Bob Johnson Wins 1,000th Career Race at Canterbury Park
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Bob Johnson picked up his 1000th career win on Thursday at Canterbury Park.
Photo by Beth Rutzebeck, Canterbury Park SHAKOPEE, MN—JULY 17, 2008
Quarter Horse trainer Bob Johnson won his 1,000th career race when 2-year-old filly Smashingly Classic won the second race on Thursday at Canterbury Park.
Johnson, a native of Lemmon, South Dakota, ranks among the top quarter horse trainers in the history of Canterbury. His total earnings of more than $407,000 ranks fourth in the history of quarter horse racing at the Shakopee, MN track. In addition, his 47 wins at Canterbury puts him in a tie for fifth amongst trainers by career wins.
Johnson, 50, began training at the age of 19 and got his first win at Centennial Race Track in Denver, CO. He had a string of horses at Canterbury in 1985 and has returned each season since 1990.
Of his 1,000th win Johnson said, “It took lots and lots of racing. I’ve been at it for 30 years.”
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HASTA BE FAST WINS THE
2008 NAHR OPEN
QUARTER HORSE DERBY
(Pritzi Dash X Hasta Be Special)
Bred by: Steve Burns, DVM &
Bob & Gary Johnson
Owned by: Johnson Stables
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The 9th race of the day featured the NAHR Open Quarter Horse Derby. Looking at the times from the trials it looked like a walkover by Princess Fantasy in the making. However, as anyone in racing knows, you have to run the race. South Dakota racing fans have watched the raw talent of the Johnson Stables runner Hasta Be Fast, the grandly bred stud colt by Pritzi Dash and out of their ace broodmare, Hasta Be Special by Special Effort. However, due to some bad racing luck and the like that can happen in racing, Hasta Be Fast, hadn't shown his God-given talent yet. The Open Derby was his time to shine as he hung with the pack long enough to let them think they had a chance and then he pulled away to an easy 1 ½ length victory. Sixs Charlie Brown held off Cash For One by ¾ of a length for place. Prior to this race Hasta Be Fast had raced 7 times winning $1,230 but after running the 400 yard race in a time of 20.300 for a speed index of 95 he bumped up his earnings another $8,085 to sit at $9,315. This big, stout Pritzi Dash runner will now take a 6 week hiatus from the track and return for the fall run at the Yellowstone Downs Derby in Billings, MT and then run on to Kansas for a few more races late in the fall.
** Article courtesy of Tracy/Dusty Swan
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| Photo by Ron Krogman |
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LOVES NO BRAKES WINS
THE 2008 SD BRED QH DERBY
(No Brakes Now X Kitaman Dream Lover)
Owned by: John G. Johnson
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The weekend started out on Saturday, May 24 with one big race on the docket, the South Dakota Bred Quarter Horse Derby. The connections of Loves No Brakes, an exceptional gate horse, questioned how she'd do with the added 100 yards of distance, she answered in a convincing fashion. The field ran into a strong headwind (officially charted at 25 mph, unofficially gusting up to 30-40 mph) and Loves No Brakes got away from the gates in front and kept adding to her advantage throughout the 350 yard race until she was a length in front at the wire. John G. Johnson is the owner and breeder of this striking full sister to Miss No Brakes, race winner and barrel futurity winner. Loves No Brakes (No Brakes Now-Kitaman Dream Lover, Kitaman) ran a time of 17.857 earning a speed index of 99 and earnings of $5,383, the time is just about a length off the Brown County Fair track record. A length behind her in second was Elegant Emege and another 1 ½ lengths back was Red Running Meter. Loves No Brakes is trained by Bob Johnson and was ridden through to victory by Jake Olesiak. Loves No Brakes will wait in the wings for the Fargo meet in the summer, run in the Northern Plains Derby and then head to the Billings Open Derby. However, she may squeeze in a Bayer Legend Derby Challenge race before the trip to Fargo.
** Article courtesy of Tracy/Dusty Swan
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| Photo by Ron Krogman |
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News Flash:
Brother Vern (Agouti X Luva Shake)
Owned by: Hank Bowker
Trained by: Bob Johnson
* Posted in the AQHA Q-Racing email newsletter 5-27-2008
AQHARacing.com
BROWN COUNTY FAIR
Aberdeen Open Futurity
Order of Finish: Brother Vern, AC Royal Beauty, Sweet Femme Fatale, Carlyo Colt, Dashs Senorita, A Whole Lotta Rae, Fols Lil Ember, Paddy Whacked.
Hank Bowker's Brother Vern ran his win streak to three with a 1 3/4 length victory in the May 25, $16,700 Aberdeen Open Futurity. The fastest qualifier and one of three finalists saddled by Robert Johnson, the Agouti gelding covered 300 yards on a track labeled "good" in :15.808 under jockey Jake Olesiak.
He usually breaks hard, but he broke with the group this time and bellied down and ran straight to the finish, Bowker said.
Bred by Bowker, a resident of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and 10-consecutive-year breeder, Brother Vern became the first stakes winner from 44 starters sired by Agouti, a 9-year-old stallion by Corona Cartel who won the 2002 Southern California Derby (G1) at Los Alamitos. The gelding's dam, Luva Shake, is a 10-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Shake It Special with a career-best speed index of 104. Luva Shake has foaled two starters, including the stakes-placed Stoli gelding Iatia. Brother Vern is the mare's first stakes winner.
Brother Vern has won three of four races, and the $8,183 winner's share of the Aberdeen Futurity purse pushed her earnings to $9,623. After a bad start in his first race, Brother Vern started to learn what he was supposed to do.
He won his second race, but he just didn't know how to run, Bowker recalled with a laugh. He would run a little way, then prick his ears up and just start looking around; but by the third race he broke and ran like a scared rabbit.
Retired just last year, Bowker had spent the last 11 years doing disaster recovery work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for 32 years before that, he managed hospitals for the Indian Health Service in South Dakota.
After the win, Brother Vern moved to Robert Johnson's barn at Canterbury Park and his connections are pointing him toward the Iowa Double Gold Futurity (R) in June at Prairie Meadows, as well as the North Central QHRA Futurity (R) in July at Canterbury Park.
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