NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Silver Ending Gets Inside Post for St. Paul Derby

Favored Silver Ending drew the inside post for Saturday’s fifth running of the $300,000 St. Paul Derby.

A smaller-than-expected field of six 3-year-olds will compete in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade II race at Canterbury Downs. Post time is scheduled for 2 p.m. PDT.

Two leading contenders, Home at Last and Music Prospector, pulled out earlier in the week. And shortly before post positions were drawn Thursday, trainer Steven Belford decided not to send Hofre.

“He saw the first four horses and didn’t want to ship all the way from Chicago to finish fifth,” said Mickey Sample, Canterbury’s racing secretary. “Sound of Cannons has already beaten him.”

Arkansas Derby champion Silver Ending, picked by many to win the Kentucky Derby before finishing a disappointing fifth, has rested for six weeks in anticipation of the St. Paul Derby. He is the 9-5 favorite and trainer Ron McAnally was pleased at drawing the first post.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a factor in a six-horse race at 1 1/8 miles, but he likes the inside,” said McAnally, whose colt leads the nation with $638,900 in winnings. “He’s won most of his races from there.”

Gary Stevens will be aboard Silver Ending.

Secret Hello, second choice at 5-2, will start in the third post and be ridden by Pat Day. Jorge Velasquez will be aboard Appealing Breeze, 3-1, who starts in Post 6. Both horses have beaten Kentucky Derby champion Unbridled.

Sound of Cannons, the fourth-favorite at 4-1, will start in the third post. Ridden by Randy Romero, he is coming off second-place finishes in the Fairmount and Illinois derbies.

Axe Age, with six firsts, a second and two thirds in nine career starts, is a 12-1 long shot from the second post. Local jockey Tim Masters is aboard.

Minnesota-bred Buchman committed Thursday and was immediately established as the 15-1 long shot. He will be ridden by top Canterbury jockey Scott Stevens, younger brother of Gary.

Robert Levy’s Housebuster, one of the fastest 3-year-old colts in the nation, makes his Chicago debut Saturday in the $100,000-added Sheridan Stakes at Arlington Park.

With Craig Perret aboard, Housebuster will face five other 3-year-olds in the mile race while carrying top weight of 123 pounds.

They are Fighting Fantasy, 120 pounds; Spanish Drummer, 115, and Copelan’s Game, Rorschach and Wolf Spy, 113 apiece.

Housebuster won eight races in a row before finishing second to Criminal Type in the Metropolitan Mile at Belmont Park on Memorial Day. Easy Goer finished third.