Seventeen horses have nominated to the Aug. 23 $200,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile.

But unless Running Away comes to Edmonton from south of the border it’s a wide open race.

A filly, Running Away, who has won four of her last six starts - all on different tracks - stands out among the nominations with three of those victories coming in stakes races. She won the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks in New Jersey, the Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap in Indiana and the Busanda stakes in New York.

“With what she brings to the table, I hope she comes,” said Century Mile racing manager Allen Goodsell. “I’d love to have her here.

“We’ve tried to reach out to the connections but haven’t heard anything back. I’m assuming that means she’s not coming.

“But if Running Away doesn’t come it’s still going to be a great Derby and we’ll have a full gate of 12.”

Naturally, the other 16 Derby nominees are hoping the filly doesn’t come and a case can be made for just about all of them.

Without Running Away the favourite role will likely belong to Rondelito, who has won his last four starts at Hastings Park in Vancouver, or the Robertino Diodoro trained Take Charge Tom, who crossed the finish line on top in the August 4 Manitoba Derby as the heavy favourite only to be disqualified and placed seventh for interference very early in the race.

Take Charge Tom also won the Manitoba Trial, two stakes at Sunland Park in New Mexico - including the Mine That Bird stake - and the Lost in the Fog stake at Turf Paradise.

“Being the favourite is a good thing. I’d like that because it means we’ve got a shot,” said Rondelito’s B.C. trainer Steve Henson.

Rondelito has much more than just a shot.

He’s coming off stakes wins in the Sir Winston Churchill, the Chris Loseth, the McLeod and his maiden breaking performance.

“I got lucky buying him,” said Steve Henson, who trains Rondelito for his wife, Lorie.

“I bought him in January off a guy that was getting out of the business. Right place. Right time.

“He’s all dressed up and ready to go.

“He thinks he’s a star.”

He is just that.

After showing little as a two-year-old, Rondelito has blossomed.

“He just wasn’t ready for prime time,” said Henson of three efforts last year when the best he showed was a fifth-place finish.

“His times this year haven’t been stellar but the way he’s done it has been very impressive.

“He’s an athlete.”

Bought for an undisclosed price, Henson allowed that Rondelito has more than paid for himself.

“He’s part of the team now. The biggest thing is that Rondelito has learned to relax.”

The Derby - at the classic distance of a mile and a quarter, the race is farther than any of the 17 nominees have run.

Henson isn’t worried about that in the least way.

“He’ll run on. He’ll run all day,” Henson said of Rondelito, whose last two wins have come at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth.

While Rondelito is coming to Edmonton on Wednesday, Henson won’t be coming to Edmonton at all. Instead he will turn Rondelito over to his son, Robbie, who has a horse - Pioneer Storm King - in the Derby too.

“Robbie is one of the best horsemen I know. He’s a really good kid - you can trust him with your life.

“He deserves this chance.

“The dream is to have both Pioneer Storm King and Rondelito running head to head coming down the stretch in front.

“We’ll see if my kid can out run me.

“I’m quite excited.”

Pioneer Storm King showed he belonged when he went off at 9-1 and toyed with the Count Lathum field in his last start going wire-to-wire in his first opportunity of going a distance.

“The way he trains tells me he will get the distance too,” said Robbie, 36, who is in his first year training in Edmonton and has established himself as a true horseman winning with 15 of his 57 starts. That remarkable statistic ties Craig Smith, Century Mile’s overall leading trainer Craig Smith, for the best winning percentage.

“The horses I’m training have run their eyeballs out all year. They’ve laid their bodies down for us every time,” said Robbie.

“Pioneer Storm King has been working well and galloping out strong. He’s as good as he can be.

“He’s done nothing but impress me.”

Another horse that is getting a lot of attention is Accidental Genius, whom trainer Tim Rycroft recently purchased in B.C. for Stetson Enterprises, C.J. Stetson and the GSR stable.

Accidental Genius was second to Rondelito in his last two starts finishing a neck back in the Sir Winston Churchill and three-and-a-quarter lengths in the Loseth.

“He’s hasn’t beat me yet,” said Steve Henson to which Rycroft - five-time champion Alberta trainer - had this quick retort: “He’s not beating Accidental Genius next time. I’m going to try and do everything possible to have him ready for the Derby.

“In their last meeting Accidental Genius broke slow losing at least two lengths and Rondelito got the jump on us.”

Rondelito was also able to slip through along the rail around the final turn while Accidental Genius had to come three wide.

Rycroft said Century Mile’s one-mile track should also help Accidental Genius, who was sired by 2012 Kentucky Derby (from post 19) and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another.

“Accidental Genius’ running style - he covers the ground very nicely - and the longer lane and bigger racetrack should help him.

“I don’t see one horse getting off by himself,” said Rycroft, who has been Alberta’s leading trainer five times. “There’s a lot of speed in this race which is going to be a tactical race. The jocks are going to have to do some race riding.

“I believe the Derby will be won or lost in the lane. Whoever breaks clean and gets a nice trip is going to be the winner.

“I’d love to win another Derby,” Rycroft said referring to the filly Academic who won it in 2015.

“I’m going to work Accidental Genius five-eighths of a mile this weekend.

“He seems to hang a little bit so I’m going to tighten the screws on him.

“I’ll have a target horse work with him and I want Accidental Genius to go by that horse and then gallop out strong.

“He’s not a great work horse. He won’t lay it all on the line when he’s working. The best I’m probably going to get out of him is about 1:02 for the work.”

While Rondelito and Accidental Genius are both mentioned together because of their rivalry, Rycroft doesn’t believe for one second that Rondelito is the only horse he has to defeat.

“I’m worried about the whole field. How good is Take Charge Tom?

“What about Take Charge Tom’s stablemate Wood Ceiling?” Rycroft said of Diodoro’s other horse in the race who looked so good winning the Western Canada Handicap but showed little in his next start the Count Lathum.

“How good of a horse is he?”

Then there’s Puttingonthefoil, who was second in both the Western Canada and Count Lathum. Puttingonthefoil is one of three horses nominated by Gonzalo Anderson.

Or, what about Counter Cat, who was third in the Sir Winston Churchill and finished ahead of Rondelito in a maiden race?

And then there’s Attack, who crossed the finish line just a length and a quarter behind Take Charge Tom in the Manitoba Derby and was then moved up to first.

Seventeen nominations. Seventeen chances.

STOCK REPORT - The Canadian Derby - the richest race of the year in Western Canada - is one of four lucrative stakes on the card: the Dale Saunders Speed to Spare, the Northlands Distaff and the Century Casino Oaks are the others.

Apprehend, a winner of five in a row tops the Dale Saunders Speed to Spare going a mile and a quarter. He is trained by Vancouver’s Barbara Heads, who has also nominated last year’s Derby winner August Rain and At Attention.

In total 15 horses nominated to the Dale Saunders Speed to Spare.

The Northlands Distaff appears to be a showdown between Alberta’s Big Hug and B.C.’s Avana.

Big Hug was last year’s Alberta’s Horse of the Year. She has won 15 races and was competitive against top mares at Santa Anita.

A winner of nine of 12 starts, Avana has been sensational overpowering her opponents in B.C. She has won three of her last four races heavily favoured in all of them.

Also nominated were Air Force who upset Avana by a neck in the Emerald Downs and Bling Dancer, winner of five of seven including her last outing, the Escape Clause, in Manitoba.

Finally, there is the Century Casino Oaks. Ten three-year-old fillies nominated including the aforementioned Running Away.

Assuming Running Away doesn’t come to Edmonton, Gee I’m Foxy is clearly the one to beat. She has won her last three starts by 27 lengths at Century Mile.

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Author: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty.