Heliskier faces open company for the first time Sunday June 16 in the 7th race at Canterbury in an 11 horse field.

He's the 3-2 morning line favorite.

[gamblin4ever]

I didn't watch race but chart shows Heliskier vanned off after bad stumble at start.

[JohnGalt1]

I was there.

He went face first in the dirt at the start. Bell was lucky to not fall.

I heard *rumor alert* that Heliskier cut his face and that Derek Bell's feet came out of the stirrups, and just galloped him to the finish.

Heliskier was vanned off as a precaution. I hope it's not seriou

Watch the race yourself to decide for your self.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by JohnGalt1

I was there.

He went face first in the dirt at the start. Bell was lucky to not fall.

I heard *rumor alert* that Heliskier cut his face and that Derek Bell's feet came out of the stirrups, and just galloped him to the finish.

Heliskier was vanned off as a precaution. I hope it's not seriou

Watch the race yourself to decide for your self.

Hope he is ok. Bourbon County should surface pretty soon.

[rgustafson]

An update on the two horses in this thread. Heliskier worked this morning for the first time since his debacle race where he went to his knees at the start and finished last and was vanned off. He breezed a slow four furlongs in 50.20 seconds. Connections say he is ok but they will take time with him getting back to the races and have no specific race targeted at this time.
Bourbon County's situation is more interesting. He was pointing to the Victor Myers stake, a $50,000 race restricted to 3 yr. old Minnesota breds scheduled to be run on the 4th of July. The race only drew two other entries and had to be scrapped. Instead he has been entered in an open allowance race on the same day facing 3yr. old and up horses for about half the purse, Good bye free money.