Heliskier continued his impressive season, scoring a decisive victory in Saturday's $65,000 Minnesota Derby at Canterbury Park. The 3-year-old Minnesota-bred gelding by Appealing Skier out of Plana Dance sat behind pace-setter Sue's Stormy through moderate early fractions, seized control around the turn and ran away to a 13 -length victory for owner Marlene Colvin of Ethan, S.D., and trainer Mac Robertson.
The effort marked the undefeated Heliskier's fourth win of the year and the sixth consecutive of his career. He completed the 1 mile and 70 yards in 1:43.04 and earned $39,000, pushing his career earnings to $147,192.
Derek Bell, as he has been for each of the gelding's prior six victories, was in the irons for Robertson. "He only ran about a quarter of a mile. He was just galloping," Bell said. "This is the best Minnesota-bred I have ever sat on."
Heliskier, a winner of three stakes this season and four stakes lifetime, returned $2.40 as the prohibitive wagering favorite.
Saints' walk-off win Jose Hernandez was in familiar territory in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded and nobody out. Twice this season he's come through with a walk-off base hit, and he did it again as the St. Paul Saints defeated the Amarillo Sox 4-3 at Midway Stadium in front of 5,839.
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th, Amarillo's Wes Littleton came out of the bullpen to face Hernandez, and on a two-strike pitch Hernandez dumped one over the drawn-in infield to score pinch runner Adam Frost.
• Without a lefthander on the pitching staff, the Saints continued their shopping spree in search of another arm and signed Taylor Sinclair, 26, to fill the void.
Stars fall to Scorpions The calls and bounces didn't go the Stars way, as they fell 1-0 to San Antionio with Hans Denissen's 70th-minute penalty kick.
