Lynnder 16, under jockey Berkley Packer, defeats Fosse in the $34,315 Canterbury Park ARC Distaff Challenge Challenge Tuesday evening.

© Coady Photography

SHAKOPEE, MN—JULY 7, 2020—Six stakes at Canterbury Park on Tuesday afternoon kicked off with the $34,315 Canterbury Park ARC Distaff Challenge, won by Lynnder 16.

The stake race was the first of three regional qualifiers for the AQHA Challenge Championships and was part of an all-Quarter Horse card at Canterbury.

Lynnder 16 ($4.00) and Berkley Packer maintained a narrow lead throughout the race and won the 400-yard stake in 19.753 for a 102 speed index.

It was fifth running of the regional qualifier to the annual ARC Distaff Challenge Championship; winning trainer Jason Olmstead has won three of the five editions of the race.

The winning connections of Lynnder 16 accept the ARC Canterbury Distaff Challenge stakes trophies Tuesday evening at Canterbury Park. © Coady Photography

Lynnder 16 is owned by Tom Maher and Richard Tobin and was bred in Oklahoma by James and Marilyn Helzer. She is by Apollitical Jess and is out of the Corona Cartel mare Tinys Corona Queen.

The talented stakes winner made her Canterbury Park debut on Tuesday and won her ninth career race in the process. She has lifetime earnings of $623,100.

Lynnder 16 won the Remington Park Oklahoma Bred Futurity (RG2) in 2018 and qualified to the All American Futurity (G1) later that summer. She qualified to the Ruidoso Derby (G1) as a 3-year-old and has competed in multiple graded stakes in her current 4-year-old campaign.

Fosse, with Cristian Esqueda aboard, chased but could not quite catch the winner. Fosse is a 5-year-old mare Foose mare trained by Allen Hybsha for owner Mitch Milliron.

Fosse was bred in Califormia by Paul Jones, out of the Check Him Out mare Check N Fetch. She began her career at Los Alamitos before moving to the Midwest last summer, where she ran second in the skip Zimmerman Stakes at Canterbury and was second in the Prairie Meadows Distaff Challenge (G3). Fosse is 2 for 19 lifetime with $51,859 in earnings.

Apollitical Mogul and Cody Smith fought for third place. The 4-year-old Apollitical Jess filly is also trained by Jason Olmstead for owner Tom Maher. She was bred in Texas by Mercy Hinklins Horse Farm LLC, out of Cash Cartel, by Corona Cartel.

Apollitical Mogul has never finished out of the money in her eight starts at Canterbury, including second place finishes in the NCQHRA Futurity and Canterbury Park Derby. She was third in the Valley Junction Futurity at Prairie Meadows and won the Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge in 2019. She has earned $141,870 in her 23 career starts.

Completing the field were Drt Dynasty and Rock Solid Babe Aw. Curls Happy Wagon was scratched.