Northern Plains Derby Preview

 In boxing, when the stars go round after round after round and an overall winner cannot be decided by points, the referee is allowed to call it a “draw” and let both fighters walk away as victors.  In horse racing, unless not even a millimeter can decide the length of 2 noses (a dead heat), the horses must keep facing off until one emerges a victor.

  On Saturday night at the North Dakota Horse Park, several horses that have been fighting each other for many rounds will face off against each other and many new foes to decided just WHO is the dominant 3 year old Quarter Horse at the North Dakota Horse Park! 

The field of 8 is overshadowed by the “Mohammed Ali” of North Dakota-bred Quarter Horses in 2009, Shake Em Diva.  The easy victor of the $25,000 North Dakota-bred Quarter Horse Derby on August 8, she came back here on August 22 against the best older open Quarter Horses of the Upper Midwest and finished a game third after a tough break that saw her bounced between two different horses.  Shake Em Diva, a gray daughter Royal Shake Em, will make what may be her final start at the North Dakota Horse Park.  Rumor has it that she may be offered for sale at the prestigious Heritage Place sale this fall. 

Ready to take on Shake Em Diva for a 5th time in his young career is Rockin Rollin Nolan.  Victorious over “Diva is the 2-year-old version of this race, the Northern Plains Futurity, Nolan has perhaps not been as sharp in 2009 but may be sitting on a huge effort after his last out at Assiniboia in the Manitoba Breeder’s Derby where he was forced to steady at the break, but still managed to get up for 5th and run one of his fastest speed indexes of his career. 

Two horses that have also been in the mix this season are Wave and Puff and Comes Naturally.  Wave and Puff, who comes into the race with a third to Comes Naturally in an allowance on August 21st and a last place finish in Shake Em Diva’s ND-Bred Derby on the 8th did have a break out race last weekend with a barely beaten second to the good filly Miss Hawkin in an allowance race.  Comes Naturally, who has not raced since winning that allowance on the 21st, comes into the Derby has seen the tail of Shake Em Diva twice in both the trial and final of the ND-Bred Derby. 

Two interesting horses to watch in this field are the #1 horse, Confection Cartel and the #8 horse Dashing Meteor.  Confection Cartel, a Tom Maher homebred, oddly does not race in the silks of the Horse Park’s current leading owner as he was claimed for $7,500 in a race earlier this year at Eureka, Kansas by Ron Burton.  Maher’s regular rider, Jim Beeson, who is familiar with the horse will take the mount on the sorrel colt’s first trip around the Fargo oval.  Dashing Meteor, the beaten odds on favorite for the Red River Derby just 2 weeks ago, figures to be a powerful force to be reckoned with in this one.   Leading rider Jake Olesiak gets the call for trainer Bob Johnson.  The exciting field of eight will go to post at approximately 6:30!