Challenge


This Wagons Okay Easily Wins Great Lakes Bonus Challenge
This Wagons Okay, under jockey Jorge Torres, winning the Great Lakes Bonus Challenge Saturday at Canterbury Park.

© Coady Photography
This Wagons Okay Easily Wins Great Lakes Bonus Challenge

SHAKOPEE, MN—JULY 4, 2015—Michael Phol's homebred This Wagon rolled to a 1¼-length win over Wicked Valentine in the $29,075 Great Lakes Bonus Challenge at Canterbury Park Saturday afternoon. Xoom finished two lengths back in the show position.

Ridden by jockey Jorge Torres, This Wagons Okay completed the 400 yards in :20.130 seconds, a 93 speed index into a 6 mph headwind, to collect the $14,537 winner's purse. Stacy Charette-Hill saddled the 4-year-old to his sixth career win in 13 starts, pushing his earnings to $109,352.

This Wagon’s Okay used to run with his mouth open, a trait his trainer, Charette-Hill, was determined to correct. So, she consulted with Torres and discovered that the horse was rolling up his tongue.

Charette-Hill is dead set against using tongue ties but resorted to the measure after watching her horse train in one without incident. One problem, when she tried to race the gelding, he resisted breaking from the gate and got a late start.

End of the tongue tie.

No problems thereafter.

This Wagons Okay, son of Okey Dokey Dale mare This Candys Okay.

Wicked Valentine is a homebred son of One Famous Eagle racing for owner/breeder's Brad and Ann Tate. Charlton Hunt trains with Storm Smith getting the riding call. Out of the First Down Dash mare Only The Wicked, Wicked Valentine picked up $5,815 to bring his earnings mark to nearly $90,000. Shazoom daughter out of Dashing Dion, by Heza Fast Man. She earned $4,361 for the effort.

Bf Farm Boy, R Diva, Painted Summer and Thirty Six Belles completed the field.