Saturday’s races offer a glimpse at two candidates that should be in consideration for Horse of the Meet honors. Several divisional champions such as top 2-year-old and grass horse as well as horse of the meet are chosen by the racing department, media members and the broadcast staff through secret ballot on the final day of the season.
Tony’s Tapit, four for four this season at Canterbury, is entered to run in race 6 on Saturday, a one mile allowance optional claimer on the main track. He is a versatile horse that recorded the fastest six furlong time of the meet, 1:08.85 on June 16, but most recently won at a mile.
The 6-year-old Kentucky bred, trained by Jose Silva, Jr., is eligible for the Tom Metzen HBPA Sprint, a $40,000 six furlong race restricted to horses that have not won an open-company stake in 2024, held on the final day, Sept. 28.
“You might think I’m crazy but I’m going to wheel him right back,” Silva, Jr. said. “He loves this track.” Tony’s Tapit has won seven times in 11 starts at Canterbury. A win in either or both of those races could be enough to sway voters toward naming Tony’s Tapit the horse of the meet as well as top older horse and top sprinter.
Street Warrior, a state bred 3-year-old trained by Joel Berndt, won his first three career starts including the Victor Myers Handicap and the Minnesota Derby. He lost facing older horses in the Crocrock Sprint, his most recent race. Saturday he faces open company older horses again, this time in a five furlong sprint. Street Warrior will race with Lasix for the first time and a new rider, top jock Luis Fuentes, aboard.
Trainer Joel Berndt cannot be expected to be completely objective about this talented 3-year-old so predicably he does believe Street Warrior should be considered among the best horses this season. “If he wins, I would give it to Street Warrior,” Berndt said. “He’s Minnesota bred, a stakes winner, did everything he was supposed to. Now I have to get him to win Saturday.”
Thealligatorhunter is a wild card. He has raced six times this meet, winning three and never missing the board. Wins came in the first race of the season, an allowance optional, the Dark Star Turf Sprint rained off the grass and the Crocrock where he beat Street Warrior handily. He did however lose to Tony’s Tapit by seven lengths prior to the Crocrock. Thealligatorhunter has not yet been re-entered with entries for the final day of the meet to be taken Saturday morning.
