A head, a nose, a neck and a neck separated the first four finishers of the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby on Saturday night at Canterbury Park. It was no surprise that head belonged to One Mean Man.
The 6-5 favorite, shipped in from Arlington Park in the Chicago area, made his winning bid in the final jumps on the 1-mile turf course, getting his head in front of 3-1 second choice Whatawonderflworld. A nose back was Hay Dakota at 9-1, and the same separated him from Way Striking at 5-1.
One Mean Man was ridden by Orlando Mojica, who picked up the mount in Canterbury Park's richest race from Santo Sanjur earlier in the day.
"I can't believe it,'' Mojica said. "That was a very good break.''
One Mean Man is owned by Ron Hillerick of Louisville. He's trained by Bernie Flint, who kept a stable at Canterbury in 1985, the track's opening year, but has been a stranger since.
"He's a wonderful horse,'' Flint said. "He has a lot of grit. If there's anybody closing on him he'll get his head in front.''
One Mean Man finished fourth Aug. 13 in the Grade I Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park, and he's a previous winner of a graded stakes, the Grade 3 American Derby on July 9 at Arlington Park.
