With A Majority Of Entrants, Olmstead Will Be A Force In Northlands Futurity And Canterbury Park

SHAKOPEE, MN–AUGUST 14, 2024–Thursday’s program at Canterbury Park features the two richest quarter horse races of the season: the $80,400 Northlands Futurity at 350 yards and the $50,075 Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby at 400 yards.

Leading trainer Jason Olmstead qualified five 2-year-olds for the Futurity and six 3-year-olds for the Derby in trial races held July 24. In both finals, Olmstead will saddle the three fastest qualifiers.

Relentless Rocket was the fastest of the ten qualifiers for the Northlands, winning his trial by two lengths. Ramiro Garcia has the return mount on the South Dakota bred owned by Tom Maher, who also owns the eighth fastest qualifier Relentless Mogul. Garcia rode Curlie D to the second-fastest qualifying time. Francisco Ramirez, Jr. will ride that filly for owner Cavenaugh Quarter Horses LLC.

Olmstead also trains Southurn Eagle and Minnesota-bred filly Da Lie Lah, whose full brother Pyc Jess Bite Mydust won the Northlands in 2016 for Lunderborg LLC. Olmstead has won the Northlands Futurity four times.

Maher also owns the quickest of the Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby qualifiers in Shes Sumoke Stacked. Garcia was aboard for the trial win but will ride the second-fastest qualifier, Relentless Robin, also owned by Maher.

Maher co-owns with Paul Luedemann Relentless Corona, who Olmstead trained. Eugenio Navarette rides Shes Sumoke Stacked. Olmstead won his first Derby last year with Beep Beep Rev Rev for Summer Run Inc., who is represented in Thursday’s Derby by North Star State Derby winner Sugar Rushh.

Maher also owns Relentlessly Fast; however, Tyler Stein trains the three-year-old, who will be ridden by Angel Ramirez. Relentlessly Fast won the Northlands Futurity last year but has yet to win since in five tries. He was the fourth fastest of the 10 in the Derby.

“He’s going to need a perfect trip,” Stein said. “There are some nice ones in there. Olmstead has fast ones; he always does. Haley Hobbs has a good one. He will need to break in front because I know he’s not outrunning them.”

Stein will have an opportunity to repeat in the Northlands with Swimsuit Model, a filly owned by William Maher, brother to Tom Maher. “We’ve been happy with this filly,” Stein said, “but I’m not sure she is fast enough to beat the others. It’s a horse race; a lot of things can happen.”

The eight-race program begins Thursday at 5:12 p.m. CT with five thoroughbred races followed by the Derby and the Futurity. The program concludes with the $15,000 Northlands Juvenile for 2-year-olds who raced in the trials but failed to qualify for the final. Olmstead also trains four in the Juvenile, while Tom Maher owns four outright and co-owns another with Luedemann.