Sushi Man became a two-time derby winner at the Canterbury Park meet on Saturday night, when he came back along the rail for a neck win over Towner Too in the $75,000 Minnesota Derby.
The race was one of two stakes on the card. The $75,000 Minnesota Derby was won on the front end by Carson Bay ($3.60).
Both races were run over one mile and 70 yards on a main track listed as “good.”
Sushi Man ($2.80) was winning his third straight race. He captured a maiden special weight earlier in the meet, and came back to capture the Canterbury Park Derby. Both of those races were on turf, and he was winning on dirt for the first time Saturday.
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Sushi Man broke well and sat just off the opening quarter of 22.91 seconds set by Arjun for Karz. Sushi Man moved past that one through a half-mile in 46.63 seconds, while pushed along by Towner Too.
Sushi Man and Towner Too continued on through six furlongs in 1:11.47, with Towner Too taking the lead into the stretch. Sushi Man came back along the inside, and fought off his persistent rival to the wire while covering the distance in 1:45.71.
Harry Hernandez was aboard for trainer Coty Rosin.
One Bid Stable bred and owns Sushi Man, who is a son of Astern. Rosin said he believes Sushi Man is at his best on the grass and plans are to return him to the surface for his next start, which could come in the Hawthorne Derby.
The Minnesota Derby became an option for Sushi Man because it was an opportunity to run with statebreds for a large purse at his home track, said Rosin.
Jockey Erica Murray celebrated the first stakes win of her career, when she guided Carson Bay to a wire-to-wire win in the Minnesota Oaks.
Carson Bay took the field through an opening quarter in 23.04 seconds, 47.56 for the half-mile and 1:13.07 for six furlongs before going on to cover the distance in 1:45.20.
“From the moment she broke, she was just totally relaxed in my hands,” Murray said in a post-race interview broadcast by Canterbury. “Every step they took closer, she just put it on them.”
Vintage Port, who trailed early, closed for second while finishing 5 1/2 lengths behind Carson Bay.
Carson Bay is a daughter of Midshipman who races for Valene Farms. She is trained by Gary Scherer.
Murray won the first race of her career on May 9, 2015 at Louisiana Downs. She was making her 25th start in a stakes race, and prior to Saturday night had finished second in five stakes and third in another such race, according to records from Daily Racing Form.
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